MK's Roof Rack o' Doom BUILD THREAD

mawlkrawler · **Posted:** Fri Sep 13, 2013 5:18 pm

Alright, I've finally started some serious work on fabbin up a sky-slider compliant roof rack, that is still capable of handling tough off road damage, such as rocks and trees. :JEEPIN:

So Far I've designed a rack that operates on 3 solid steel hinges at the front, and is held down by 4 industrial strength (2000lb each) latches. the latches I found are these...

LINK: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004K5YW0K/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=AJVD03PRD8VF4

Next, I went down to Home Depot and purchases 4 pieces of bare flat steel.
two 3/16" x 1" x 4'
two 1/4" x 1" x 4'

I then Hopped up on a ladder and yanked off those plastic roof screw mount protectors that are on top of KKs that don't have factory rails. (I believe there is a how to thread, but you can literally just pull them off with your bare hands. Just put some elbow grease into it)

I realized that where the rails will sit will be too close to the sky slider when its open to the rear. (Thats where these flat steel bars come in handy)

I've cut one of each to about 11" or so and grinded them even.
*PIX HERE*

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This is about where I've left off I plan on finish cutting and drilling on sunday when I put on my rock sliders.'

The theory is to basically move the mounts forward about 11" to give me more clearance for the rack to sit on the car while the sky slider is open. So basically when its open it will sit about 1-2" away from the rear of the rack. The factory bolts will go right through the steel bars and then the rails will sit on top of those. Here are some pix to hopefully explain this...

This is just to measure the height of both pieces of steel. They fit perfectly in the 1" channel.

This is just a closeup of the bolt and both pieces on top of each other.

This is where the rails sit in the factory holes. The black plastic in front of them will just be trimmed to fit. It just lifts off and is taped on.

See how the Sky Slider is bunched up in the back there? In the current position of the rails it will contact the roof rack, therefore it needs to move forward.

It needs to move forward to about here. (The Rails aren't level because they are sitting on the plastic)

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Next Steps:

I'm going to finish cutting and drilling the steel mounts. I have a buddy who is willing to weld them for me. What I'm going to do is basically have him weld on 2 bolts to each piece of steel to basically "mimic" the factory mounting bolts, and then bolt them to the actual mounting bolts to extend them.

:pepper:

MORE PIX TO COME THIS WEEKEND!!!! :pepper:

leme know if you guys have any questions. I'm trying to be as detailed as possible but its really hard to describe the procedure without having done it yet. All the pix r in my head atm :dizzy:

Gageraid · **Posted:** Fri Sep 13, 2013 11:00 pm

Cool! Good luck. Wish I could offer advice.

Bmxer524 · **Posted:** Sat Sep 14, 2013 5:10 am

If my understanding is correct, you're planning on moving the rack to the front of the cab rather than sitting near the rear like most?

Won't the top hit the crossbars/rack when opening/closing though? I never really took notice of how it opens, nobody really drives my Jeep, but me so I never got to see what the skyslider looks like when opening from the outside.

Scar0 · **Posted:** Sat Sep 14, 2013 8:49 am

Cool idea. What about not moving the rack forward on the rig?
Release the rear latches, lift the rear of the rack up, open the slider, Set the rear of the rack back down, and latch it in place. Or the other way around, lift the front instead...
Once the slider is open and folded like in Pic 5, it looks like the fabric would compress under the rack.
Of course I don't have a slider so this is all in theory.

At The Helm · **Posted:** Sat Sep 14, 2013 12:06 pm

I see you're putting those those side bars to good use! Also good idea with the hinges and latches.
I'm also not seeing how moving it forward helps but I've never really seen a skyslider in action.

mawlkrawler · **Posted:** Sat Sep 14, 2013 6:20 pm

Haha all good questions. It will all make more sense when I have the mounts ready to go. Basically the rack, while sitting on the rails, will need to be moved forward from where it would normally sit. If it sat where the factory rails sit it would crush the sky slider when its bunched up in the rear like in this picture.

See how its bunched up in the back?

If you look carefully at where the black plastic roof rail covers are in that picture. Imagine a Cargo Basket on top of them. It would crush the sky slider if it were over them like they sit in that picture. Therefore, they need to move forward to allow the cargo basket to sit without contacting the sky slider when its open. The hinges I was talking about were only for the actual processess of opening the sky slider because as it was passing to the rear of the roof it would contact the bottom of the basket.

This picture reflects where the rails currently sit and where they need to move to. Hopefully this helps my explanation.

At The Helm · **Posted:** Sat Sep 14, 2013 8:35 pm

Makes more sense now. Can't wait to see progress on it!

mawlkrawler · **Posted:** Tue Sep 24, 2013 9:16 pm

Making some Progress, here is what I did over the weekend. I have a buddy whos gonna weld the bolts in place this week so hopefully I can get the rails relocated by the weekend.

