I'm planning on making a roof rack soon and trying to figure out what size tubing to use for it, its my dd so i dont want it to heavy but i also want it to be sturdy and hold what ever i would want to put in it. i was thinking the rack would be around 60"x50"x6" and i would most likely be using square tubing. and i would use gutter mounts. any thoughts would be very helpful, thanks in advance.

You can use thinner metals as long as your brace.

i do not know what size tubing to use, but realize what you are making is a big rack so expect it to weigh anywhere from 50-100 lbs

mine is 74"x50"x8"


a smidge longer than yours but you get the concept.

I wish you really good luck on your build!

Most people use 1"x1"x.065" wall square. Its pretty light, but also sturdy. And for the gutter mounts, 3/16" flat stock is pretty good.

I am using the same, but mine is .083" wall because my rack is not going to be used like most people use theirs, when I finish it...

you can use emt piping to if your not looking to weld anything alot of guys use that just look around the threads theres some pretty cool ideas

Made from scrap wood and $15 worth of hardware. Pretty hard to beat, seeing as it's held up for two years now...

thanks for the responses, its helped alot

why are you going with the .083" vs the .065"? what will you be using your roof rack for?

My roof rack is 3/4 conduit welded together,I have made a few this way works pretty good. Cost is about $40 dollars at Home Dopot

Lol I thought it was a joke at first. Looked almost like cardboard and duct tape. Good idea though. Nice budget build.

booo-urrrns to the wood one

1" and 1/2" steel tube from home depot. Have to weld it tho.
Sorry I don't have a better pic

1x1 .060 wall tubing. its great. i build roof racks full time for a living. if i knew how to attatch images to the post id put a bunch on here to give you ideas.
if you pm me your email ill send you pics.
also attatch it with gutter mounts theyre the strongest way to go you will destroy the rack before the mounts.

I'm going to try to make a swing up tire carrier. So far I don't have much done, and a long thread in here with mostly talk and only a few actual pictures.

Aside from that, I also plan on carrying a kayak or a few on it.

look for an old futon in someones trash , and make it work

Heres a lot of pics and detailed instructions on my rack build. Since then, I have a hi lift on the left side and a shovel on the right. If you would like to know how i mounted those, let me know. The mounting system is custom too. See next post