Roof rack options? Home-made?

[ShawnQ]

What kind of cargo racks are available? I've seen a few that mount to the pinch welds.

Has anyone made their own?

Looking for something that can haul my kayak, some camping gear, and possibly some water jugs or a cooler for when I go surf fishing/beach camping. I'd really like to be able to setup a cot on top and walk up there but I'm afraid the roof on these is a little weak for that.

Lets see what you've got!

[jamesdart]

i made a rack the size of the whole roof. it mounts to the gutter. not a basket, only 1 level. its about 5x8. I was going to skin it with galvanized expanded metal but im not sure. im thinking the expanded metal will just turn into a solid sheet of ice. I built it for general use, building materials for home projects, campint stuff, surf rods, possibly a kayak. I don't have any pics though.

[pcoplin]

I'm going to transfer over my ConFer rack, got it for $25 at a garage sale. If you use 6 gutter mounts you'll have to problem getting up top. I on;y have four on the XJ with no gutter deformation. Here are the gutter mounts I used: http://www.jcroffroad.com/product/RCKMNTS.html



I built a small headache rack for my TJ, but the squared ends look too hokey for me to build one like that on the Wagoneer. I need to buy a 1in or 1.25 inch die for the bender so I can make it look not so homemade.

[dueselfabrication]

An idea: I used to know a guy who would make low-impact items, like roof racks, from electrical conduit. Easy to bend, weld, and more than strong enough to hold anything you would want to stack on the roof without weighing a billion pounds. He would mount them using gutter mounts from Thule or Yakima.