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After searching online for roof rack ideas for my Jeep Grand Cherokee I quickly realized there wasn't really a lot out there specific to the ZJ, so I set out to build my own. There are a few reasons for building this rack. First, I wasn't going to mount a roof top tent to the factory cross bars, at least not only the two that come on the Jeep. Second, lighting. Third, its a pain strapping things to the roof with just the factory rails. And last, a solid mounting point for my CB and ham antennas, no more magnets. Maybe you're here for one of these reasons? This isn't meant to be a step by step tutorial through the entire process. These mounts from what I was able to find are unique, and detail was provided for those specifically for that reason. The plans provide dimensions and a material list only. Once you make these mounts you could easily build an entire roof rack from the strut channel. Or, you could bust out the tubing bender and welder and make the same rack. Either way you go, please share some pics on my Instagram page, @4wheelexplorers. I'd love to see how others took this info and made them their own. Something I missed or left unclear, general questions? Let me know, I'd be happy to help. A video of the build will be added in the near future.
Designing the Rack
Designing the Rack
Of all the reasons we needed this roof rack, getting out there as a family and going camping is the one that got it going. The rack will need to support both my wife and I, our son, RTT, bedding, etc. Wanting to distribute the weight as equally as possible across the roof I wanted 8 bearing points, 4 on each side. Initially I thought to simply head to the junk yard and purchase two more factory cross bars until I put a level on the roof and measured the curvature. Download free plans below.
At this point I knew I was going to have to design my own mounts. But, not knowing exactly how I was going to secure the rack to the Jeep I built the bottom frame of the rack first. Because of this there is one thing I would do differently, which is to recess the four middle plates 3/16" up from the bottom. I had to stack two flat washers between the roof mount and the rack mounting plate on all four corners to make everything sit flat. This is noted in the plans as well as the specific angle the plates on the four corners need to be welded to match up with the slope of the roof.
The Rail Mounts
The Rail Mounts
Initially I was making my own mounts from scratch with channel iron and flat bar. Not thrilled with the way that the original ones were coming together I decided to dig around and found an old TV wall mount with very unique hooked edges that would fit the stock rails perfectly. I was sure that others would not have this TV wall mount laying around for scrap and kept trying to remember where I has seen that profile before. Strut channel!
What is strut channel?
What is strut channel?
This photo shows two sizes that can be easily found at any big box store or electrical supply house. Combine these with the spring or cone nuts that fit inside the track and you have an easy way to securely mount your new rack on top of your Jeep.
Searching online you may have seen entire roof racks made of strut channel. Although it is very versatile and expandable, we only used it for the hook shape profile to attach to the factory roof rails. When I dug these pieces out of the scrap pile I had no idea how much easier this would make mounting my new rack. If you plan to mount to your rack in four points like I did, the difference in height of these strut channels are naturally within 3/16" of the roof curve making it very easy to get your new rack aligned and parallel with the body lines of the Jeep.
When you go to cut these, pay attention to where the slotted holes are. You will need that hole to be in the middle. Cut each piece where the slot starts to either side of the center hole. Make clean, square cuts. These will be at eye level every time you open the door to get in! Cut four of each 12 and 14 gauge strut channel. Material and cut list is in the plans.
Here you can see the angle iron inside the strut. This angle iron will distribute the force of the bolt being tightened down over a larger area of the factory rails, preventing damage or distortion. Also, notice the angle iron in the taller strut on the corners has a second strip of steel against the angle iron. This allows the bolt to press evenly against the factory rail and strut channel.
The corner bolts are 1/2"x 2-1/4", inner are 3/8"x 1-1/2". The nuts in the middle four mounts will need to be welded in place and the edge of the nut slightly ground to fit over the rail. The cap nuts I used extend above the floor of the rack, some playing around with what you have available may be necessary.
The air dam. There are certainly easier ways to build this. Installing tabs along the front lower bar of the rack and a piece of tin or aluminum straight without the curve would also work. If I had a straight light bar I would have gone that route. I am happy with how the curved dam looks.
It's time to start bending some tubing! There are tons of tutorials online by people that are far better at bending tubing than I am, we'll leave that part to them. The dimensions and a material list for this project can be found in the plans. Want to know more about the lights I used in this project and how they were installed and wired? Check out the Roof Rack Lights (coming soon) page. Please let me know if you have any questions. Have a great day and hope to see you out on the trail!
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