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My bed/roof rack build

34K views 58 replies 24 participants last post by  dsal_86Yota 
#1 · (Edited)
Please not: I rolled the truck literally days after finishing this. I have rebuilt it. Pics and info and the next page.


Hey all, just thought id post up my first every fabrication project. First time welder as well.

Id really like to thank my dad tho for helping me learn and put this together.

i decided i wanted a bed rack and RTT about last august after seeing how nice RTTs were. Then i caught a glimpse of Allpros Baja build and their bed/roof rack set up. I loved it. so i thought id just buy it untill i was told they didn't sell the roof top part.

so then i started doing searching on here, TW and Expo. Saw many many great racks but nothing like the roof rack from Allpro. So i said screw it, downloaded sketchup(great little program btw) and make up my own design!

i came up with this initially.






after i was pretty happy with the design i set about making it happen. took a while to find the time and space to do it. But i now have access to an amazing shop so it was time to get it done!

here is how its going thus far!

Lower frame..






Front supports






other supports..





cross bars..








main beams!





and here it is so far off the truck for final welding!





And here are some of my welds..not bad for my first time :welder:




I am really enjoying it so far! Have to cap off the tubes, do a big more final welds and grinding then ill knock out the roof part!
 
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#2 ·
looks good man. not bad welds at all for the first time!


EDIT: after looking at how tall that up rack with the lights is going to be, are you sure you want it that tall? I guess it just depends on where you wheel. if you wheel in the woods alot that rack may get hung up on low branches/trees. its also going to cut into your MPG.

if you want lights up there that bad it probably wouldnt be a bad idea to just leave that top rack off and put the lights on the front most main beam right behind the cab?

idk just a few thoughts i had
 
#3 ·
yea i am fully aware of how tall it will now be. Not a ton of weight will be carried up there so im not worried. I have made a light hoop incorporated into the design for the low tree stuff.

and MPG? lol..im STOKED when i get 14mpg :eek: my 33x12.5s already killed that.
 
#5 ·
Real nice welds. Have ya done any outside corners yet? I hate outside corners :)
 
#9 ·
Okay, so pretty productive day. The rack is like 85-90% done i think. Fought with the welder too..i think the dials got moved while i was moving it and the arc amps were way to low..then the freaking wire speed was too low..took me a while to realize this

First i started off the day by putting the rack back in the truck to see how the roof part looked...it was horrible..lol WAY TOO TALL

as you can see..





sooooo off came the rack i and i cut off 3'' from the main supports.

this looked much better.








Decided to put the lights on just to get a feel for how it would look. They are just resting on the front bar.








From there. I took the rack off again( all by myself! its actually pretty light..kinda hard to balance..) put on the rest of the caps. Did more final welds and then built my light tabs from a spare piece of 1.5'' angle iron i had left.




here is the cool part.

The roof rack is stiff as hell! even with just that one support..its rock soild. Shakes a bit..but not bad at all. I figure its only gonna get firmer too with the other supports, light hoop and base bars. Turned out great! im very happy with it so far.

i need about 20 more feet of 1'' angle tho and then some steel mesh for the roof rack. i have a SHIT ton of grinding to do as well..other then that! its read for paint! ha..easy money.

i will also have to fab up some sort of enclosure and power/ground bus bar system for the HID ballasts for my Hellas.
 
#10 ·
alright so spend about 2 hours on the rack today mostly just grinding down welds. slapped the lights on as well for kicks and giggles :D



here are my self made tabs. Took some left over 1.5'' Angle and trimmed .5'' off one side then chopped off 1.25'' sections. so then i had 4 1.5x1'' angle so that the 1'' side lined up perfect with the front bar :D




then i got to thinking. In my orginal plans i had supports coming from the back of the roof rack to the main rack to help it with supports..i still wanted to do that..so i mocked it up. Ignore the tire, it was just there to help me hold stuff, its way to tall to ever live up there.








i like how it would add strength to the roof rack a lot im sure even tho its very rigid as it sits. But i think it'll increase the weight capacity of it a lot. i just can't decide if i want to do that cause im not totally sure how i could really utilize the space in between the two braces? Gas cans? water tank??..not sure..

either way, nothing is getting welded on for a few days. I need to pay some bills before i can go buy another 20' of 1'' angle iron to finish the roof rack off.
 
