jessegirl94 Posted May 16, 2013 Share Posted May 16, 2013 I am curious to see if anyone has any neat, unique or awesome ideas for a roof rack. I have an 82 GL and been thinking about building a roof rack for it for a while but I just havnt been able to commit to anything yet. Feel free to share pics. All suggestions are appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bendecker Posted May 16, 2013 Share Posted May 16, 2013 (edited) If you want a removable roof rack, the Yakima 1A system works well for me. I also have an extra set of towers if you are interested. Edited May 20, 2013 by bendecker 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ford'ssubaru's Posted May 16, 2013 Share Posted May 16, 2013 We went to pull and save here in Spokane. What was really cool was we pulled the racks off of a Bronco and a Blazer. It was a lot of fun to try to picture on your car...:-). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jessegirl94 Posted May 17, 2013 Author Share Posted May 17, 2013 Well Im wanting something that is tall enough to pack camping gear into ( sleeping bags, bed rolls, coolers, hunting gear,etc) that doesnt take too much away from my mpg, and is capable of mounting the spare tire down into it when empty. I saw one that a guy had made for a jeep that actually had a swing arm to mount a spare tire onto that could either sit up inside to basket or flip back and rest on the hatch. I wish I had taken pictures but I was on the go as always. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdweninger Posted May 17, 2013 Share Posted May 17, 2013 I never did understand the roof racks. How do you get stuff up in there, tie it down, get it off, tie it down again? Especially with a lift. I'm 5' 9" (well, used to be). Would you carry a 4' ladder? I have a nice little lightweight 4x8 trailer with 15" wheels. It's great for camping. Drop the coolers in and some initial starting firewood, lawn chairs, chainsaw and another cooler (or two). I don't have to tie anything down and can 'run' get more firewood with the empty trailer. Would this be an option for you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jj421 Posted May 18, 2013 Share Posted May 18, 2013 I never did understand the roof racks. How do you get stuff up in there, tie it down, get it off, tie it down again? Especially with a lift. I'm 5' 9" (well, used to be). Would you carry a 4' ladder? I have a nice little lightweight 4x8 trailer with 15" wheels. It's great for camping. Drop the coolers in and some initial starting firewood, lawn chairs, chainsaw and another cooler (or two). I don't have to tie anything down and can 'run' get more firewood with the empty trailer. Would this be an option for you? I kind of agree with this. I have the factory roof rack on my EA82, but really only for looks. I've only used it once, to transport a 10 ft long piece of metal flashing (as you can see in the picture). I have my 40"x48" flatbed trailer from Harbor Freight (also in the picture) which has been more useful. Well, I haven't used it much besides transporting two transmissions, but I plan to use it for future camping. Gonna go to WCSS this year, and I plan to load up the trailer with all my camping stuff. I could probably fit everything on the roof rack, but it seems like too much of a hassle. Plus, with the trailer, I can just disconnect it and go. I don't have to take everything off the roof rack if I want to go somewhere. Ugh, I digress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djellum Posted May 18, 2013 Share Posted May 18, 2013 I never did understand the roof racks. How do you get stuff up in there, tie it down, get it off, tie it down again? Especially with a lift. I'm 5' 9" (well, used to be). Would you carry a 4' ladder? I have a nice little lightweight 4x8 trailer with 15" wheels. It's great for camping. Drop the coolers in and some initial starting firewood, lawn chairs, chainsaw and another cooler (or two). I don't have to tie anything down and can 'run' get more firewood with the empty trailer. Would this be an option for you? You build a trailer to use as a step to get to your roof rack. A friend of mine found old missle cases at an surplus store for $40. I plan on puting some mounts on some and when i build my rack have them able to mount up. that way you can carry stuff dry if you want to. If you want to be crafty, I would do a modular one where you can mount things like dry storage, or side rails, and remove them when you dont need them. that way you can remove rails and tire for mileage, pack wheeling tools, or keep stuff dry for camping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the sucker king Posted May 20, 2013 Share Posted May 20, 2013 I have used a yakima load warrior ( http://www.yakima.com/shop/cargo/gear-baskets/loadwarrior ) with the yakima round crossbars and I like it. Here's something unique I did though, This little luggage rack was an option on gen 2 hardtops and maybe sedans. They went on top of the trunk. I mounted it on the rear of my roof. What is cool about it is it looks cool, but also I ended up using it a lot to tie things to in conjuction with the basket. It also gives me something to slide a canoe on so I don't scratch the roof when loading it onto the crossbars. since I added the wing I may not be able to do that anymore though. Here is a pic 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rust Posted May 21, 2013 Share Posted May 21, 2013 generic rack bars, but I made the basket from an old bed frame and a swingset. The 2x4s ar for canoe hauling 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rust Posted May 21, 2013 Share Posted May 21, 2013 For this set up I used a set of Van Racks, the core from a sofa frame, and actually bought a basket from pep-boys. The basket lasted about 3 yrs before rusting away. I have since thrown it out, and have built another basket from a futon frame and 1x1 wood. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ford'ssubaru's Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 My son did this over las weekend. Found at the wrecking yard. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdweninger Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 I love it. You guys crack me up! So... the moral of the story is: Don't throw out your old bed frame or futon. Make a roof rack out of it! P.S. I think we scared the OP away. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alaskaloyale Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 This roof rack came on the car, previous owner made it for a welding class. It's extremely beefy, and held on by two big bolts going through the body on each end of the rails. I've strapped a full-size couch onto it and driven 50mph with no problems at all. Thinking about welding on some sort of basket in-between the two rails to make it easier to mount bags and smaller items. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radio Flyer Posted July 24, 2013 Share Posted July 24, 2013 I keep it simple/stock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rust Posted August 20, 2013 Share Posted August 20, 2013 New rack for my 1986 sedan, aluminum tubing and hurricaine framing ties. the basket was a $15 craigslist score Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rust Posted August 20, 2013 Share Posted August 20, 2013 New rack for the loyale. made from scrap wood, scrap metal base frame. still using my van ladder racks. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted August 20, 2013 Share Posted August 20, 2013 Another old bed/futon frame conversion 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snofool Posted August 23, 2013 Share Posted August 23, 2013 (edited) I would go with the Yakima option. You can take it off easy and it can still hold quite a load. Plus there are boxes and accessories you can easily add and take off. The keys are interchangeable as well. I have put a lot of weight on there. It has never let me down and it's easy to put on and off. Edited August 23, 2013 by snofool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jessegirl94 Posted September 24, 2013 Author Share Posted September 24, 2013 Thank you for all the input folks!!! Plenty of witty and creative Ideas! My personal favorite has to be the futon Rack though. Recycling at its best Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdventureSubaru Posted September 24, 2013 Share Posted September 24, 2013 My rack was just some extra pieces of steel display racks that I welded into a 3x4 basket. The fog lights mount onto a piece of angle iron that I think came from an old bedframe. Took about an hour to weld and cost me a can of spray paint to coat the welds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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