Member Since: 15 Jan 2020
Location: Dublin
Posts: 24
DIY low profile roof rack <€150
I wasn't really up for shelling out over a grand for a full size roof rack for the disco3 so decided to have a go at building one myself. I'm living in the city at the moment so needed something low profile to get in and out of car parks and also some beaches have pretty low barriers which are nice to get under when camping.
It's all constructed out of Unistrut which is great because it's cheap at between €15-20 for 3M, it's galvanized, and with the T-slot rails and all the holes I have a bunch of options for mounting stuff to it.
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I coated all the rails with Rhino liner which should give it a pretty durable finish and looks pretty good too.
Test fitting the roof lights, I might end up going with a full light bar
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17th Apr 2021 10:42 pm
robpenrose
Member Since: 12 Jan 2016
Location: Surrey / SW London
Posts: 2138
Is it not ridiculously noisy with all the holes etc?
Nice solution though if that’s all you need
Current: D4 HSE
Previous: BMW Z4M Coupe
Previous: Land Rover Defender 90 CSW Td5
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18th Apr 2021 7:07 am
Lightwater
Member Since: 21 Oct 2018
Location: Sydney NB
Posts: 97
If you want it really low get it laser cut out of a solid sheet of aluminium. Careful design to remove as much material as possible but keeping enough in key areas & design in bolting and tie down points. But it will cost a bit more.
Just a thought!Visitor - Freelander owner
18th Apr 2021 12:27 pm
brsc2909
Member Since: 15 Jan 2020
Location: Dublin
Posts: 24
Quote:
Is it not ridiculously noisy with all the holes etc?
Nice solution though if that’s all you need
Regarding the Noise it's actually a lot quieter than I though it would be. even on motorways. It makes a kind of deep whirring sound. I thought it would whistle. My better half didn't notice any difference but she doesn't pay much attention to these kind of things. I think adding the roof lights are going to add more noise than this does.
Quote:
If you want it really low get it laser cut out of a solid sheet of aluminium. Careful design to remove as much material as possible but keeping enough in key areas & design in bolting and tie down points. But it will cost a bit more.
Just a thought!
I'm pretty happy with how low this is. it only adds 2cm to the highest part of the roof
18th Apr 2021 1:21 pm
Jamiehol
Member Since: 13 Nov 2015
Location: Ipswich
Posts: 398
That looks good, has given me an idea as I know where I can get a ready supply of uninstrut
18th Apr 2021 6:21 pm
brsc2909
Member Since: 15 Jan 2020
Location: Dublin
Posts: 24
It's pretty easy to find. any electrical supplier should have it and most hardware stores. I've found the electrical suppliers usually have the best value as they usually deal in bulk orders
18th Apr 2021 6:34 pm
Jamiehol
Member Since: 13 Nov 2015
Location: Ipswich
Posts: 398
Yeah it’s even handier a mate has a business doing fire system installs and often has decent sized waste lengths I can have 😀
18th Apr 2021 7:55 pm
Brookert
Member Since: 03 Apr 2020
Location: Suffolk
Posts: 52
Looks good.
What did you use to clamp into to the roof rails?
19th Apr 2021 7:29 am
brsc2909
Member Since: 15 Jan 2020
Location: Dublin
Posts: 24
Quote:
What did you use to clamp into to the roof rails?
I used these channel nuts that are made for Unistrut, I just removed the spring and then shaved about 2mm off each side so that they fit in the channel of my rails.
then just Bolted them through the cross members. you have to cut the bolts fairly short as the channel is pretty shallow otherwise your bolts will bottom out.
I used these channel nuts that are made for Unistrut, I just removed the spring and then shaved about 2mm off each side so that they fit in the channel of my rails.
I was looking at doing that too ... wondered if shaving the width and removing the galvanising makes them likely to rust.
Then thought "stainless steel !" ... then saw the price of them
Think I'll get stainless bar and tap it to suit..
Dean
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2011 D4 XS - OBD port protection, RLD spare wheel protector, All LED interiors lights, Timed Climate enabled, iiD tool paired.
2011 D4 Landmark - Stolen from same dealer before I paid for it
2011 D4 GS - Stolen whilst at dealer ... All LED interiors lights, DRLs, Spare Wheel protector.
1996 300Tdi - Eaten by tin worms
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