Before

After drilling

These pix are where the bolts are going to go to relocate the rails

tommudd · **Posted:** Tue Sep 24, 2013 9:27 pm

I'd think it would make more sense to have removeable cross bars. Most times you just have the side rails and the slider does its thing. When you need a roof rack install the cross bars and use it like any other. You're not going to have the slider open with the rack full of camping gear anyways so , guess I don't understand what the big issue is .
Even if you hinge it etc and have it full, then are you going to want to lift, hold it there while the slider goes back? Seems like a lot of work for not much
Maybe you can make it more clear as to why

Bmxer524 · **Posted:** Tue Sep 24, 2013 11:20 pm

Tom, some people use the racks to hold their spare(I don't personally like it, but others do). You use the camping/camping gear example, some people like to wheel when they go camping. Not sure how many people would want to keep taking their rack off and putting back it on.

As for that last example, some people might say well it won't be the same because there will still be a rack over your head, but an empty rack lets more air in and lets you see out better than a solid roof.

Scar0 · **Posted:** Tue Sep 24, 2013 11:54 pm

If you wheel with the rack on, I would be concerned about catching a branch under the front and ripping the whole thing off. I do understand this is always a possibility, but the front does not have any really secure points with it the way you have it planned. Why not use Blind Threaded Studs in the roof, and secure the front of the rack down?

At The Helm · **Posted:** Tue Sep 24, 2013 11:56 pm

I'd be a little concerned about the rack lifting up the way you're running it. Going over bumps it could lift up then slap back down on the roof, esp with a load up there.
What i would do if i were you: form the new steel flats as best you can to match the roof curvature, then take some 1"x1/4" flat bar and cope out that curve into one edge then weld it to your new mounts. It would resemble angle iron in a way amd would be much stronger. Also instead of welding in the new bolts, just weld the original feet of the side rails to your new mounts.
I know it sounds like a lot of work but might be worth it in the end.

At The Helm · **Posted:** Wed Sep 25, 2013 12:00 am

Scaro has a good idea there too. The side bars are designed to fit the oem mounting locations as far as the angles of the feet. Maybe some shims could be made if the don't match the roof curve very well. Or just bend them carefully with a hammer.

tommudd · **Posted:** Wed Sep 25, 2013 12:00 am

Bmxer524 wrote:

Tom, some people use the racks to hold their spare(I don't personally like it, but others do). You use the camping/camping gear example, some people like to wheel when they go camping. Not sure how many people would want to keep taking their rack off and putting back it on.

As for that last example, some people might say well it won't be the same because there will still be a rack over your head, but an empty rack lets more air in and lets you see out better than a solid roof.

But if you have a spare up there and are trying to move it back and forth etc, lots of dead weight. Sure some like to camp/wheel but its either going to have to be butt high to clear or very hard to use from what I'm seeing.
Draw up some more ideas and post them up

mawlkrawler · **Posted:** Sun Oct 20, 2013 4:10 pm

So far I'm giving everything a test run for a while. I didn't install the mounts yet because they need some adjusting. I basically just fabbed up some u-bolt mounts and bolted my rack to the crossbeams i made. Its extremly solid. Morgan did a great job with the rails. There on there really good. I'm going to do some more planning and experimenting through the winter with how I'm going to do this. I'm greatful for everyones advice. The last thing I want happening is to go wheeling one day and lose my rack, or worse, lose it on the highway :banghead:

Here is what I've done so far.

This is what the rack will look like when the roof is open and the forward mounts are attached.

IMG_1733 by justinsullivan2, on Flickr

Just another angle

IMG_1732 by justinsullivan2, on Flickr

IMG_1731 by justinsullivan2, on Flickr

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This is what the rack actually looks like ATM, mounted in the factory spot with Morgans rails and my crossbars.

IMG_1757 by justinsullivan2, on Flickr

Added a shovel today.

IMG_1777 by justinsullivan2, on Flickr

High lift Jack is on its way.

mawlkrawler · **Posted:** Sun Oct 20, 2013 4:22 pm

Atthehelm wrote:

I'd be a little concerned about the rack lifting up the way you're running it. Going over bumps it could lift up then slap back down on the roof, esp with a load up there.
What i would do if i were you: form the new steel flats as best you can to match the roof curvature, then take some 1"x1/4" flat bar and cope out that curve into one edge then weld it to your new mounts. It would resemble angle iron in a way amd would be much stronger. Also instead of welding in the new bolts, just weld the original feet of the side rails to your new mounts.
I know it sounds like a lot of work but might be worth it in the end.

sorry for the double post. I'm really concerned with that too. These are what I was going to use to hold the rack down. They're double action latches. They lock in the front and in the back so they cannot come off unless u physically push in the button and unlatch it at the same time. They don't appear very large but they are very strong.

Also decided that I'm not going to have the rack pivot on a hinge or anything like that. It requires way too much clearance to clear the sky slider when it retracts and its just not that solid of a setup. Instead, I'm starting to head towards mount 4 linear actuators at each corner that vertically lift the entire rack. Each actuator can vertically hold about 60 lbs which is way more than I would ever need. I'm going to have my gf's sister's bf help me code the commands for them. I'll draw up some plans for what I'm thinking and post them so you guys can tell me what you think.

