Soo after seeing HawK Racing's roof rack build, ive been itching to make my own roof rack!

Here is his/ what i am kind of modeling mine after:


Now, im not looking to copy this completely, but hopefully when im done, mine will look quite similar.
I actually have wanted to do this for quite some time, but my lack of fab skills had kept me at bay
The other day, i finally got around to teaching myself how to weld by making a tire carrier:


after seeing how good it came out and being surprised on how fun and easy welding is, i decided it'd be time to try and make a rack...

today i just started cutting/angling the EMT conduit tubing... i got the sides and base frame done and ready to be welded.... not sure how well ill be able to match it but hey i can try my best!

heres a crappy cell pic of what i got done today (doesnt show the left side/vertical supports.



i think by tomorrow night i should have the main frame done at least... and ill probably get started on the light guards too

can't wait
BY THE WAY: for anyone who is thinking of using conduit, make sure you know, welding it DOES create toxic fumes because it is galvanized or has a aluminized coating i believe.. so make sure you use some form of a respirator and you weld in a well vented area!!!!!!!.. i mean unless youre lookin for that high...

more pics coming tomorrow!

 

I like the creativity definitely a good budget build!

 

btw... you will not get high from inhaling the fumes. You will get Galvanized poisoning.
Whats Galvanized poisoning you may ask?? its an extreme I SAID EXTREME version of a flu sickness that will last a few days. Check out my light rack build and i kinda get into the whole poisoning thing.

Another tip for you.. Drink some milk before welding.. a nice big glass of it... it brings up your immunity to the galvanized fumes

 

thanks for the heads up, That Jeep Guy XJMJ...i love milk so ill def drink a nice half-gallon before i start hahaha...

 

have you considered grinding off the galvanization? real easy to do and could save you a lot of trouble.

 

Thanks pretty interesting. Guess you learn somethin new everyday. Thanks for the heads up!

 

Another cool tidbit about welding galvanized.. Its NON-Toxic too. I read up on this a long time ago when I was welding with galvanized. Yep, you can get sick. I never did tho.

http://www.sperkoengineering.com/htm...Galvanized.pdf

 

Galvanized gives off a poisonous gas when welding so do it in a WELL ventilated area. My company has a respirator that looks like Darth Vader's helmet when we weld galvanized. Be careful.

 

UPDADTE!
so, i got a majority of the welding out of the way... this was my first time welding anything this thin... so i had to play around with wire speed a but... but i got the job done none the less...

so First off, i want to mention that i NEED to invest in a self darkening mask... movin the mask in front of my face and back a million times got VERY old, and plus, i slipped quite a few times and accidentally looked directlyat the spark a couple of times.. so my eyes are not feelin the best as of now.. lol
not sure if u can see the redness..


But anywaay, here is the pic of the bottom part all welded up..


this pic shows how gross some of the welds are and how much splatter ther is in some spots (ewwy lol)


And this is where i stopped today....


It is by no means gonna be perfect but so far i am VERY proud of how its cominng out.. the welds are nowhere near perfect but atleast i have an angle grinder

the next steps for me are to finish up the back and the base of it, weld on some brackets for reverse lights and the front lights, and finish the grill-type bars that will go between the lights.....
i'm not sure yet whether i want to use gutter mounts or just mount them to the cargo bars..
for now what im thinkin is i'm gonna find some u-bolts and just bolt it down to the luggage bars for now and save the gutter mounts for another time....

i'd also like to fab up some mounts for my hi-lift and my gun case (from an old quad hehehe)

but thats what ive got done today, hope everyone likes it! comments/questions welcome !

 

UPDATE X2
So i Finished up the rack for the most part.. still need to put a flat bar across the bottom tube in the front so that i can mount some lights up there..... also decided that gutter mounts are the way to go, i want this thing to be sturdy... but i tossed the rack up there just to get an idea what itd look like...



(my friend's girly friend goes to cosmotology school so she gave me this head... i had to hahaha)



Had no problem with the galvinized steel at all, the rack seems very sturdy and is nice n light! but to finish the job i got a auto darkening mask... best thing ever. my welds are even improving because i can use 2 hands now....

but im VERY happy how this looks, thinkin of grabbing 4 harbor freight lights and puttin 100w bulbs in em.... i like the size of em and for 14 bucks ya cant go wrong!

still a little unsure how im gonna go about the gutter mounts.. anyone have a thread on makin some? dont feel like droppin 50 bills on the premade ones online

 

Don't bother with gutter mounts, just use U-bolts and drill holes in your preexisting luggage rack and bolt it on. Plenty sturdy and you will save some coin. Also if you want to take it off it is as easy as sliding the luggage rack bars off.

 

Here is my rack i made out of conduit. (Before it was painted and mounted of course) If you choose to paint your rack make sure you sand all of the galvanizing with some scotch brush or some sort of abrasive. And i would recommend using a bed-liner to ensure the coating doesn't chip when you are hauling stuff on and off of it.

 

Good rack dude. I have been lookin at doin a conduit for a while cuz i have a lot of it just sittin around. probably start next weekend. keep it up.

 

Bush League 96 XJ, i was thinkin of doing that, but my rack is actually a little wide for that.... but ill hafta take a peek cuz that sure would be easier, and nice rack btw! i probally coulda used thicker tubing like that but i was goin for price effective all the way! haha and jeep34, yeah its definately worth the little extra time it may take.. i dont know how strong its gonna be but i know atleast ill have a place to toss my hi-lift, gun rack and tire if necessary!

 

I mounted my through my roof. 4 holes and bolts, no problems, no leaks, strong as hell.