This article was originally published in April 2020. It has been updated with information about a reader’s DIY roof rack build.
A roof rack on a wagon or SUV adds a lot of functionality and style. Many wagons and SUVs come with basic side rails and cross bars, but those lack any real cargo holding capability. For that, you need a roof rack (or cargo basket) to carry larger items like luggage carriers, bikes and other cargo.
Related DIY article: DIY Cargo Step Box
Related DIY article: Transforming The Family Truckster
Buy or Build?
Build your own roof rack? Is that even possible? When I started shopping for a roof rack, I saw everything from $80 – 700 racks. The reviews on the cheaper ones were all the same – they started to rust right away and were flimsy. I’m pretty frugal, so did not see the value in buying an expensive rack that would only see occasional use.
That left building one myself.
Where to Start?
While I am a pretty fair welder, I decided to make one out of wood for simplicity and cost. I actually got some ideas from other DIY roof racks on Pinterest (check out my Roof Rack Boards to see my inspiration). I did some sketches and came up with a simple design that was highly functional. After looking at my wood options at Lowe’s, I decided to go with their Premium Pine.
Materials List
The overall dimension of the roof rack is 36″ wide x 48″ long. This size can be attached to most factory roof rails with ease, making it pretty universal. The materials used are shown below:
(3) 1″ x 2″ x 8″ Premium Pine boards (for the base)
(1) 1″ x 4″ x 8′ Premium Pine boards (for the sides)
(5) 1″ x 3″ x 8′ Premium Pine boards (for the deck slats)
(1) box of 1.75″ cabinet screws
The above total was around $40 (early 2020 prices)
I had primer, paint, wood stain and polyurethane in my shop, so used those to paint and stain the rack. I probably used less than $10 of that material.
hello Curious as to how you mounted it to the cross rails…did you every find the hoooks
I used two carriage bolts and a flat bracket at each mounting point (front rail has two mounting points, rear rail has two mounting points). I will post a pic soon.
I just updated the “Attachments” section above with the detail of the hardware I used to attach the roof rack to the vehicle’s cross rails. Please let me know if you have any other questions.
I love the build but I am wondering about tie down attachment points. I was thinking a great way to put them in would be to drill holes in the sides and put in bushings whose OD would fit the ID of the hole and could be glued in with epoxy or gorilla glue. Thanks for the ideas!
Thanks, and that idea you have for the hold downs is what I plan to do next. I wanted to see first what I needed after using the rack. You nailed it!