Finished cross bar kit attached to the top of my tent. You can see here how the track nut sits below the bracket, holding the cross bar into place. Black Powder Coated. I recommend counter sinking the holes so that the bolt sits flush in the cross bar. DIY roof basket. The saying goes to measure twice, cut once! The problem with roof rail systems is that they can be kinda pricey, and you hate investing hard earned cash into something that you might not use all that often anyway. So i'm using the time to ready her for next summer. I suggest angling the cut so that it matches the opposite side’s finish. By Hodakaguy May 6, 2020 December 8, 2020. past the … On each side of the roof, you’ll see a rack that runs the length of the roof of the vehicle. This is what you will build — a Front Runner cross bar attached to a bracket made by Rhino Rack. Avoid drilling too deep into the roof of the … Notice that we counter sunk the hole so the bolt will sit flat. Then place the Front Runner cross bars on top of the brackets. The new saddle pads were finished and ready to attach to the roof rack rails. I didn't even realize the Off Roads came in all black. If you don’t have any or don’t know where to source them, you can also buy these at a hardware store and cut the springs off to make something similar. However, until someone tests it and reports back, buy at your own risk…. Roof rails are a handy addition to any Sprinter but not all vans were ordered with the rails factory installed. Steps 1. $25 DIY Roof Cross Bars: Cars these days don't include the cross bars to go with your roof rack. One thing I really want to carry on top of the tent are my ARB Tred Pro recovery boards; carrying a recovery board in the car is fine and dandy until you get it caked in mud trying to extract yourself from trouble. To make the cross bar mounts, I went to the hardware store and played trial-and-error in the bolts section. Discussion Starter • #1 • Sep 26, 2013. Black Rustoleum Spray PaintYou’ll cut the bars down to length, so use this to cover the cut ends. In this post, we will be blacking out the roof rails … Test fit to make sure you have enough space to slide your track nut underneath the bracket and between the side of the tent. With this option, the front to back rails is included. On a 2004 Jeep Liberty, there are 4 factory-drilled holes on the top of the... 2. The last Roof Rack Mount Adapter to consider for a DIY Roof Rack on your ProMaster is the Weather Guard ProMaster Channel Kit (2115-0-01). DIY Roof Rails for Hard Shell Rooftop Tent Hard shell rooftop tents, like mine from Area BFE and the guys at Spirit of 1876 , have a number of advantages over soft-shell tents. You should be able to line up the pieces loosely and measure how far in to drill. Benefits Of DIY Roof Rack No Roof Rails. With both crossbars cut, it’s now time to measure the placement of the track nut and drill the hole in the cross bar to accept mount to the nut. Front Runner Outfitters - Universal Track Non Drilled 1800mmI also ordered these on Amazon. User-friendliness defines every Thule product, and our roof racks are no exception. 4.2 out of 5 stars 64. Did the aluminum conform to the roof's curve easily? As luck would have it, 2 weeks later I see an ad on CL for OEM black roof rails and caps. Ive only gone the other way and removed roof racks and welded up holes. I bolted the four saddles to the aluminum rails using the u-bolts. 90% of the build threads in the 5th Gen section consist of Fuel Wheels, Plastidip, Duratracs and window tint. 41 Posts . The second option is the side racks. Do-It-Yourself Illustrated Guides. Step 17: Attach Kayak Saddle Rack to Rails and Load the Kayak. You can remove the roof rack and paint the rails or you can remove the rack and Plasti-Dip the roof rails. You are going to want to cut the cross bar flush with the brackets, so measure carefully.