Budget Custom roof rack+light bar build by a complete dolt

Racks such as the Cali raised, prinsu, victory 4x4 etc are durable, functional, aesthetically pleasing and I can't afford any of them. I'd also prefer a simpler rack with fewer crossbars as I truly don't know what to do with more than two. I'm a card holding member of the idiot club whose numerous participants often have more time and stubbornness than money and common sense.

The goal was to whip up a simple rack that would be plenty strong and meet my needs. Ideally for about $200 for tools and materials plus another hundred for a light bar. $300 in all sounds pretty affordable. Did I make it happen? Probably not, but I'll make a list of everything and total it all up towards the end of this unhinged rant that nobody will (or more honestly should) read.

I started by taking some measurements of the roof and drawing up a basic idea of what I wanted the rack to look like in my preferred CAD suite. Approximately 3'x3' with angled mounts to mate it to the roof. Four bars + four mounts. Easy. Seemed doable.

The rack itself was easy to build. Just screwing 4 pieces of 8020 together. Simple. Even had the foresight to smear some Loctite on each fastener before installing. It felt sturdy. For a moment at least, I could be proud of myself.

"The pride comes before the Fall" The four mounts; however, would present more of a challenge. The back of the roof is pretty much square with the bottom of the rack. Great for an easy mounting job. Looking three feet forward, the roof slopes towards the windshield and the chanel (channel? I'll never remember which ones which) where the feet need to mount spreads towards the side mirrors. Probably great for aerodynamics but less than ideal for mounting a dumb rack.

The rear mounts were easy enough. I mocked some up with cardboard then adjusted the measurements to whole inches for ease of fabrication. Some 1/8" steal sheet I had leftover from some other brilliant idea cut into two thin rectangles (about 1" x 3") and one 3" x 6". Times two, one mount per side. I tacked them together, gave one last test fit, and welded the two joints.

The front mounts used the same sized small rectangles but an inch longer (from 6" to 7") for the larger rectangle. Did I invoke Pythagoras and use trig to figure this out? Nope. Carboard again. The upper two rectangles were tacked and the lower rectangle got tacked on the rear side of the joint and bent to meet the shape of the roof. This left a sizeable gap towards the front of the joint, but the flux core machine filled it right in, no problem. Applied some black rustoleum to each mount and called it good.

The most nerve wracking part of the build and install came next. Drilling holes in the roof for rivnuts. Boyhowdy I wasn't looking forward to this part. Center punched all future hole locations based on earlier measurements and broke out the 9mm twist bit for the required m6 nuts. It actually went fairly smoothly. Dropped the headliner on all four corners to make sure I wasn't about to sever any wires, airbags, or other important bits. This also made post-drilling swarf cleanup with a shopvac easier.

The cheap rivnut tool (linked below) performed admirably. I cleaned and smeared RTV in all holes before installing the nuts. I then put more rtv on top of, around, and inside the threaded part of the seated rivnuts. These holes will not be leaking any time soon.

Drilled through the rubber weather strip, threw the rack on (Some foam tape was applied to the bottom of the feet to ensure a smoother mating between the rack and the weather strip, plus it should further waterproof the holes), and put some hex head m6 bolts through the mounting feet and weather strip and into each nut. Firmly enough to securely hold the rack, but not so much torque as to cause a rivnut to back itself out. Not much science or engineering was used here. Just kept turning the ratchet till it felt good 'nuff.

That about covers the build process. If a dummy like me can get it done in a weekend, anyone can. The lightbar, harness, and switch were all inexpensive options from Amazon (linked below) The bar simply screwed to the rack with the included mounts (The corners of the mounting brackets needed some trimming to allow full articulation of the light bar to properly set the desire angle). The wiring was laid in the gap around the windshield (a surprisingly snug fit, almost like it was meant to be), sent into the engine bay, and connected to the battery as per the included instructions. The switch harness was sent through the rubber wiring bulkhead (quite possibly one of the most annoying parts of this endeavor) and the switch installed. Using the yellow wire behind the dash (switched 12V) to power the switch led.

I'm still figuring out the perfect angle for the lightbar. I did some off-road testing this past weekend. Hit some low tree branches and everything up there is still intact. The led bar is plenty bright. Overall very happy with the build. The rack sits about 3.5" above the roof in the rear and 3.75" up front. The rack is more level than the roof but still has just a tad of rake to it. It'll do.

