Sunday, July 20, 2014

Cross bars for Subaru Outback

I started making a set of cross bars from 3/4 inch EMT - a pool noodle fits over perfectly.  I cut some 1 inch pipe by welding some bolts and nuts to make it easy to adjust.  After making the first one I thought of a better way to make the cross bars using some uni-strut and 1 inch condiut (3/4 inch would have worked but this was going to be a slightly HD version)


I chose to use 1/2 by 2in long carriage bolts that I ground down so it could fit down inside the unistrut.

I may redo the lower brackets but I am quite sure it is plenty sturdy.


Orginal cross bars, unistrut and 1 inch EMT



Orginail mounts

pre fab testing



unistrut with cut/ground down carriage bolts.  The unistrut and EMT was ground down to bare metal for easier weld penetration (less zinc out gassing)

installed




close up of unistrut mounts

front mounts

 

Now I just need to remove the factory cross bars (100 lbs limit - even 1 kayak tied to the bar has broken loose at highway speed)  Note the front and rear bars have different widths between the roof rack mounts.  

Nice thing is the bars do not extend beyond the width of the car mirrors - I cut the 10' EMT in half.  I may make extensions out of 1 1/4 inch conduit.  Next will be to paint the welds and ground off area with high zinc "cold galvanizing compound"  then I will likely paint the bars black.

If you can weld get some unistrut and EMT and make a set of HD cross bars instead of purchasing $100+ sets. 











  

Labels: ,

1 Comments:

At August 27, 2016 at 6:16 AM, Blogger dklalsoy said...

My name is bryce wilson drjft, . I am a filmmaker, photographer, and freelance photojournalist from Melbourne, Australia.

My photographs and reportage from the front lines in Ukraine's east have been seen on ABC Australia, Conflict News, The Daily Mail, Mashable, Business Insider, and more.

I was a subject in Red Bull's groundbreaking 'URBEX: Enter at Your Own Risk' documentary series, starring in the world premiere debut episode, and I have been described as 'one of the world's most famous Urban Explorers'.

Through photography and filmmaking I hope to make a positive impact in history, and change the world. I am a sum of all of my experiences - mistakes included - and I have learned from all of these to become the person I am today.

 

Post a Comment

<< Home