75subie Posted March 29, 2006 Share Posted March 29, 2006 anybody ever build or consider building a ladder rack for a brat? any pics? i am considering making one, it would be pretty cool to have the extra space when picking up wood, or hauling a row boat. any ideas? i wonder what kind of metal to use, i guess square tubing would work. here is a quick pic of what i am thinking, exept it would be on a gen 2:brow: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indrid cold Posted March 29, 2006 Share Posted March 29, 2006 I never have on my Brat. Just primered my rack for my 88 dl, Wagon. First one, will post pics after painted/installed. Suggestions?... well... I used 1"x1"x.065" square tubing. 1/4" thick plate for pads... Chop-saw with metal-carbide cutting blade to cut metal. I belive 3/4" tubing would be too light as not recommended by someone else on the site as being too flimsy, so I went with the 1".. and I agree after getting it together. 4-1/2" grinder with sanding disc. to dress up welds and prep surface. I did the Homedesperate thing and spent $40 & 2 sanding discs for totall of $60. You need a wire feed welder. No stick... what a pain-trust me on this one..... rack over cab....may have to use use a gusset from the front verticle post to horizontal top rail that extends over cab. (Gusset, n. A triangular insert.) or a knee brace) to help carry load from front of rack back too front legs. Others have said spray paint in a can won't hold up... I am still going to give it a try.. but actually do the paint in a can. I am trying metal paint in can with brush. I used sanding discs with my hand grinder (not grinding disks) to smooth and remove mill-scale, weld spatter, then ran sandpaper over surface by hand, wiped clean then used green scrub pads that Janitors use to remove any final residue and spayed it with primer. Let it sit a day then lightly wipe with green pad again and another coat. Hope any of this helps... still Noobing it.. so glean from it what you believe to be useable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
75subie Posted March 29, 2006 Author Share Posted March 29, 2006 thanks for the ideas! i might actually try bolting it together (yup, still don`t know how to weld:lol: ) 1" square tubing should be strong enough Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baccaruda Posted March 29, 2006 Share Posted March 29, 2006 I think it's a great idea. it would be easiest to get a used ladder rack from a small pickup or something (craigslist or ebay) and shorten it to fit... I see them for $100 used once in a while... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
75subie Posted March 30, 2006 Author Share Posted March 30, 2006 yea, a toyota p/u rack would probly be pretty close. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrap487 Posted March 30, 2006 Share Posted March 30, 2006 yea, a toyota p/u rack would probly be pretty close. alot of the factory made racks for nissan/toyotas/rangers/mazdas etc... will probably work for mounting in the back, up front you will need to figure something else out. on my nissan we picked up a rack like so for 80$, and we already had a headache rack and the supports for that got in the way of mounting the ladder rack so we ended up cutting holes in the top of the headache rack and ran couple bolts through to where a crossmember would have normally gone. I will take pic tomorrow morning and show you. you could probably get away with something like that if you ever make a rollbar/headache rack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salamandaark Posted November 6, 2013 Share Posted November 6, 2013 Hey, Wondering if there's any pictures or ideas for a Brat Ladder rack, or a Legacy ladder rack. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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