Roof Rack

ian_weir

New member
Ive been thinking about getting a roof rack for my jeep. So far I have learned that most racks that can be purchased such as Thule and Yakima are a bit expensive and contain a bit too much plastic for my taste, not to say that they are bad racks...I just dont like plastic. I was wondering if anyone had any Ideas about fabricating one for cheap. I was at Lowes and say that they had 3/4 inch pipe for plumbing that was pre-threaded and joints that could be used to create a frame...but Im not sure if I want to try it or not. Any ideas would be great. THanks
 

Garvin Wilderness. Pricey, but very strong and no plastic.
 
Surco is the best for the money hands down and their mounting kits are a great fit everytime.

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For the XJ, I'm pretty partial to the Olympic rack:

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Pretty reasonable price as well.

What kind of Jeep do you have?
 

I made my own rack. I added it to a Garvin Swing-A-Way system.

As a user, I don't like the Garvin gate. It keeps sagging, causing me to reinforce it in several places. I ended up fabricating a catch to connect it to the back door. From additional widgets to add strength (bolted and then welded) to a piece of angle iron that goes from the bumper to the frame, I tried everything to get it to work. It is heavy duty system, but the Mighty YJ was not as strong as the gate. That is just a comment on the Garvin.

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If you look at the back of the Jeep in this picture, you can see the rack I built. I had bought a receiver connecting tray to hold camping gear while traveling. Unfortunately, to take a 4X4 trail you would have to drop the receiver tray, take the trail and then come back to pick up the tray again. One trip was enough for that.

The tray was easy enough but does require a welder. I have a HiLift that sits in the holder on the Garvin Bumper. The tray is a simple box with a cutout area for the HiLift. It fits the sleeping bags, lantern, tent, kitchen and miscellaneous camping items. A simple, open design that allows for water to pass through while being out of the way on the back of the vehicle. Most of the connectors are bolts and wing nuts. Took a weekend to build and I use it regularly...

I could provide more pictures if you'd like to see them. Cost? $200, but that includes the cost of the welder...

The picture is from Chokecherry Canyon near Farmington, NM...
 
Didn't someone on this board make one out of PVC or something? I seem to remember that in the back of my head, looked really good too...
 

Build your own. It's the way to go if you have the tools, supplies, time, and ingenuity. Some of the most durable and useful offroad accessories I have seen have been built by the owner. In the end if you don't like it, you've lost a few bucks and time, but at least you had the experience.
 
i agree with the "no plastic" thing for the SWB's, but i think the THULE rack looks pretty sweet on my XJ with my 1" square tubing home-made tire carrier... only thing plastic here are the knobs. what do the racks look like for the YJ's?

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running a 4 door cherokee, 1997. unfortunately, I dont know how to weld, i think I could do it but I dont have access to any of the tools. I do really like the Thule racks, they make a nice basket carrier. I really want to make one myself, but im worried if I bolt one together myself it may rattle apart on the road(im driving to Alaska in the summer to go back to school). PVC sounds interesting...but would it be sturdy?
 
ian_weir said:
I really want to make one myself, but im worried if I bolt one together myself it may rattle apart on the road

Use lock washers, loc-tite, or those nuts with the plastic inside so that the bolts don't come un-done. i've had mine up there for 6 months+, driven about 10,000 miles on and off road and have had no problems with it coming loose.
 
If you plan on putting a tire or Hi-Lift on it I would suggest something more stout than schedule 40 PVC. It's pretty easy to load up a rack, especially on a long trip or when hitting a trail.
 
TwistedCopper said:
If you plan on putting a tire or Hi-Lift on it I would suggest something more stout than schedule 40 PVC. It's pretty easy to load up a rack, especially on a long trip or when hitting a trail.

ditto. i can stand on my spare and she doesn't have a problem. Steel is the way to go.
 
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