Thanks for all the input guys! :mrgreen:

mawlkrawler · **Posted:** Sun Apr 13, 2014 8:34 pm

I've decided to go with a new design. The Yakima Load Warrior basket, ATH's Roof Rails, and my "home depot" crossbars held up fine over the rough New England winter (especially with a shovel and my hi-lift jack bolted on). Alas, as the weather's gotten warmer I've decided to take the darn thing off so I can open my roof and let some sun in. After a week or so of having it off, I kind of miss it. I've decided to "re-think" my mobile roof rack design. I've opted to make more of a simple sky slider compatible rack instead of a basket that can move on hinges.

I'm going with the K.I.S.S. method for this design and I'm just about finished with the design. The rack is going to fit around the exterior of the roof, similar to KKandKayak's setup.
The majority of the rack will be 1" x 1"x 1/16" square tube steel.
The vertical pillars will be 1/2" x 1/2" x 1/16" square tube steel.

In addition, each side will have a 1/2" x 1/2" x 1/16" bar welded lower part of the interior of the rack. These will be drilled through to allow a small 1/4" bold to pass through, allowing me to insert steel bars perpendicular to the rails, so I can use the rack more as a basket and load it with camping or beach gear if necessary.

The Dimensions would run approx. 6.25' L x 4' W x 5" H (base of the roof)

This is an old design I drew up, but the principle is still the same. The rack basically allows to tie a canoe to the roof while having the sky slider open.

Again this is an old design. The mounts I've come up with now are not one single square piece like in this mock up. They are actually two separate mounts now. Additionally, the bar that runs along the lower rail is actually going to be square tube steel instead of the flat steel bar depicted. Lastly, the rails will also be square tube steel instead of the round steel tubing depicted.

Here is a mock up of what the rack will look like. (The donut looking things are just space holders for where I'm thinking about sticking the light bar)

Side View

Bottom View (Sorry for the weird angle. This is what the rack would look like mounted from inside the cabin.)

Heres a mock up of what the rack would potentially look like installed

Comments/questions/suggestions?

profdlp · **Posted:** Sun Apr 13, 2014 8:57 pm

Great design - I like the look.

At The Helm · **Posted:** Sun Apr 13, 2014 11:43 pm

Thats going to look good MK. I like the idea of 45ing off the corners so its not just a square box, looks more professional that way. One thing I noticed in your drawing is the sides are parallel, while the KK roof tapers in toward the rear roughly 1.5". If you wanted to change that, don't forget to account for it in your miter cuts on the tube, maybe 1.5 degrees on the long pcs and half a degree on the short pcs.
Also get some 0.023" wire for that tube.

mawlkrawler · **Posted:** Mon Apr 14, 2014 11:13 am

Thanks guys!

ATH:
As always, I appreciate the advice and thanks for noticing that 45° weld in the design. Figured it was a simple way to make it look good, and allows me to use square tube steel instead of having to make four 90° bends in a single 20' length of steel pipe. I was thinking the same thing regarding the curvature of the KK's roof. That's kinda where I'm at right now with the design. I figured I'd solve that issue by maybe placing an angled piece of steel under the mounts to account for the degree changes towards the front and rear. I'm going to kinda have to play that by ear with a good old fashioned leveler and protractor though. I'll have a better idea of how to handle it after I finish the mounts. Its pretty nice outside so I may try to cut a prototype today after I get home from the office. Ordering a new Welding Hood this week and my buddy's gonna help teach me some basic welding techniques over the next few weeks (He's works for a commercial flow-meter company as a welder) so I can get this show on the road. The welds in my design are simple flat welds and T welds, so hopefully it comes out lookin semi-professional lol.

I would have accounted for the curvature in my 3d model but that was the best I could really do with learning how to use 3d modeling software in an hour :-)r

.

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Also, what did you mean by 0.023" wire? If you meant like 23 gauge wire for the lights, I was gonna use 4 gauge. (23 would be waaay too thin lol) By my math 4 gauge would only allow for a 3% drop over a 30 ft. length x2 130 watt and x2 100 watt lights.

KC HiLiTES 151 Apollo Pro 6" 100w Driving Light + KC HiLiTES 121 SlimLite Black 130w Spot Beam Light

*Source*
"I(A) = P(W) / V(V)"
460(w)/12(v)= 38.33 amps
http://www.rapidtables.com/calc/electric/Watt_to_Amp_Calculator.htm

Although, lights are gonna be my last step. Definitely need to plan them into the build though. I'm still deciding if I wana go with 2+2 KC Driving/Spot lights (more light) or one long LED light bar (more aerodynamic).

I want this build to be as perfect as I can get it. I wana make sure Its lightweight

MK's Roof Rack o' Doom BUILD THREAD

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