Burb Roof Rack-DIY

[DWC]

Hi All-
It's been a long time since I posted but I wanted to show you a project I've been working on. I've been wanting a roof rack for the Burb forever, especially one of those vintage Car-Pac deals. But with a new one costing $1300 and used ones bringing big money I thought I might try to make one. Something with a vintage look like a Car-Pac or one of those VW Bug/Bus type racks. I searched online and was lucky enough to find roof rack clamps made to attach to the drip rails. The rest is that nice project lumber from Home Depot. I have also ordered some marine deck rail fittings and tubing so I can add a rail around the sides if I want. The pictures show my progress so far, mocked up but not fully screwed, glued, and stained. It's far enough along so I wanted some opinions, rail-no rail, stain color, cool-not cool, what do you think?
Thanks- Dave

[losthope]

Dude thats rad Looks great and sturdy awesome job make sure you post pictures when you get the rail made! I been wanting to buy a roof rack for the ol' ladys 73 bug, but like you saide they are pricey even used! I may try my hand at making one now that i see yours I didnt know you can buy just the clamps for the drip rail? Would you mind sharing where you bought yours?

[MusicMan70]

That looks like it's coming along nicely Dave. On those drip rail clamps, do you just flip the handle up and it locks? Also where do you source the marine deck fittings and rails?

[ChiefRocka]

Very nice indeed !

Are the roof rail clamps easy to get .... or are they a rare bird ?

[losthope]

Originally Posted by MusicMan70

That looks like it's coming along nicely Dave. On those drip rail clamps, do you just flip the handle up and it locks? Also where do you source the marine deck fittings and rails?

If you look at the handle and the pivot point it looks as if you flip it up it unlocks..

[darkhorse970]

I like it and am curious about the clamps too. I think the rail would make it look more nostalgic and realistic. For the stain/finish, I'd think that a lighter color stain and satin clear, would look great.

[DWC]

Thanks for the compliments I think it's coming out better than I expected.

Sorry, I should have added it to my original post. The roof clamps are "Quick-and-Easy" brand made by a company called Quick and Easy products I believe. I bought mine online, $70 for the set of 4 from NRS (www.nrsweb.com). They sell outdoor gear/stuff (I have no affiliation with them BTW) but if you search the web there are other vendors who sell them. I don't think they are rare pieces but it took a while to find them, the hard part is what term to search for, roof rack mount, roof clamp, roof rack foot?? You get the idea. You mostly get industrial racks and Yakima stuff for results.

The clamps are nice pieces, cast aluminum, hardware is rubber coated where it clamps to the drip rail. You guys are correct the mechanism is a simple rotating cam lock you can adjust. I had been playing with my own clamp design but this was way easier.

I've tested some different color stains but I'm leaning towards a natural color, it seems to go well with the truck color. Also bought some spar urethane in a satin finish to protect the wood from UV and water.

The rail parts should be here first of the week so I will post some pic's as soon as I get them.

Thanks- Dave

[DWC]

Sorry music man almost forgot. The marine fittings I used are made by Seadog. Search online and you will find many vendors. I bought mine at JMS online marine supply, they had the best prices I found. -Dave
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[striptnut]

About 8-9 years ago I bought a roof rack that came off of a 60's Chevy Nova Wagon. Really clean ! It came complete with the rubber, and hardware. It was the type that you had to drill into the roof to mount at each corner. As cool as it looked sitting on the roof of my Sub not mounted, I couldnt get myself to drill holes in my roof ! Scared to commit I guess. Ended up selling the rack. Now looking at yours DWC I shoulda poked those holes in my roof ! Very cool !

[FreakyMalo]

bee-eye-tee-cee-h-in! I spelled it right and the pottymouth detector got me.

[Mad Rods]

That looks awesome!!! Great idea
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[forestb]

I think it looks great. I would definitely leave it that color. I cant picture the mettle rail but have you tried laying one more board on each side so see what that looks like?

[MikeS.]

I like it a lot, put the rails on it.

I'd love to have a chromed rack, close in looks to an original on my Burb.

[61_FL_Apache]

Two thumbs up Dave!! Nice work!!

[nhtc33d]

Man, That is awesome looking!!! Looks very retro like it came from the factory that way. Nice job and beautiful ride!

[DWC]

Thanks guys, it is coming out pretty nice.

Now I wished I had did a better job documenting step by step. I could have done a nice how-to write up, maybe I'll make another one. Really finding those roof clamps was the key. They make it easy to attach about any rack design you want.

I saw my stain samples in the daylight today and the natural color wins hands down. I did consider adding another board on each side, actually bought the boards, but when I mocked it up it seemed too big, to me anyway. Chrome edge rails will be here Monday can't wait to see how they will look. I have a nice vintage cooler that will look good parked up there...

[losthope]

I had a question about the c-channel runners the slats mount on, what is the purpose of it being c-channel? could it be just a flat board for a runner?just curious..

[DWC]

Actually I tried that first but the cross car plank would bow under the weight of the slats. I think if you used thinner slats that could work, mine are 1x stock so they are kinda thick. By adding the 1x2's turned on end, screwed and glued, that cross bar flexes zero. At least with no load. I also thought the "C" shape added some detail too. I think if the cross bar was a 2x2 or larger a single plank would probably work. Hope this helps -Dave

[piratexpress1369a]

that is way cool ..did they have a weight rating?

[likaroc13]

Originally Posted by darkhorse970

I think the rail would make it look more nostalgic and realistic. For the stain/finish, I'd think that a lighter color stain and satin clear, would look great.

my thinking as well....nice work; can't wait to see it with the rails and stain!

[DWC]

Sorry, meant to post these pic's last week but had freeze plug issue right before the Goodguys show in Columbus. Spent the week fixing that so we could make the show. By the way GG show was "surface of the sun" hot but still lots of cool stuff.

First off I could not find a weight rating for the mounts on the paperwork that came with mine but I'm sure there is one. They are pretty beefy I would expect them to hold more than I would want to put up there.

As for the rack, I stained it with minwax "natural" color stain and everything got 2 coats of spar urethane to protect from UV and water. I ended up with a simple rail running parallel to the slats. I was going to mount them directly to the slats and it stuck up too high for my liking. So I added a small block to the cross car support and attached them to that. It made the rails a little shorter that the slats but looked better to me.

I can post more close up detail pics if you want, these are from GG last weekend.

-Dave

[hopped up]

that looks awesome!!!! great job!!
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[62 short step]

Very nice!

[likaroc13]

looks great!

[MusicMan70]

Bravo Dave!
I like how you kept it simple but modern with an Artsy feel to it! (huh?!) So what's going up top?...Surfboard, Kayak or ...?