Fabricating and attaching a roof rack, A DIY approach

Ok. Attachment method decided I'm now trying to locate rivnuts or plusnuts that come with a membrane already attached so that when they flush themselves down to the sheet metal the membrane expands and makes for a tight seal between the fastener and the roof. I've found a couple of German manufacturers that offer such a thing, but have yet to find a US distributor that will sell me less than 1000 at a time. This product seems like it will work well, and is rated for the extreme temperatures a vehicle roof would see:

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Just need to find some now.

I've also settled on adding a t-track in the gutter of the roof so that I can make fine adjustments to the positioning of the roof rack (to satisfy my OCD). Having the track vs. fixed mounting points will also make it easier to swap the rack out later because I can't leave well enough alone and I'm sure there will be a version 2, and maybe 3. This will also make it easier to work with the natural contour of the roof line. So now on to the design aspect.

When designing anything other than modern art it's best to decide what the item being designed is going to be used for. Generally the purpose of a roof rack is to carry stuff and that's about it. It's what they carry in our little niche of the world that makes a difference. It's one thing to haul a few 2x4's on top a Prius using a some cross bars. It's a totally different project when you're mounting awnings, roof top tents, lights, showers, antennas and a kitchen sink on top of an already overloaded and lifted 4Runner. So, what am I going to use this rack for? Here's the break down:

1. Hauling kayaks and bikes. With the recent sale of my trailer I need somewhere to put them besides the passenger seat.
2. A place to mount auxiliary lighting. Again with the sale of the trailer I'm going to be camping out the Sequoia and would like some additional lights around camp.
3. Antenna mounts. I'm using a couple of brackets that are attached to the lift gate right now, and while they work well I'd like to get those off the body of the vehicle and up a little higher.
4. Appearance. I'm man enough to admit that a large part of the project is just to satisfy my need to make the vehicle look better. Without a roof rack, or even the stock rails I think the body lines of the Sequoia match too closely to the newer Dodge Durangos...a vehicle I despise. Sort of looks like a surprised tail-less beaver to me.

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So where's that leave me? Well...sitting here with photoshop open, that's where it leaves me. So far I'm working out the details for a Prinsu style rack (nothing like what I posted up there in the first post). After I work the kinks out on designing this I'm going to see if I can't photoshop together something similar to the Gobi and work out the assembly for each in my head. Right now I can cut, bolt and weld metal all day long but have no reliable method of bending tubing so I'm leaning toward the Prinsu-esque rack. I could also easily do this one out of aluminum and save quite a bit of weight. I'll update as I go along. Feel free to hurl suggestions my way in the meantime.

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You know the price of imported metal just went up more right? According to the guy at the local Metal Supermarkets it's been going up since the first of the year because of the increase in nationwide projects; guess he's right. :dunno Even still I'm not sure how he got it that cheap- I just paid about $20 for one 48"x6" piece of 1/4" aluminum plate for my roof basket project (which I'm bogged down on after making it more complicated of course :facepalm ). I really need a table saw to rip it down.
 
This is why everything should be made of wood. It's cheap and I already own all the tools and have the skills for working with it. :D

I guess those things will come in handy when I start on the storage cabinets...
 
For roof rack roof mount installations I recommend this product:
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https://www.permatex.com/products/a...ex-flowable-silicone-windshield-glass-sealer/

If it works for windshields... it will stand up to the task of those bolt holes. We've never had a report of roof leaks, ever.

I'll be adding that to my supply list.

Put this together tonight for a rough idea:

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I'm not entirely sure I need the crossbars to be adjustable but I suppose once I figure out how to make those slots in the piece of aluminum it'll be easier to do now vs. later. I'm also not sure I need that many crossbars, but I've found an ebay seller that can provide 8 of them for around $150 which is the best price I've found thus far. I could always cut all the slots but only order 4 crossbars to save the cost up front and add more later as needed.

I plan on running a piece of aluminum stock between two of the bars to mount the antenna's on. I'll be reusing the same mounts I have now I'll just attach them to the aluminum stock. The mounts have a built in ground which I'll have to tie back to the vehicle. There will be a light bar up front thus the angled cut out there. I'll tap and attach aluminum L-channel to make feet there for mounting the lightbar or, if possible, design the rack to accommodate a common size light bar directly.

Two flood lights will mount on the furthest crossbar back to accommodate scene lighting behind the vehicle and I'll be mounting a Rigid 86610 scene light on either side of the rack for side of the vehicle lighting. Thinking I may tap holes under each crossbar slot to accommodate an L bracket that I can zip tie wire loom to for all the wiring.