Now the price breakdown:

$16 8020, 1010, 10 Series 1" x 1" T-Slotted Aluminum Extrusion DIY Extruded Linear Slot Bar Rail 80/20 (Smooth, Clear Anodize, 36" Long)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LWISXZL?smid=A1H481IPHNMK5K
$16.11 x4 = $64.44

$19 BLCCLOY 20x28 2020 Series Aluminum Profile Connector Set, 20pcs Corner Bracket, 40pcs T Nuts and Hex Screw Bolt for Slot 6mm 20S Aluminum Rail Accessories

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0856VPWQB?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
$20.94

Roll-in T-Slot nut with Spring Leaf self-aligning 30 Series (Similar to 8020) (M6) (Pack of 100)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B3GM2V8X?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
$8.75

$32 AOBEN 14" Rivet Nut Tool, Professional Hand Rivet Nut Setter Kit Labor-Saving and Compact Design Including 6 Interchangeable Mandrels 90pcs Rivnuts and 2 Mandrel Lock Pins

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B082HMD9VZ?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
$39.99
Assorted bolts and sheet metal about twenty bucks
$20

$66 Rigidhorse 32" LED Light Bar, 400W Flood & SpotBeam Combo Straight Single Row 40000LM Off Road Driving Fog Lamp Marine Boating Light bar for Pickup SUV ATV UTV Truck

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B9J6LGD4?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
$79.99, $63.99 with coupon

$21 Nilight LED Light Bar Wiring Harness Kit 12AWG Heavy Duty 12V 5Pin Rocker Switch Laser On Off Waterproof Switch Power Relay Blade Fuse-2 Lead (10038W)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GYGJCS5?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
$19.88

$9 XJMOTO LED Light Push Switch On/Off with Connector Wire Kit Blue Backlit Compatible with Toyota Tacoma Tundra 4Runner

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QLR175B?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
$8.19

Grand total: 246.09 plus tax

Still under the goal of $300 after tax. Woo yeah, that's what its all about!

Now I'm ready to continue making poor decisions and bolting crap to my truck.

 

oh man, makes me want to build a rack for my Gambler 500 toy, ive broken now 2 of the original plastic roof bars. overloading the thing

 

Post some pics of that build. The Gambler 500 seems like a hoot! Have you participated before?

 

its the best part of my summer been every year since 2019. Tried to go in 2018 but my car took a dump in the driveway. So that car/year I don't count.

taken 97 maxima in 2019, a Hyundai Santa fe, in 20-21, 22 took my Tacoma as a recovery right after I had a surgery, so I was going to go but wasn't supposed to lift more then like 40lbs. so I ran recovery on my truck and my buddy Ryan did all the lifting!

but 100% a great way to take a cheap impractical car offroad and explore(or just something super cool and random). clean up trash on public lands and, then camp, make a ton of cool friends and drink cold beers after possibly doing something stupid out where you might not have ever been before!

I will say this. taking a more capable vehicle is less fun. my best adventure was in that maxima it lost 1st and 2nd gear on that first trip and the friend who owns it now still never has fixed it. its always more fun in closer to stock vehicles. but my FWD hyundai sure is more comfortable.

 

That sounds fantastic man! Gotta respect anybody that goes out to support the drivers with a recovery vehicle. I imagine a bunch of shitboxes trying to rally causes at least a few high-centers, sunk tires, or otherwise stuck vehicles haha. Good on you for that. The environmentalist spirit of the event with trash cleanup is an interesting angle. I hadn't read much about that aspect, but that's really great to hear! I sure hope to make it out to a similar event. I believe there's an offshoot that runs in Pennsylvania...

 

there is a PA gambler! ive been asked a few times by the guy who owns a wrecking yard in Ellsworth PA to come Gamble out there!

one of my good gambler friends got into the gambler because he got a phone call to come park at the top of a huge hill full of rocks and was winching out like Toyota corollas all high centered on rocks, and asked what they were doing there they explained about the gambler and that was the last year he ran recovery in that aspect. but i do love the gambler and everything it entails.

the original gambler was a legit race in rough cars and who could make it to a random spot. with it now being as big as it is. a race would be a bad idea, now there are a few of the OG folks who will map full on ways down to central Oregon and see who can make the fastest time. but those guys are different. i just like to go have fun and enjoy all the weirdness that it entails!