DIY Low-profile Crossbars

[guruerror]

I'd been toying with the idea of getting a Gobi stealth rack for my truck, but didn't wanna shell out the bucks; plus the rack added a bit more height to the truck than I wanted.

I was mainly looking for something that would allow me to haul plywood/drywall on the roof but give me a lower profile than the OEM crossbars (and also not have the annoying HUMMER branding...this truck is over-branded IMO). What I came up with is a play off of the bike rack I made last year...



I went back to Home Depot and snatched up some 1" black pipe this time and went to work. Let me say that my spot welds are UGLY...I just taught myself how to weld and these ugly little buggers are mainly just to hold the prototype in place until I get it to the 'professionals' for welding and powder coating.

I will prolly end up making three of these which should easily support any typical drywall/plywood run I need to make. I'll prolly drop this sucker off to the pros tomorrow or next weekend. I'll be certain to post pics of the finished product as well as the completed project (all three rails installed).









The PROFESSIONALS in my neck of the woods...cold beer, welding and powder coating all under one roof...can't beat that!

[pwrhse2k]

Brent, I've got my OEM cross bars (2 of them). That plus yours should do the trick don't you think?

[guruerror]

Originally Posted by pwrhse2k

Brent, I've got my OEM cross bars (2 of them). That plus yours should do the trick don't you think?

You lost me...do the trick for what?! LOL!

I've got four OEM ones...I want something a little more low-profile.

[pwrhse2k]

My bad Brent. I didn't know the stock cross bars were much higher than the fabed low bar piece pictured.

[guruerror]

Yeah, but not by much...the stockers are about an inch higher.

I could have gotten another 1/4 inch of clearance by using 3/4" pipe but wanted to maintain some rigidity. I'm hoping once it's properly welded and powder coated it'll have the same rugged-finished look as the bike rack.

Speaking of which...where's your tires?

[pwrhse2k]

That's WTF I want to know! LOL I talked to the guys I ordered the wheels and tires from and they had a set of 4 come in on July 10th. I'm now waiting on the 5th wheel spare. Since the wheels were on backorder this may take a while. Errrr

[seventwozero]

So... That's a welding shop and a small bar?! Or is that sign just a joke?

How does it lock into the rail?

[guruerror]

Originally Posted by seventwozero

So... That's a welding shop and a small bar?! Or is that sign just a joke?

How does it lock into the rail?

Yep...it's legit. Welding, powder coating, and a convenience store...Middletown, MD.

It will eventually lock with two bolts (haven't drilled the holes yet) and some channel nuts.

[Hellz]

why not use some square DOM tubing or round?

i like the idea, i just dont like the ghetto look. sorry to sound harsh...
just voicing my opinion here, but plumbing tubing does look ghetto, no matter how many coats of paint you throw on it.

If you are going throught he trouble of paying someone to weld it, and P coat it, whats another $10 to 20 bucks and go for a seamless look that could easily surpass OEM if the welders are good?

again, i do like the idea, and i think this would be something that would go on my to-do or DIY list

[guruerror]

Originally Posted by Hellz

... i just dont like the ghetto look...

LOL! I feel ya...I was going for 'function' over 'form'. I was genuinely please with the outcome of my bike rack and thought it would work to play off of that, but the more I look at it the more I agree with you. I think the 1" pipe is going to end up too 'clunky' looking.

DOM pipe? I'll look into that today. I definitely want to fab something along these lines though.

[[__--MUD--__]]

There are about 4 gobi racks under $600 on craigslist right now. If that is an attractive enough price for you. Probably get it shipped freight for $175 or so. If your interested, PM me and i'll give you first dibs on the link.

[guruerror]

Originally Posted by Hellz

why not use some square DOM tubing or round?...

I sent some feelers out for quotes on a custom tube with the bends I need. I'll be interested in seeing what kind of prices come back. I now completely agree with you about the DOM tube...that would look SO much better.

Originally Posted by [__--MUD--__]

There are about 4 gobi racks under $600 on craigslist right now. If that is an attractive enough price for you. Probably get it shipped freight for $175 or so. If your interested, PM me and i'll give you first dibs on the link.

Even the Gobi Stealth racks add more height then I want...if I could find a rack that was completely flat; no side rails at all, that would be damn near perfect for me.

[[__--MUD--__]]

Originally Posted by guruerror

I sent some feelers out for quotes on a custom tube with the bends I need. I'll be interested in seeing what kind of prices come back. I now completely agree with you about the DOM tube...that would look SO much better.


Even the Gobi Stealth racks add more height then I want...if I could find a rack that was completely flat; no side rails at all, that would be damn near perfect for me.

Yea so take a rack for $600, cut the sides off How much is your time worth screwing around trying to come up w/ something you like. 10 Minutes w a torch and your set.

[guruerror]

Originally Posted by [__--MUD--__]

Yea so take a rack for $600, cut the sides off

LOL...yeah...that idea's been floating around in the back of my mind. Let me see what I get quoted on the DOM first.

EDIT: Something along these lines would be the kind of 'rack' I'm talking about; although I still think the DOM cross bars would look better.
http://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-te...roof-rack.html

[Hellz]

well i wasnt talking about building a rack on top with DOM tubing...
im not sure how much it would cost, but i think it might/would rival just buying a cheap one when you factor in bends, cuts, and welds.

plus the down side would be the weight of DOM tubing.
maybe if you went with aluminum DOM tubing instead of steel, but that might add to the costs for welding.

i was talking about the simple luggage cross bars.

thinking about it, i think square DOM tube would look nice. have the corners cut and welded instead of bent.

looking at the pics of what you were thinking,

i "think" it wouldnt be difficult to build something like that if you have a good welding machine. you could do simple square cut corners to eliminate any bending.

to have someone build that though... IDK..

also, you dont need real thick tubing as i doubt you will be putting alot of weight up there. 1 inch tubing @ 1/8th i think would suffice. build that in a low profile just barely above the sunroof visor

[guruerror]

I wasn't thinking of building the rack out of DOM...sorry for the confusion. I was looking at two different options that would meet my 'low profile' requirements.

1. Pipe/tube crossbars that just barely clear the hump in the middle of the roof, OR
2. A barebones flat rack with no side rails.

In looking closely at some pics of the Gobi Stealth racks I actually think this might be easily converted as MUD mentioned and I could easily tweak the mounts to lower it closer to the roof if space allowed. The Stealth version seems to have removable supports along the side and appears to only need cutting in the front and rear to remove the side rail.

Hmmmm...wheels turning.

EDIT: ...or maybe they're not removable...can someone with a Gobi Stealth rack confirm whether these side braces are welded in place? They look different than they do on other Gobi racks and just want to confirm before I pull the trigger on anything.

[guruerror]

Well...I scrapped the plumbing pipe plan and pulled the trigger on a Gobi stealth rack...$700+147 shipping. It came yesterday and I dropped it off at Rudy's for a little plasma cutting and powder coating.

They're gonna cut the top bar off to convert it to a flat rack and re-powder coat it. To get the lowest profile possible I may have to have some shorter mounting brackets fabbed. It looks like it'll set pretty close to the roof as is...but we'll see.

The work should be done by Monday-Tuesday...I'll post pics as this progresses.

EDIT: in case anyone else is wondering...the outer portion of the sandwich clamp is removable once you get the Allen bolt out; but there's a metal support welded in place connecting both the top and bottom rail.