10 Foot Platform / Cargo Rack build.

[OFC Ranger]

Had a chance to start on this today. I was originally going to go the super cheap route and do 2" EMT conduit tubing, but decided to go with aluminum 1" square tubing. Right now front is supported by quad neoprene stoppers while I decide how I want to approach that. I'm leaning towards using a wide U-Bolt with adjustable feet to adjust the tension as needed. While I plan to run a roof solar panel and some off road lights up front and keep all the weight towards the back, I don't want it to have unlimited flex. I also plan to lay down pressed metal paneling (aka patio furniture grating) so me and my daughter can use it as a platform for long distance shooting.

The rack will extend to the back, but the rear portion may be designed a little different and that is why I did not run one piece from front to back. I will be running cross bars every 6 inches because I like over-engineering when I can.

Some of you may be familiar with 80/20 extrusion builds. I'm doing a hybrid. My bars will be standard aluminum, but I am using 80/20 brackets and connectors without the t-nuts and installing the bolts directly in with sealant and red locktite. All open ends will be filled with expanding foam and capped.

Temporary it will be finished with self etching primer (after hitting everything with a drill wire brush) and underbody rubberized coating, but will take it to get something like LINE-X down the road.

I think my end total will be under $300 dollars.

My 80/20 stuff should be here tomorrow (I love me some Amazon)

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[OFC Ranger]

80/20 brackets just got here. These are some really nice aluminum pieces. I think these are going to make my corners and cross slats very very rock solid. I bought some iron black mending plates to make the side walls for the yet to be assembled upper rail, but I might actually send those back and get more of these.

So regarding front flex here are the ideas I have so far;

A. Rubber (Neoprene) feet with swivel base and adjustable height. The feet would sit in the roof channels/gutters. Adjust to put slight upward pressure, but the feet still have enough "squish" on heavy bumps. I would run three each side, starting from about the back passenger area to the front passenger area;

B. Turnbuckle / Tension Wire system (vinyl sleeved braided wire). Contact point 1 would be on the bottom of the very front corners (using carriage bolts) and contact point two would be near the rear corners (carriage bolts) with a few inches of elevation present. These would be run in an X-pattern. Adjust until nice and tight.

C. How about a mixture of option A & B? Gas shock system. Will require some minor bolting in the gutter area of a ball joint.;

D. Give the middle finger to the engineering process and just run brackets from the roof gutters to the front of the rack and body flex be damned. I've dug through Google a lot over the past months researching this and while I'm sure its a terrible idea for serious off-roading, it seems to be a boogey man for those who primary camp / light off-roading. Lots of reports of people having no problems.

E. Throw me some other off-the-wall ideas I have not thought of.

Whatcha think? I know I've asked before, but its about go time to do this.

@P. A. Schilke

 

[P. A. Schilke]

80/20 brackets just got here. These are some really nice aluminum pieces. I think these are going to make my corners and cross slats very very rock solid. I bought some iron black mending plates to make the side walls for the yet to be assembled upper rail, but I might actually send those back and get more of these.

So regarding front flex here are the ideas I have so far;

A. Rubber (Neoprene) feet with swivel base and adjustable height. The feet would sit in the roof channels/gutters. Adjust to put slight upward pressure, but the feet still have enough "squish" on heavy bumps. I would run three each side, starting from about the back passenger area to the front passenger area;

B. Turnbuckle / Tension Wire system (vinyl sleeved braided wire). Contact point 1 would be on the bottom of the very front corners (using carriage bolts) and contact point two would be near the rear corners (carriage bolts) with a few inches of elevation present. These would be run in an X-pattern. Adjust until nice and tight.

C. How about a mixture of option A & B? Gas shock system. Will require some minor bolting in the gutter area of a ball joint.;

D. Give the middle finger to the engineering process and just run brackets from the roof gutters to the front of the rack and body flex be damned. I've dug through Google a lot over the past months researching this and while I'm sure its a terrible idea for serious off-roading, it seems to be a boogey man for those who primary camp / light off-roading. Lots of reports of people having no problems.

E. Throw me some other off-the-wall ideas I have not thought of.

Whatcha think? I know I've asked before, but its about go time to do this.

@P. A. Schilke

Hi Jack,

Not sure how much flex you will be experiencing, but my take on this would be option A as the least invasive and less likely to cause any marring of the cab roof. With a bit of preload on the rubber pad, if flex is experienced this should be forgiving. The square tubing is pretty small and likely be able to flex a bit without permanent deformation. JMO....

Not with you on option C...do not understand what you are proposing...maybe my dense head..do not get it...

Good Luck!

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

 

[OFC Ranger]

Hi Jack,

Not sure how much flex you will be experiencing, but my take on this would be option A as the least invasive and less likely to cause any marring of the cab roof. With a bit of preload on the rubber pad, if flex is experienced this should be forgiving. The square tubing is pretty small and likely be able to flex a bit without permanent deformation. JMO....

Not with you on option C...do not understand what you are proposing...maybe my dense head..do not get it...

