So me and my buddy really want some roof racks for our Jeeps, but... they're expensive af. After looking online a little bit I found that a lot of people are fabricating their own roof racks. We both want to do this for ourselves now but I have like zero welding and fabricating experience. My buddy does have a bit though as he and his step-dad work on cars and motorcycles all the time.

I'm shooting for something like this:






I designed this using Inventor btw


I did some looking up and most people think the best material to build this out of is EMT tubing. For everything I'm gonna need about 80 ft. for the straits and 8 of the 90 degree corners that you can get pre bent. All of that plus the 1/8" steel plate for the light tabs comes up to be around $72.01 at my local Home Depot. This isn't counting the gutter clamps I'll have to fab.

So anyways am I getting a little too in over my head with this seeing as I have no real experience fabricating? Or am I just over-thinking it? Haha idk but if you guys could let me know if I'm overlooking some aspect of this then that would be great! I'm open to advice.

 

I also prefer to build myself, but went with Nates4x4 full-size rack. $300 delivered. 72" x 48" Steel tube. 65 lbs.

 

EMT is great for building lightweight racks. I've used it for everything from ATV racks to the hanging basket style racks in the back of a TJ.

One thing about EMT is that it is galvanized metal. It is very hard to get a decent weld on it if you don't get it very well cleaned. Not to mention it creates poisonous gas when it's burning.

I used to use emery paper to clean it off but I found a paint stripping wheel for the grinder that works so much better. It looks like a really course black sponge. Make sure you get it nice and shiny and WEAR A MASK. I'm terrible about the last part and pay for it for days afterwards.

The only other things is that it is very thin wall and burns through easily so I'd recommend practicing on some scrap first to get your welder settings and your speed down. It really sucks when you're going along nicely and a big hole blows out.

I like to fish mouth my joints so they fit pretty tight before welding but you can also smash the ends flat in a vice so they just sit on top. That doesn't look as good to me and I think it causes a week point but I've seen factory built racks done that way too.

Don't be afraid of it. Just take your time and make sure it's solid when you're done. It is going to be holding a load up there. You'll make mistakes. I still do after 20 something years of off and on fab work. Just learn from it and move on.

To me there's nothing better than standing back at the end and saying "I built that." Have fun.

Oh yeah, nice work on the Inventor mock up.

 

Here is the one I made from EMT and a partial sheet of expanded metal. Used a bender from Harbor Freight.








Here it is mounted on a mount that I purchased, because I liked it.

 

Thanks for the info guys. I bought all my materials today at Home Depot so I'm gonna go through with it! I decided though that instead of welding I'll just use bolts and rivets to hold it together. I've already bought a bunch of couplings to get the job done. After that though I'm not sure how I'm gonna coat it. Should I just use black spray paint or should I use some truck bed liner? Thanks and I appreciate all the help!

 

I like Dupli-color bed liner. It has more texture than the others and seems to hold up better. Can't find it anywhere but Advance Auto anymore around here. If you don't want the textured look just go with paint.

Again you're going to need to clean that galvanization up good to get the paint to stick. Wipe it down with denatured alcohol, mineral spirits or brake cleaner and give it a coat of self etching primer. That seems to hold up decent. If you just paint over it the paint tends to come off pretty easy and touch ups won't be easy when its on your roof.

 

You can buy a cheap 110v welder that will work fine for this job and it will go together much faster plus look better.




I used Rustoleum black on my rack as I do on almost everything to touch-up and repaint under the chassis.

 

Faster than using bolts and screws? Idk maybe for future projects down the road. Using what I have now I can put the whole thing together tomorrow and more than likely finish it in one day. If this turns out to be something that I really enjoy though then I'll definitely invest in a little welder to use in future projects.