Idea For... Roof Rack/Homemade Roof Basket

I do woodworking as a hobby and have decided to make a roof basket out of some spare Red Cedar I have laying about. It's (rough) dimensions will fit it inbetween the roof rack on my 03 and be the length of it; and be about 6 inches deep.

When it's done it "should" hold my new oversized spare tire w/Canvas cover (to keep the sun off the rubber) and will have mounts to hold my 2-3 kayaks. I'll Thompson's Water Seal the hell out of it so it won't rot from INSANE Florida weather and sun .

The biggest issue I'm having is how to mount it. I don't have crossbars and I'd like it to mount the same way they do, so it can easily be removed for cleaning/maintenence/whathaveyou.

:scratch:

I have NO IDEA how our crossbars mount, so if anyone could work up like a "photo-tutorial" about them I would really appreciate it. That way I can try and McGuyver it to work. Also if there are any kind of special screws/bolts knocking about with it some pictures of those would be cool too.

Thanks!

Well you could always go to the JY and buy some crossbars off of an 02-03 Explorer. If not get a clamp and mount it to the rails.

Around here if you were to find any car newer than a 98 at a junkyard it would be like hitting gold... I just need to know how the crossbars attach to the rails so I can connect my basket the same way...

Will these pic's help?

Yeah they do, thanks a bundle. I think I've got the mount figured out, anyone know how to tighten the rails to the roof?

It's a pretty clean mount, you may have to go through the headliner to access those bolts, just guessing tho'.

Look's like I was completely wrong with my guess! Check this out Brian if you see this mate, this link may have the pictures you need!!

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums//showthread.php?p=2738335#post2738335

Thanks to Limited02 for those pic's.

Thanks man those are exactly what I was looking for.... Hopefully this thing turns out to be as cool as I'm picturing it.

If you need any additional pictures, let me know.

How do you plan to attach the rack? If it were me, I'd attach them to the cross bars on the roof and be done. If you are wanting it to be stronger to support more weight, I'd go to the JY and buy two more crossbars and add those(for a total of 4). I'm sure it can be done

GOOD LUCK!!!

Any progress mr. Brian? ? ? pics?

n.gardner said:

Any progress mr. Brian? ? ? pics?

Click to expand...

It's almost finished . Sorry no pics yet. I'm shopping for some off-road lights for it and have to alter the front and back to attach them....

See thread here: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2751481#post2751481

I will say that it's been quite a headache . I designed and built some V-shaped bars with rollers to get my kayak on and off easily. They are removeable so I can take them off when I'm not using them. Also I had to go out and find a 265/70/17 tire to measure and make sure it will fit in the basket (since it won't fit underneath). There's $1300 I'm not looking forward to spending......

http://www.arbusa.com/products/lights/driving-fog-lights-and-hid/22.aspx

Best lights in the world, kinda expensive but you'll not be dissapointed

Cant wait to see the finished basket!

ARB's stuff is pretty BA, but thats a bit more than I wanted to spend... Why Can't I just win the damn lottery and be done with it.....

I know the feeling !! This explorer addiction aint cheap, I aint ready to quit thou lol

Me neither.

A bit off topic really quick but just saw you squeezed 285s under your Ex with just a spacer lift? Any rubbing? I wanted 285s but I figured they would rub without a body lift. I do have 1.25" wheel spacers to use if I want to...

My 265 70 17 spare fits under the back. Its a cooper at with about 75% tread. It does hang about an inch lower than stock tho'.

HiImBrian said:

Me neither.

A bit off topic really quick but just saw you squeezed 285s under your Ex with just a spacer lift? Any rubbing? I wanted 285s but I figured they would rub without a body lift. I do have 1.25" wheel spacers to use if I want to...

Click to expand...

Your not gonna fit 285's with just wheel spacers

Brian, for lights I run 4 100W square lights from Rugged Ridge...they are bright, seem to be well made, and were not too expensive. IIRC it was like 170 for all 4. They are also fully adjustable to angle them. Looks like I need to adjust the far right one a bit to straighten it up.



No night beamshots yet, but will post some later.

need to lose the lower valance ronin

Yeah I was debating taking it off again...but I kind of like it with it on there.