diy van roof rack
All in I think I spent less than £350 for the whole thing, (£500 including the solar panel, the boxes etc). However, steel and aluminum are more durable and stronger, so they will last you a lot longer! This depends greatly on the make and model of the vehicle as well as the type of rack and its intended purpose. Mounting solar panels on our curved van roof was one of the more puzzling challenges we faced during our build. If you're looking for ways to add some extra storage to your car, these 10 easy DIY roof rack ideas are the way to go! I bolted through using stainless steel fittings and big washers, but you could use U bolts and bolt around the bars instead. The solar panel is a rigid 120w Biard panel from eBay (no surprise) and as you can see from the pictures, it all fits very nicely on the roof using extruded aluminium L section and bolts / pop rivets. They are bolted through the fibreglass and have beefy spreader plates on the inside and stainless steel fittings. This homemade roof rack system cost only $50. DIY - Roof Rack Fairing / Wind Deflector. I then bolted the roof rack through a set of roof bars, just like normal cars use. As the solar panels were to be a permanent feature of the van, making a roof rack that would be permanently attached to the car wasn’t a problem. Saved from youtube.com. How many bolts you use and the kinds and directions of load is important when figuring out the hardware. While clicking these links won’t cost you any extra money, they will help us keep this site up and running! After conducting thorough research (i.e. Highland 2006200 Black Heavy-Duty Bar Carrier. Camper Van Conversion With a No Weld DIY Roof Rack! The Mounting uprights are 8″ X 2″ extra wide base and a total possible height of 29″ from base to top of endcap. Secondly, the structure is very light and the transverse bars at the front and rear of the rack don’t take being kneeled on by a 120kg man! There is nothing like getting halfway through your project and realizing you forgot something. Much less than many of the other offerings available. Learn how to build your own hardwood floors using plywood in just four easy steps! Need a roof rack for your van? Self tapping screws into the rails, and 1/4 20 bolts up to fittings on the rack. Once all holes are drilled, it is now time to mount the roof rack. While there are plenty of options for standard cars and SUVs, finding one for a high fiberglass topped conversion van was little more difficult. The roof rack significantly increases your height, especially when loaded…. For our solar panels, we used U-bolt to secure them to the round pipe. With the screws fastened tightly, use silicon again to cover the tops of the screws. Out of a love for travel, we met one snowy Christmas night in Estonia. 462. Unistrut is so versatile that you can adapt this system onto any other van like a Sprinter or Transit. don’t forget it when entering ferries or passing under low bridges or entering underground car parks! Remove each bar of the rack and grab the cordless drill! Firstly, if you have a fibreglass pop top like we do, then you need something to attach the rack to and to distribute the load. Steel has always been a popular DIY roof-rack option, as it is easy to acquire and relatively inexpensive. Apply two coats of paint on each side of all components. Once you have double and triple checked your measurements, use a pencil, draw a circle around the flange and in each of the screw holes. Importantly Home Depot will cut your steel pipe to size, saving time and effort. The front one however, I kept as it provides protection for the solar panel, lifting overhanging branches over the edge of the panel. Excluding our solar panels our DIY van roof rack cost us £251.98 inc vat. Using our van would be more economical to haul skis, a kayak, and other camping equipment around. More information... More ideas for you Pinterest. Instead of buying an expensive roof rack system, I commissioned a simple steel rack at the SLO MakerSpace, and then installed it on the fib… The unit mounts securely to the roof of a car or SUV. Drilling holes into the van is not something you want to get wrong so be sure to measure twice drill once! Thankfully, Charles, the resident family handyman/engineer, dropped by at the perfect time to help us to create our very own DIY custom roof rack, suitable for permanent installation to all vans, even those with a curved fiberglass roof. So as we only usually want to store wet or infrequently used kit and a solar panel, neither of which is heavy, or perhaps a spare wheel, we went for Aluminium for lightness and modified it to suit our needs. This will help support the weight instead of one long piece of steel. Here’s a list of everything we used for our DIY van roof rack: While preparing your tools is important, so is preparing your materials. The Vantech H1 system uses 2″ X 1″ rectangular bars. Don’t go mad filling your roof with jerrycans! Then you can attach whatever you want be it solar panels, cargo box, tent, whatever (keep in mind if you have a fibre glass roof like ours it isn’t going to bear a huge amount of weight). I'll measure this am. Having the right tools is key. 4.5 out of 5 stars 131. The Completed DIY Van Roof Rack. Let’s get started! Do you want the roof rack to extend the length of the car or only the cab? My rack is about the same height off the roof as the factory rack. Especially considering our particular needs and sizing. Follow The Little Red Bus on WordPress.com. Insert bolts, provided with your van tech roof mounts, into your bottom brackets pointing upwards. Description. I used four 2" pieces of angle iron to attach it to the factory roof rack rails. I've got about $400 in it. Will your roof rack run front to rear, side to side, or both? Maybe add a sticker to your dashboard with the new heights in loaded and unloaded configurations? FREE Shipping. Don't have the dough to buy a wind deflector / fairing? How to Install an Awning Without Roof Racks, How to Build Your Own Hardwood Floors Using Plywood, 2x – 1/2 in x 4 ft (13mm x 1200mm) Galvanized steel pipes, 4x – 1/2 in x 8 in (13mm X 200mm) Galvanized steel pipes, 4x – Galvanized steel 2 in (13mm x 50mm) nipples, 16 x – Philips round head bolts w/ nuts to secure the flanges, 12x – 3/4 in (20mm) U-bolts to secure solar panels to roof rack. 144" Vans come with 6 mounting brackets, 4 crossbars, and all hardware needed to install the rack to your van. The van roof racks and a ladder rack for van may come as one piece, or as several individual pieces that are installed at an interval along the roof. ... Then, you can just use straps or bungees to attach the rack to the car/van, and leave those attached as long as you need the rack in place. Set the assembled rack atop the vehicle. This step requires two people. Slide mount bottoms on to the first, second, third, and fourth knobs located on the roof of your promaster. Van Roof Racks Truck Roof Rack Truck Tent Truck Camper Roof Rails Roof Top Tent Jimny Suzuki Land Rover Discovery 2 Jeeps. These are available to buy as options when you place your order. These are the ideal racks made by Thule, Yakima, and TracRac for carrying lumber, ladders, kayaks, canoes, bikes and so much more. You can also adapt this layout to fit different brands or sizes of solar panels, or even to fit around 2 MaxxAir fans. If it needs significant work I will remove it, do the work and refit it. I do not load or unload unless it’s fully down on the gutters. We decided to take matters into our own hands and so should you. 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