#13 ·
more to come man!

and so far, i really like it. Granted this is my first time welding at all so i don't know a ton about welders. But its working great! have only had one issue with it and that was user error :eek:

ohhh thats niiice. you not worried about not being able to see thru the back?
thanks man!

and nope, not really. ill still be able to kinda see but not when the secondary rack is built.

i think ill end up wiring up a new DVD head unit and a reverse camera. But i am definitely not the first to build one of there and loose the back window for viewing. I figure its worth it.
 
#16 ·
Okay, mocked up and welded in the supports for the roof rack. It did indeed help make it more rigid again.





i liked it so i welded it all in and put in back in the truck to see if i could add gussets under the roof rack which i can and will do as well. took it for a spin with it in as well and the roof is still very stiff. Seems to only shack side to side which i think once the light hoop is on and the floor rails it'll be super stiff. Im liking it!








 
#18 ·
what I like and don't like...

I like that you supported the rack utilizing the bed rails fully...
But I don't really like the over hanging basket above the cab.

truth be told... I don't really like these types of racks period.
Specifically if the intended purpose is to mount an RTT.

IMO... sucks to fold up camp every time ya want to wheel yer junk.

Good job on your first weld project... welds U posted, look decent
 
#19 ·
To each and to his own man.

a RTT will be great for me as i live in an area that its easy to just go camp for a night. Which is what i plan on doing a lot of. Plus not like a RTT is that hard to pack and unpack anyways. Eventually it'll live on a trailer.

and you would be surprise how stiff the rack actually is. Ill never stick anything super heavy up there anyways.
 
#20 ·
I'd probably wanna be even higher off the ground...
if I lived anywhere near bear population :eek:

wasn't meaning to offend your interest, needs
I'm sure it will serve you well...

teto... just 'cause I'm not a fan... counts little :)
 
#21 ·
lol yea the bears are in the west range from me. Some black bears east..but im surrounded my mountains so who knows haha

and no worries.


Alright mostly did a ton of grinding on the welds i did last night.

but also did some fabbing other then the roof rack.


put in my last piece of 1.5'' angle in the main rack for the Jerry cans or whatever i want. Ill put some steel mesh in there too.



then i made some gussets!

taced in..



welded :cool: not bad eh?



and cleaned up



then i took some scrap pieces of metal and shoved them under the light hoop to get it level and the right height i wanted. So it'll be this high when its done :D






im going to use some smaller sized angle iron to come down from the light hoop to the roof rack for supports. One in between each light and maybe the ends too.

i need one more stick of 1'' for the main floor, some steel mesh for the top and the bottom rack. Then..it will be done!

and ill paint it up :)
 
#23 ·
Your welds look good enough to not be raped by a grinder. Leave them unfinished on your next project and I think you'll be happy with the results.
 
#27 ·
looks good. Little tall for me, but I like it
 
#31 ·
you are correct, i wasn't on a trail.

Was headed back to Area BFE from a night run on Fins n Things.

was SUPER dusty and the guy in front of my was hauling ass. I should have been more cautious due to that alone. Was going just under 30 when a corner came up. Was too fast for the corner and due to the broken hand, i couldn't correct and downshift at the same time. Lost control of the rear wheels and then landed in the ditch at too much of an angle and rolled 3/4.

Was VERY bummed. But the rack held up amazing. it saved by cab..sorta..at least from being totaly squished so i could drive it 13 hours home. only broke two small windows, cracked the wind shield, one tore CV boot and a slightly off alignment. The rack even saved the lights haha
It was VERY stout really. I could stand it it no prob so it had a high weight capacity really. never once did it hit the roof while wheeling in Moab.

needs a new bed and cab. Pretty sad..was so close to being sorta done with the build..

here are some pics of the rack and damage.
































 
#34 ·
Bummer about the truck. Especially after just finishing the rack. You gonna file for insurance coverage?

What is the plan for the rack? Will you change it in any way?
 
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