i looked around for a roof rack but could not find anything that i liked which was reasonably priced so i decided to make my own. I picked up the material at a local metal shop and used my Walmart 110v welder to stitch it all together. it took more time than i thought, and be honest, my welding skills are not good at all but i did get it together. i added a swing gate at the back to make loading/unloading easier and ran the rails forward to back for easy sliding. the rack is mounted to the manufacture's roof rack so i hope its stout enough to hold the weight. after picking up a farm jack i thought it might be cool to mount that on the roof to get it out of the vehicle so i welded some tabs to hold it (again taking more time than i thought).

if i were to do it again i would make it a little wider and possibly slope the front to keep tree branches from catching on it. i am in a desert climate so i never thought about the branches until i went off roading with a buddy up in trees (it was after i finished the rack, but before i mounted it). I guess i can add that in later if i wanted to. i also have a set of lights i was thinking of adding but not sure if thats what i want to do at this point. i will post photos shortly.

 

Here is a photo of the rack that came with my jeep. Those are the lights I have that I might add in later.

 

Here are some photos as I built the rack.

 

Front view...

 

Here is a photo showing the rear down when I was checking the fit. I positioned it so when opened it would not extend too far back. I also wanted to use the roof to support the hinged part when sliding anything heavy up Or down from the rack. I used a piano hinge btw.

 

Very impressed, nice job! I would like to get into some basic cheap welding. I'm always thinking of little projects I would tackle.

 

Save your pennies and buy a decent machine from the start. A Hobart Handler 140 is ideal for most anything on the Jeep. A Hobart Handler 185 will handle most anything you could ever want to weld. Either way, get one w/ shielding gas. Flux core sucks, smoky and spatter everywhere.

 

an issue I have with this mine is the inconstancy of the welds. sometimes great, sometimes not so. I am sure the 140 will eliminate that but those things are close to 500 bucks. if I start to do some welding on a regular basis then it would be worth the cost.

 

Got to pay to play. Do some welding for your buddies to help pay for the machine.

 

Looks very nice.

 

I took the jeep off road over the weekend and noticed the jack clanking against the rack, which was very annoying. to remedy this I cut a piece of black rubber hose and put it at the location where the base of the jack was coming in contact with the rack. I also added a couple of zip ties to hold it tight against the rack to limit movement. so far so good.


I also mounted my spare 33" tire up there prior to the off road trip. the fold down rear section made it easier to place the tire up there and the rack held up as expected during the fun.

 

thanks for the comments everyone.

 

Nice fab work sir, looks good!

$500 for a good welder is nothing...... Once you work with a good machine you never want to go back. Same goes for a nice auto-darkening hood.

 

looks good! I wish I could weld. Never tried.
The prices of bumpers and roof racks is enough to make me want to learn though. That's for sure.

 

Nice....I take my hat off to anyone willing to give it a try.