Construction Info
Here is the roof rack that I built last month in 1 week. It was a race against the clock as I had to get it done for my Baja San Felipe 250 trip the second weekend in March. From idea to completed wiring it took me 7 days. Good thing the powder coating place turned it around in 24 hours! I made it all out of 1.5" round tubing. The cross pieces on the bottom are 3/4" square tubing. I made a custom high-lift mount, and on the other side used 4 Quick-Fist clamps to mount a shovel and a 2-in-1 axe and mattock.
Concern over weight capacity
The jeep rails aren't able to carry a lot of weight as they are fixed to the roof and not to the frame of the jeep. There was a member who posted only a week or two ago about the roof rack pulling off the roof rails. But as your so skilled with metal working I'm sure you could add a tab on the inside of the roof to reach over to the frame. would have to remove the head liner to expose the underside of the roof rail bolts....
(for more info: https://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f310/proper-way-mount-roof-rack-wj-1347931/)
Note from the builder:
Thanks for the complements and the warning. That was my concern as well. I loaded it pretty good the first time I used it, but we didn't do much heavy wheeling. Since I'm going to try and carry only light stuff up there (tent, sleeping bags, cots, chairs, food, clothes) I'm not sure it will cause a problem, but I will make sure to keep an eye on it.
I do know that those rails are not rated very high, and if it becomes a problem, I will either re-enforce them, or come up with another solution on mounting the rack.
(for more info: https://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f310/proper-way-mount-roof-rack-wj-1347931/)
Note from the builder:
Thanks for the complements and the warning. That was my concern as well. I loaded it pretty good the first time I used it, but we didn't do much heavy wheeling. Since I'm going to try and carry only light stuff up there (tent, sleeping bags, cots, chairs, food, clothes) I'm not sure it will cause a problem, but I will make sure to keep an eye on it.
I do know that those rails are not rated very high, and if it becomes a problem, I will either re-enforce them, or come up with another solution on mounting the rack.