Homemade roller roof rack
In a recent thread here I described a roof rack modification I made for loading a canoe on my Toyota Tundra. I thought some might be interested in some pictures that explain how I constructed it:
This is the finished modification installed on top of my truck. The rack is a THULE, but this modification could be adapted to most any roof rack. There are three standoffs made from a 2x4 with a length of electrical conduit threaded through them and two short pieces of PVC pipe.
This shows the two outboard 2x4 standoffs. They have a deep notch cut in them to fit over the square THULE crossbar. A carriage bolt and a thumb screw pass through the standoff beneath the bar to secure it. The electrical conduit passes through a hole at the top and is secured with a safety pin.
This shows the center standoff. It is made like the other two except I cut off the top at the center of the hole so the conduit just cradles on the standoff instead of passing through it. This makes mounting and removing the roller easier.
Here's how we load the canoe: First assemble the roller as shown in the first picture. With the tailgate up DW and I carry the canoe straight on to the tailgate resting one end on it while DW supports the other end. I climb into the truck bed, pick up the canoe and together we walk it forward until I can rest the end of the it on the roller. Then I move back, pick up the other end of the canoe and roll it forward until it is centered on the two roof racks.
I'm not confident that the roller mechanism is robust enough to carry the weight of the canoe while traveling. so I remove the pins and DW pulls the conduit/PVC rollers out of the standoffs so the canoe can rest on the THULE rack. The standoffs remain permanently attached to the cross bar.
This is the finished modification installed on top of my truck. The rack is a THULE, but this modification could be adapted to most any roof rack. There are three standoffs made from a 2x4 with a length of electrical conduit threaded through them and two short pieces of PVC pipe.
This shows the two outboard 2x4 standoffs. They have a deep notch cut in them to fit over the square THULE crossbar. A carriage bolt and a thumb screw pass through the standoff beneath the bar to secure it. The electrical conduit passes through a hole at the top and is secured with a safety pin.
This shows the center standoff. It is made like the other two except I cut off the top at the center of the hole so the conduit just cradles on the standoff instead of passing through it. This makes mounting and removing the roller easier.
Here's how we load the canoe: First assemble the roller as shown in the first picture. With the tailgate up DW and I carry the canoe straight on to the tailgate resting one end on it while DW supports the other end. I climb into the truck bed, pick up the canoe and together we walk it forward until I can rest the end of the it on the roller. Then I move back, pick up the other end of the canoe and roll it forward until it is centered on the two roof racks.
I'm not confident that the roller mechanism is robust enough to carry the weight of the canoe while traveling. so I remove the pins and DW pulls the conduit/PVC rollers out of the standoffs so the canoe can rest on the THULE rack. The standoffs remain permanently attached to the cross bar.
