DIY Roof Rack attachement

[guy816 Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close guy816]

Hey,

I'm lurking on this forum for some time now, and you've all been a great source of info and inspiration!

soo...
I'm planning on building a roof rack and i would like to hear some ideas on sturdy, cheap mounting options.

I dont have the factory rails or anything else on the roof, and i'm planning on using the rack only while on extended wheeling trips.

What do you think guy's ?

Thanks!

[Guest Close Guest]

Re: DIY Roof Rack attachement

Hi guy816

First off:
1. How big do you want your rack to be?
2. Define cheap?

The mounting points on the roof become closer together the further back you go on the Prado. They are also not level from front to back.

I have decided to go with the Toyota genuine 3-bar setup which is identical to the Rhino Rack heavy duty bars. I bought mine for $282. Refer to this thread.
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=5059

From there, I used it as a solid base and started looking at a DIY custom roof platform. My designs are still work in progress. Refer to this thread.
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=6773

You could have a go at making your own feet, but due to the odd angles and height, I'd suggest you contact Rhino Rack and get the parts to mount the foot pads to the vehicle. Then you will have a nice level base to start your own roof platform.

Have a look at Unistrut as the Rhino heavy duty bars are based on that system. You can then get all the Rhino accessories to fit.

[guy816 Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close guy816]

Re: DIY Roof Rack attachement

thanks for your answer!

your roof platform definitely looks great!!

For the actual roof attachment i was looking for an even simpler (er..cheaper) solution- L shaped brackets bolted permanently to the factory mounting points and a platform \ basket bolted on when needed.

I wonder what kind of metal i should use and if there is a need for spacers between the brackets and the mount (plastic?)..?

Anyone here built something similar?

thanks again!

[mjrandom Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close mjrandom]

Re: DIY Roof Rack attachement

Roof racks and DIY have been covered a few times, just search. On P2 of the link below you will see that I was looking to make up some mounts for my old gutter mount roof rack and in the end gave up and bought the ARB fitting kit and adapted that.

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=3552

The roof angles and heights are different front to rear and I did not have the patience to make up mounts from scratch though I did make up spacers to make fitting the rack easier. Depends whether you value your time or $ more. It is possible but maybe not worth it in the end.

Michael

[Schaffer Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Schaffer]

Re: DIY Roof Rack attachement

The mounts/feet for the Rhino Sportz/Aero/HD kits to mount direct to the roof (ie not to roof rails) are about $25.00 each. Depending upon the size of the rack you are looking at makinh you would require either four or six. As others have said there are different heights for these as the centre ones are very small in comparison to the front and rear. I think these would be a PITA to make yourself and get the levels right.