To mount the rack to the track on the roof I've come up with this:

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The two vertical screws will run into a plate inside the track allowing this foot to clamp to the track. The roof rack will sit down inside the groove on the top of the foot and the two horizontal screws will run through the rack and into the material on the other side of the groove. Of course now I'm taking this over the top and attempting to determine how tall that middle material needs to be and how deep the channel needs to be. Engineering websites here I come! Perhaps some "working with aluminum" YouTube videos will round out the evening...
 
Until I get the Sequoia back from the shop tomorrow and can start taking measurements and maybe doing some real world CAD work I'm just adding things in Sketchup.

Detail of how the foot will work:

foot-detail.jpg


Antennas, light pods and bar added with feet placed:

roof-rack.jpg
 
You can actually "mill" aluminum with a router, you just have to go slow and do multiple passes with small depth changes each pass. Check youtube for videos showing how to do it. I tried milling some with the router and didn't get the results I wanted but I didn't build a jig first, just used a guide edge and I tried to do too much at a time. It's still a better idea than side loading a drill press though. A carbide blade on your circular saw or band saw will also cut it; the diamond coated metal cutting blades will clog up with melted aluminum so better to use something with teeth. Again, take your time or the circular saw will start melting the aluminum and you risk getting kickback.

This guy's video is really good as it shows his jig:

I'll warn you though, it's extremely messy and throws chips everywhere. You absolutely need to wear good safety glasses and other protective gear like leather gloves, shoes and hearing protection and I'd most strongly urge wearing a face shield over your safety glasses.


I've been messing with various home solutions trying to get my narrow basket put together and while it's been a good learning experience, I've spent more than I wanted to in the process. A table saw would have made my life easier as would having a large work table instead of a bench.
 
You can actually "mill" aluminum with a router, you just have to go slow and do multiple passes with small depth changes each pass. Check youtube for videos showing how to do it. I tried milling some with the router and didn't get the results I wanted but I didn't build a jig first, just used a guide edge and I tried to do too much at a time. It's still a better idea than side loading a drill press though. A carbide blade on your circular saw or band saw will also cut it; the diamond coated metal cutting blades will clog up with melted aluminum so better to use something with teeth. Again, take your time or the circular saw will start melting the aluminum and you risk getting kickback.

This guy's video is really good as it shows his jig:

I'll warn you though, it's extremely messy and throws chips everywhere. You absolutely need to wear good safety glasses and other protective gear like leather gloves, shoes and hearing protection and I'd most strongly urge wearing a face shield over your safety glasses.


I've been messing with various home solutions trying to get my narrow basket put together and while it's been a good learning experience, I've spent more than I wanted to in the process. A table saw would have made my life easier as would having a large work table instead of a bench.

Thanks for this! Probably the best video I've seen for doing the precise type of cut I'm looking for.
 
Table saw goes thru alu if you want straight cuts.

If you go back to round tube, look at weld elbows, that's what I used for my rack, used to do metal handrails 99% of the time.
 
I have used RivNuts for many things - but, for something like a roof rack, I feel more comfortable with through-bolts. Sure, you have to remove the headliner, which is a PITA, but the chance of losing your roof rack drops considerably.

Yakima makes brackets call Bolt-Top Loaders which may work for you. I have these on my Ranger shell. Unfortunately, I had 2 extra pair that just sold.

Besides, you will need to pull the headliner to put up sound deadening anyway....
 
I have used RivNuts for many things - but, for something like a roof rack, I feel more comfortable with through-bolts. Sure, you have to remove the headliner, which is a PITA, but the chance of losing your roof rack drops considerably.

Yakima makes brackets call Bolt-Top Loaders which may work for you. I have these on my Ranger shell. Unfortunately, I had 2 extra pair that just sold.

Besides, you will need to pull the headliner to put up sound deadening anyway....

If I pull the headliner it'll be to replace it (and put up sound deadening ;)). This vehicle's first year of life was as a rental car. People were less than kind to the headliner just inside the rear door of the cargo area and it's the only part I haven't been able to restore to like-new. Pulling that headliner is no small task though... It's as big as your Tacoma. :D

I have access to the gutter area by pulling the rubber surround from the doors as the curtain airbags drop the headliner there. Now that the Sequoia is back from the shop I may see if there's enough room there to use through bolts and save the rivnuts for the area over the third row seating.
 
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