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Building a Roof Rack

T

t0mills

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Considering my K5 will see a lot of Camping/Expedition duty, I decided that a nice roof rack should be on the list. I'm also a bit of a lighting fanatic... :thumb:

The design is done, and the sheetmetal parts are being laser cut as we speak. Should be getting them back later this week or early next.

I have a tube bender, and will be doing all of the tube work and welding on the racks. Tubing is 1" x 0.083" wall.

I will be building a pair of these for myself, as well as a pair for a local buddy.

Here are a few CAD renderings until my parts arrive.

dual_rack_2_i2l2.jpg



dual_rack_7.jpg



More pics can be seen here:

http://www.parametricdesigns.us/Projects.html
 
sure is impressive looking....what do you figure it will weight when it's all done? how will the rear section mount to the glass top?

i don't imagine fuel economy was considered :D
looking forward to seeing it finished and mounted up.
 
shovelbill80 said:
sure is impressive looking....what do you figure it will weight when it's all done? how will the rear section mount to the glass top?

i don't imagine fuel economy was considered :D
looking forward to seeing it finished and mounted up.
Click to expand...


Weight of the racks with the lights mounted will be ~150lbs. Not light, but I wanted something sturdy. The rear section will be permanently attached to the top (IE bolted to it), but will be level with the front rack so that it will look right. Reason for a two piece design, is that you are able to remove the top and still have the smaller rack over the cab area.

You're right... I didn't really take fuel mileage into consideration. :laugh:
All loaded up, you could see close to 600lbs total weight.


However, a 4bt is in the works, so fuel mileage won't be too bad no matter what's up there. :whistle:


Earlier this year, I dropped a 6bt into my 95 K2500 Suburban. The TBI 454 got around 10mpg, and the 6bt got over 20 on the highway, with double the power.
I recently sold it, and am itching to try my hand at swapping a 4bt into my 77 K5. Should be easier than the burb was!
 
Holy crap, you got skills. Are you a graphic designer? If you could do that on a compooter, I can't wait for the build thread on this. Looks awesome! Good job, I love it!
 
bot0611 said:
Looks good, are thoose 2 seperate racks?
Click to expand...


They are two separate racks. The rear section will mount to the removable top.

There are more detailed pics on my website, if you'd like to check them out.



Thanks for the comments, guys! I can't wait to get the pieces back so I can start putting it together!
 
hay r u willing to redesign the roof rack a little i got one in mind that puts those two seperat roof racks in to one that will go on top of a crew cab but permatly mounted to the roof vea bolts. and do u already have that one auto-caded?

pm me back thanks.
 
Indy4x4Fab said:
hay r u willing to redesign the roof rack a little i got one in mind that puts those two seperat roof racks in to one that will go on top of a crew cab but permatly mounted to the roof vea bolts. and do u already have that one auto-caded?

pm me back thanks.
Click to expand...


I don't see the option for PM on here.. Hmmm..


Shoot me an email.

[email protected]
 
Weight of the racks with the lights mounted will be ~150lbs. Not light, but I wanted something sturdy.

All loaded up, you could see close to 600lbs total weight.
Click to expand...
You may wanna think about that some more. I know some guys that have heavy-duty roof racks for their K5s, and they would load them up with tires, coolers, fuel, etc. for trips into Baja. The Blazers became unruly not only due to drag at highway speeds, but because the roll center and center of gravity got shifted way upwards. They got squirrelly regarding roll, anything off-camber was not good, and they'd teeter-totter on braking/acceleration. Blazers are pretty tall and have a relatively short wheelbase to put that much weight up top.

They were, however, nice for sitting on top of and watching the races.
 
longbedder said:
You may wanna think about that some more. I know some guys that have heavy-duty roof racks for their K5s, and they would load them up with tires, coolers, fuel, etc. for trips into Baja. The Blazers became unruly not only due to drag at highway speeds, but because the roll center and center of gravity got shifted way upwards. They got squirrelly regarding roll, anything off-camber was not good, and they'd teeter-totter on braking/acceleration. Blazers are pretty tall and have a relatively short wheelbase to put that much weight up top.

They were, however, nice for sitting on top of and watching the races.
Click to expand...


I agree with you. 600lbs on the roof of a short wheelbase vehicle will most definiately affect its COG. For a long journey that consists of a lot of highway miles, I would keep the weight to a minimum up top.
 
Nice design on the roof rack. Will it tie into a cage inside of the cab or just the roof? 600lbs. seems like alot of weight for the roof to support.
 
quote:
You may wanna think about that some more. I know some guys that have heavy-duty roof racks for their K5s, and they would load them up with tires, coolers, fuel, etc. for trips into Baja. The Blazers became unruly not only due to drag at highway speeds, but because the roll center and center of gravity got shifted way upwards. They got squirrelly regarding roll, anything off-camber was not good, and they'd teeter-totter on braking/acceleration. Blazers are pretty tall and have a relatively short wheelbase to put that much weight up top.

They were, however, nice for sitting on top of and watching the races.


my turn:
hay guys dont nite pick a good design apart he told u how he was building his and what it was designed to do and what it was designed for. now let it be.
 
No one is "nite" picking anything. One reason this board is here is so that people can point things out based on experience. I don't even believe I was rude, and the OP didn't seem to have a problem with what I said.

Top-heavy Blazers can have problems, especially when lifted, etc.

now let it be
Click to expand...
Is there some sort of authority badge associated with your vendor status?
 
Indy4x4Fab said:
quote: hay guys dont nite pick a good design apart he told u how he was building his and what it was designed to do and what it was designed for. now let it be.
Click to expand...

Wow......:haha:

The rack is slick... I like it a lot. You may want to make a few others. I am sure that if you may get some ppl asking about it. I too am a Lighting Fanatic. Chaos Fab has a LT Blazer that I will build my Blazer with it in mind. They have a slick light rack and a roof rack on the back portion, IMO that is the sexiest Blazer I have ever seen. I thought about mounting the rack to a Full Cage? So that if you do remove the top.. the rack can still be bolted on. The only issue I would foresee is finding grommets to fit on the Blazers top to prevent leaking.

And why a 4Bt over a 6? You would get better gas mileage with a 6 (let me correct myself... you may get better gas mileage with the 4, 4cyl of course, but the 6 would be more efficient on the road.) and the shake would be less.. I would vote for a 4 if you were towing and and just climbing... but for an Expo I would guess a 6 would be ideal.

blazer07.jpg
 
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