Good Luck!

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

Option C would be basically running a damper or shock that cabinets, trunks, table tops use in place of say, the rubber feet option. Enough pressure and it will compress, without pressure it will expand to its default position. Consider Option C the really fancy version of Option A. The different is I will need a hard mount on the roof gutters for option C (to connect one end of the shock to).

 

[OFC Ranger]

want to figure out how much flex you have before you commit to a mounting system on the roof?

simply tape a jiffy marker to the aluminum bar and go for a drive.

if you get a spirograph or etch a sketch drawing all over the roof, you know you better think of something else.

Not worried about marring the roof as if I go with Option A, C, or D I will have physical contact points between the roof gutters and the rack. The front of the rack has some flex, but does not move doward as a whole (ie; I don't have to worry about slats making contact with painted roof). Option B, if done tight enough will probably be just as rigid as physical contact points on the roof like other options.

All options remove this downward flex. A little upward flex may be possible, but downward should be all but eliminated and what remains will be "absorbed" by the contact points.

 

[P. A. Schilke]

Option C would be basically running a damper or shock that cabinets, trunks, table tops use in place of say, the rubber feet option. Enough pressure and it will compress, without pressure it will expand to its default position. Consider Option C the really fancy version of Option A. The different is I will need a hard mount on the roof gutters for option C (to connect one end of the shock to).

Option C is just a gas spring without any real damping which is where I got off track with this option. maybe a couple tailgate dampers?

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

 

[OFC Ranger]

Little more progression this evening, hope to have the main frame finished and ready to go for primer / coating by end of tomorrow. Once assembled, I plan to back the bolts off a bit, dump some blue locktite in and then tighten them down. I would use good old red, but my design should allow for module repair if something ever does get damaged.

Real PITA to frame up with a speed square when you don't have have a giant work bench to prop the outside bars on.

 

[P. A. Schilke]

Little more progression this evening, hope to have the main frame finished and ready to go for primer / coating by end of tomorrow. Once assembled, I plan to back the bolts off a bit, dump some blue locktite in and then tighten them down. I would use good old red, but my design should allow for module repair if something ever does get damaged.

Real PITA to frame up with a speed square when you don't have have a giant work bench to prop the outside bars on.

Hi Jack,

Just measure the diagonals. If they are not the same you are out of square. I make tons of picture frames for my wife's paintings and do not use a square to achieve square frames.

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

 

[OFC Ranger]

Little imagination and stuff gets created...

Some renders I've done of what I call "Stage 1". The back is left open for easy loading of wood or other items as needed.

Stage 2 will consist of adding the additional cross slat bars as well as two additional 10 foot primary support bars. I would run a single, but that pesky antenna housing (even with 2" stubby installed) stops that idea.

Stage 3 will be pressed panel flooring;

Stage 4 will be a ladder system of some sort. I'm really gravitating toward the common type of boarding ladders for boats. The trick is I want to find a telescopic tray system that is 6-ft, however pretty much all you can readily find available (and low cost) are 4 step 48" versions. The idea would be to install the tray under the top rack so its hidden (for most part) then deploy as needed for easy roof access. Example:

 

[Glocker]

Pretty damn cool! I may look at something like this down the road after I get a rooftop tent setup onboard. Having something over the cab to fasten solar panels to would be pretty sweet!

 

[OFC Ranger]

More progress. Break time for lunch.

We have a solid base to work with now. Still adjusting the feet as it has a bit too much pressure at the moment causing a slight upward curve towards front.

I don't even have all the mounting points in place yet between the RCI rack in the roof rack.

 

[Glocker]

You've got the wheels spinning in my head now. The rack I've got ordered is all 80/20 construction. I should be able to use 80/20 pieces for a solar setup relatively easy.

 

[OFC Ranger]

So I took a quick trip to pick up dinner for the family. Holy crap, none of the ends are capped, none of the gaps are sealed, and no wind fairing yet.

Sounds like a 747 taking off at speeds over 30mph hahaha.

 

[HenryMac]

Some of you may be familiar with 80/20 extrusion builds.

I wasn't... but now I get it! 80/20 T-Slot Aluminum Building System

I bet that's some pricey pieces parts.

 

[OFC Ranger]

I wasn't... but now I get it! 80/20 T-Slot Aluminum Building System

I bet that's some pricey pieces parts.

Why I opted for a hybrid system of solid bars, but 80/20 style brackets.

120" of 1" aluminum square tubing = $26

120" of 25mm 80/20 = $56 + shipping

Building the entire thing out of 80/20 pretty much more than doubles the build cost.

The brackets are pricey in comparison to regular stuff you find at local hardware stores, but you can find good deals on Amazon and it adds some style to it.

I'm actually considering use high grade abs plastic for the panels that will connect the bottom rail to the top rail. The chances of one being cracked is pretty low, but if it does, so what? Pop it out and replace it.

I could actually make a design like the rhinorack backbone with patient use of a 2" fine tooth hole cutter. Or do it in aluminum on flat stock. Hmmm...

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