Inquisitroy

I was looking to buy a roof basket. The only problem is I don't want to spend $700 CAD on a roof basket that covers the whole roof. I was thinking of making one. I have a old ladder rack you put on a van that attaches to the gutter. I was thinking of building off that. Has anyone built their own roof basket and have some plans that I could work off of?

warthog

yea i did last weekend cost about 60 bucks minus paint

warthog

also do a search and you should find some plans. but hey all you need is a general idea. the best part about building your own is you can make it however you want it.

nick_n_ii

Very cool.

Looks very clean.

Is it all screwed together? Or are there welds also?

warthog

all self tapping screws. it is alot stronger than i ever imagined.

thanks

cjj98xj

are those fence gates and EMT? Looks good! One suggestion possibly, 2nd to last picture, on the bottom bars I'd mount them on top of the rail. Less likely to tear out a screw that way. Other than that, SAHWEET!

warthog

All emt conduit and alluminum strips. the supports were in the way and could not mount it on top. trust me the stock rack on the jeep will fail before the homemade rack. all wieght i put up there will be evenly distributed among 5 cross braces

cjj98xj

Nice.

What did you cover it with? Looks thicker than ordinary rattle can paint.

warthog

if you can't see the pic it is rust o leum rubberized undercoating. not sure if i recommend it yet. seems fairly easy to nick off

Inquisitroy

wow, that is awesome. How much weight can it hold since it is made from aluminum conduit and self tapping screws?

warthog

not sure of the exact poundage but it is very strong. your stock roof rack supports will break before this one will

Inquisitroy

I have some ladder racks that I could mount it to. What did you use to couple the ends of the conduit? also what did you use to bend the conduit?

warthog

There were no bushings you could buy to perfectly fit inside the conduit. go to the plumbing section at lowes and grab a 3 foot piece of galvanized steel pipe. the outer diameter of this will be slightly bigger than the inner diameter of the conduit. put it in a vice and grind a couple three layers off the outside till it fits good and snug inside the conduit. then cut the pipe into 6 inch pieces. 3" will go in one end and three in the other then self tap it in place.

a manual 1" emt conduit bender from Lowes. you can rent these also from certian places

Inquisitroy

cool thanks, this changes my original idea of buying steel square tubing and begging some friends with a welder to weld it together. It would be heavy and annoying to build. This seems easier to make and something I can do myself.

Rented Mule

Nice job ,like the corners plates !