this horse may have been beat by now, but here we go anyway.
im thinking of building a roof rack (maby of 3/4" stock or something) and i was wandering about a few options as to how to attach it to the tracks. iv seen alot of pics of them atached there, but no pics of DIY attachments.
any help would be apreciated!
spooky

 

You can use, what's called an 'elevator bolt'. Get one with the largest head diameter that will slip into the end of your track, and still allow it to slide in the track for positioning, with the stud end facing up (5/16" or 3/8" bolt should work). These are available at most bolt companies. McMaster Carr has them: McMaster-Carr Get them in stainless steel. Bolt your rack to the stud with stainless steel lock-nuts, wing-nuts, *****, or whatever you choose.

P.S. You may need some thick washer type spacers, on the stud between the track and roof rack, to give you clearance to the roof. Get these in rust and scratch proof nylon.

 

aaaaaa,, thanks! i might even get these in a bigger diamater and grind 2 sides down so when you tighten them up, they wont spin. oh, i almost forgot, is there a recomemded type or size of stock steel?
thanks for the link!
spooky

 

Forgot to mention that! That's exactly what I did when I made some of these to attach my hard shell cargo carrier to the slots in my roof cross bars. You're on the right track!

 

I use Unistrut nuts to attach my brackets to the OEM roof rack rail. You can get them at any Home Depot and they come in different bolt sizes. I remove the "spring" and slide them in. You can use any length and type of bolt you want as long as its the same size and thread pitch.





Hope this helps!

 

very clever
thanks!!!
spooky

 

solid half inch,square shoulder,self locking,made for the job,at your local hdwe store.

bolt to bolt 48+/- in. door inside edge to edge,54 in. baby crib spring frame , 54 in.

 

first,i have no use whatever,today, for a rack, but i see it coming if/when i retire my work minivan that barely handles 4x8 stuff. it may die next week. it would be the first time in decades that i had one vehicle,and no way to move a sheet of dw or ply.

so i went beyond just checking out the carraige bolt idea.
first the 1/2 in washers might let the square shoulder bottom out b4 it got snug so i used 5/8 in and had to grind 2 sides so they dont hit the plastic trim. snug is all thats needed.
i use 3, 4 inch bolts on each side about 28 inch spaced. the bolt head goes in the track,then the washer and nut to snug it. then above that,a nut and washer,then the 2x4 side,then finally a washer and nut on top.
now the ugly part; i used 2, 98 inch 2x4's for the sides and 3, 52 in 2x4 cross bars.
i positioned the sides so it ends just over the spare making it ez to slide a sheet up and on.
some 6x6 ply screwed front,rear,and sides will keep it from sliding off and a rope to tie it down should keep it safe.
total cost of material is under $20. this is ugly and definetly for "quick trip" use. on in 20 min,off in about ten.
if you "really" want a pix, pm me. this is not a hummer enhancer!!

tested wed,ok,its a high lift but it is functional. painted black