How to: Another Cheap crossbar build... Lots or Pics

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Fingwizard

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Hey all, I wanna start off by saying I'm new to this forum and this is my first How to, hope it helps. 05 kj

PARTS:I bought all parts at Lowes for a whopping 27$

1-10ft piece of 1" electrical conduit
4- Brace Rail Clamps 1-3/8" x 1-3/8" ( "T" clamps in the chain link fence section)
1- Old or new bike intertube ( I used a 20" intertube)
1- Can of spray-on Bedliner ( I used Rust-Oleum truck bed coating 15oz)
1- Hacksaw,chopsaw,sawsall something to cut conduit
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Start by measuring you roof rack, the front should be wider than the rear. Then take 2" off for the spacing of the clamps.

My cuts where: Front 39" , Rear 37"

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After there cut I cleaned the edges and scuffed up the rails with a wire brush. Just so the Bedliner has a better surface to build up on. The clamps are Galvinised so paint won't stick, which is a good reason to go with the spray on Bedliner, but we will get there.

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Now take your cut rails and Clamps and do a test fit to make sure it fits how you want. As you will see the rails sit very close to the roof of the jeep. Some might like it if your wanting a very low profile. Me personally wanted to raise it a bit. In the picture mine are already bent I didn't take a picture of them before I bent them.

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Now for the bending process, many people will say my way is Crude and it is! If you go to a shop or have a buddy with a pipe bender they will most likely do it for free. But it was Sunday and I was confident in the way I did it and it came out fine. I removed the handle from my floor jack and drew a line straight down the pipe and made a mark on the Jack.

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Then I lined up the lines and aplied force torwards me until I got the bend I wanted. Flipped and did the same for the other side making sure the marks where lined up.

[url=https://postimg.org/image/4m5b0jiox/]
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Then after that, go and install them on again and make sure your bends are not to much and everything fits how you like it before you paint it. The bends you want is about 1/2" on each side. Then when you have it how you like it, remove and get ready to paint.

Lay everything out to be painted.

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When painting with plastic dip or Bedliner the key is too paint many layers so it builds up a thick protective coat. I did 6 coats. Letting each coat dry for 15-20min apart. Then let dry for 4hrs before installing, or till the paints not sticky,

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Then once dry, your ready to install. Here is where I used the bike intertube to wrap the ends of the cross bars (the part that will be inside the clamp) and I also wrapped a layer in between the clamps and the roof rack. This will help scratching and rattles down the road.

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I hope this build helps someone and it's a hell of a lot cheaper than buying OEM crossbars. And I would have no problem putting 200lbs on these bars. Any feedback is welcomed
 

uss2defiant

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looks good.
Wished I had something to bend my conduits.

Also note that the roof rail is 150lb max.

I had wind noise with my cross rails. You may not get that issue since there is more space between the x-rails and roof.

My fix was just wrapping the front x-rails with some clothing line.
 

mindbomb

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Thanks very much for this writeup, I'm gonna do exactly the same. Very helpful!
Loved the bending idea.

Maybe Ill even let Lowes cut the conduits at 37" and 39" as I don't have a chopsaw, no reason it'll be different.

Which roof rack did you end up mounting?
 

Adam Roby

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My fix was just wrapping the front x-rails with some clothing line.

How does that help, is it deflection of wind or resonance thing?
I wonder if wrapping mine with rope or something might also help... I removed them because of the annoying noise... constant buffeting on the highway.
 

uss2defiant

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How does that help, is it deflection of wind or resonance thing?
I wonder if wrapping mine with rope or something might also help... I removed them because of the annoying noise... constant buffeting on the highway.

turbulence. disrupts the laminar air flow between the roof and the x-rails.

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Fingwizard

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Thanks for the feed back, im going with the Rola roof basket, I thankfully dont have wind noise, but like you said i think its because i have atleast a inch hight between my roof and the bars. Really all you need to cut the conduit is a hacksaw, it cuts easy. I just wrapped a peice of tape around it so I cut a straight line.
 
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okiestate_gal

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I'd seen a similar post elsewhere and decided to give it a go, finished it about a week ago and couldn't be happier! I used a slightly different clamp as I wasn't sure how well the two piece tees would hold up.

Quik Klamp Clamp-On Tees - FarmTek

More pricey than the tees but simpler for me to install. I, too, bent the pipe without a pipe bender. Not as professional looking but does the job and the roof rack hides the kink it made in the metal. Good 'nuff for me. Made a line at the top of each end and bent at 4" from the end, about that much - trial and error til I got enough and both pipes were close to the same bend.

I made the cross bars to lower my roof rack by about 2" - looks much better now!
 
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okiestate_gal

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My attempt to post pictures-

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Close up of the QuikClamp install. I had to experiment with different sizes of rubber to take up some space so the set screw would do its job. Also put a piece of plastic between the lower bolt and the side rail to make it work. All said and done, there is no movement on the clamps at all.

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My rack sitting on the new cross bars. The rack is wide enough that at the back it sits on the clamps.

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Lowered rack

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Rack sitting on Wal-Mart cross bars before I made the new ones. I need to get some side views, it shows the differences better.
 

uss2defiant

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okiestate_gal: use the direct link next time for images.
see the difference on how it shows up?

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