DIY Modular Roof Rack

[pith helmet]

I’ve been playing around with some ideas for a roof rack for our JKU.
I’m calling this a ‘prototype’, just having fun with some scraps trying to accomplish a few things at once:

A removable and cheap roof rack for carrying light and bulky items such as camp chairs that can also support a tarp awning in various set-ups and has a privacy enclosure for simple solar shower, changing, etc.

The attachment points for this is the Smittybilt Defender gutter mounts. So far that and the poly-canvas tarp is all I have bought for this project.

This is all rough work just to see how it goes but if it works, I’ll get some material and build it better. Its a touch overbuilt, capable of carrying far more weight than the fiberglass top or the mounting points, but I had an old pipe rack from a past Toyota that I cut up for the project. Still, it only weights about 60 lbs at this time.

 

[pith helmet]

The ‘modular‘ part is simple to the extreme. It’s just 3/4” tubing sliding into the 1” rack tubing.

The reason for not having a full length rack is primarily keeping weight down. The smaller rack also allows for the tops to come off, though I’m not a fan of that.

This piece for the awning mount will also be able to be moved to either side. I haven’t gotten the quick connect pins yet that will keep it in place, whether extended or stowed.

 

[pith helmet]

The privacy enclosure is the same basic idea.


It will stow against the back of the rack and have pins to keep it in place and I will strap it or bungee if necessary to prevent rattle, though it’s a fairly snug fit for now.

Here is is a quick first set up with a wrong-sized tarp.
This is 50x50”, large enough to allow for the tailgate and back glass to open and close.



I plan to attach the proper tarp with carabiners with fixed points at the outside corners and the rack to keep it in place and to stake it at the ground.

 

[pith helmet]

I think it’s going to work out pretty well. I still have to figure out the attachment points for the tarp to the rack, the bungees are temporary and won’t be enough in real wind or weather.

The one problem I am aware of that I will have is that even after finishing and painting, this rack will be dirtier than a professional prefab one due to the open ends and the metal sliding into metal setup. This isn’t enough of a negative to deter me, however. I suppose Plan B will be to make sleeves of the 1” material to carry the 3/4” sliders on the outside of the rack, though I hope to make the internal stowage work.

I will have to make everything fit tight and have to seal the ends that I don’t need open to keep water intrusion to a minimum. I may also put weep holes in the bottom to let that rusty water drip out in different locations.
If anyone has constructive thoughts on any of this, I’d love to hear them.
Thanks for checking it out!

 

[ratled]

Well done! Love the design.

 

[pith helmet]

Well done! Love the design.

Thanks!

 

[pith helmet]

A little progress. Paint helps some of the ugly go away. Thanks, Rustoleum. The odd spacing of cross bars is due to using some recycled parts.

 

[pith helmet]

Progress pics from the weekend. Finished and mounted:

Trying out the shower on the rear extension. The next step is getting the proper material for the sidewalls.

Since taking the above pic I have figured out how to reduce the skinning of the paint on the pull out parts of the rack and also kill any rattle. I drilled holes and installed rivets on two sides of each end of the insert pieces to take up the slack and catch the majority of the friction.



Now that I have a rack on this Jeep I can use it to hang things on at camp, something I’ve missed. This is a test version of a side side table with sink. Now that I see that it works, I think I will make it a little larger and put a 1/4-1/2” lip around it to prevent something from rolling off since it will only be as level as the vehicle.

 

[pith helmet]

Made some spring latches to hold the slide outs on the rack. These can be bought pretty cheap, but I couldn’t find any that were this small and also relatively heavy-duty, and it’s a fun project anyway.

There’s a hole for each position, open and closed. Let it be in a bit of a bind so that it holds tight and stops the last bit of rattle I was experiencing. Works pretty good!

 

[pith helmet]

First use. Ah, life's minor triumphs.

 

[pith helmet]

Just played around with setting up the tarp today to familiarize myself with it for ease of use in the wild. Got some adjustable poles from Bass Pro so now I have 4 including my home made conduit ones. The BP ones are really nice (and cheap), I may get a couple more and cut the interior cable so they can be shortened more. I like the way it locks into the shower enclosure part of the rack. Pretty solid. I doubt I'll attempt to travel with the tarp attached unless I decide to build an enclosure or cover that is simple and works, certainly would not attempt with the bungees on there now, but figure this is a good way to travel on trail or FS roads between camps or to run into town for a laundry day/grocery (beer) run.

 

[kwill]

Great work! I love to see this kind of DIY.

 

[pith helmet]

Great work! I love to see this kind of DIY.

Thank you for checking it out!

 

[MattJ]

Looks good! Here's an idea for some additional forward storage that might work well with your custom rack design:

Custom Roof Cargo System for JKU

 

[shays4me]

I really appreciate seeing projects like this posted because it promotes my own creativity. I built a tube rack years ago out of 3/4" square tubing. I used a williams low buck tubing bender that cost me @ $100 that made really nice curves for 3/4 and smaller. It was going to go on my CJ7 but a friend walked into the garage just as I was finishing the basket and bought it from me to put on his VW bus! I haven't built another since but I should.......