I have been thinking about making a recessed roof rack and the idea finally jelled this afternoon. Went down to a local store and purchased a couple of wire shelves.

A few odds and ends and couple of hours puttering around and it’s SHOWTIME.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v221/Toyman/Xterra%20-%20new/Roofrack-fromfront.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v221/Toyman/Xterra%20-%20new/Roofrack-fromfront-1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v221/Toyman/Xterra%20-%20new/Roofrack-fromside.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v221/Toyman/Xterra%20-%20new/Roofrack-fromrear.jpg

$40 for two black 14" x 48" shelves.

I got them at Storables. The Container Store has them also.
The shelves come in a variety of sizes. I would probably order a 24” x 48” black shelf from the Internet if I was starting over. Do not get chrome as it will RUST.

Don’t know what the load rating of these are but typically they are minimum of 300 lbs.

175 lb nylon ties. I keep a variety of nylon ties on hand for projects like this.

A piece of scrap rubber like material to put under the center of the cross racks.

Want a flat surface? Turn the shelves over. You will lose a little over an inch of depth.

Put cardboard on the roof top when placing the shelves on the roof for fitting.

I assume this could be easily adapted to Gen 1’s.



Another thought would be to use 36" long shelves crosswise and suspend them beneath the rails. You could use 12, 14 or 18 inch wide shelving.

It would then be very easy to use SS hose clamps around the rail/shelf to secure the shelf.

You would not have a continuous rack front to back but it would be very quick and easy install.

Haven't had a chance to test it yet but I don't expect any problems.

Toy Man

PS: A black 18" x 48" shelf makes a great Sgt. Lobo rack for the cargo area.

I'd be worried about the zip ties, but if they're rated at 175lbs, you should be okay for the minor stuff.

I would not want to put this on it.

http://i376.photobucket.com/albums/oo209/revx/wood.jpg


But major points for creativity! Does it swing at all?

Sweet!

Looks good; for a solution that utilizes the stock cross bars, I doubt you'd have any problems getting up to their limit ... which is ~150lbs, if I'm not mistaken.

I have no reason to think you shouldn't trust the manufacturer's claims, but have you tested those ties to verify the limit? I'd also want to keep an eye on them, especially after some time ... to make sure they're not suffering from UV degradation. Some plastics that aren't designed for long term outdoor use get brittle and lose significant strength after prolonged exposure to the sun. If you see this happening, you can just replace them at set intervals ... but if that's a bother, or too frequent, you might need another solution.

Nice ingenuity!

Zipties kick ass.. I do think that this rack idea would be ideal for some light camping equipment like tents, chairs, tarps, bla bla.. Not bad Toy Man.. I wouldn't even consider a fuel can or something to that degree.. But should be good for light duty junk to clear room inside the truck.

Nice idea.

This would look good if you were to put them on top of the cross bars instead of underneath them too. You'd gain a few more inches of space in the racks, but if your going for the low profile look, then this works. Either way, it's still awesome!

The issue with the zip ties is not how much weight they can hold, but the force applied in an emergency stop/collision. They could snap like twigs in the right circumstance and send their contents flying into traffic.

Sorry, but this just doesn't look like a great idea to me. I think you would be better off with a roof bag. I got one from Target for 40 bucks and it works great. I can't see what advantage you get from this. Unless you have an abundance of small things that won't fit inside the truck.
Posted via Mobile Device

Nice concept, but I question the safety of zip ties and closet shelves!

The issue with the zip ties is not how much weight they can hold, but the force applied in an emergency stop/collision. They could snap like twigs in the right circumstance and send their contents flying into traffic.

That's what I was thinking too. I would hate to get rear ended and have them possibly fly through someone's windshield. It's a far fetched situation, but I like to be extra cautious about hauling stuff.

Otherwise they look great, good idea.

I feel this is a VERY cheap way of going about things. I mean, it's zip tied to the cross bars. If it works though, its a creative solution.

Version 2:

Cross bars:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v221/Toyman/Xterra%20-%20new/Rack%20V2/Crossbars1.jpg

Muffler clamp:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v221/Toyman/Xterra%20-%20new/Rack%20V2/Mufflerclamp1.jpg


The type and layout of the racks is up to you. Here are some ideas.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v221/Toyman/Xterra%20-%20new/Rack%20V2/Two4footracks.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v221/Toyman/Xterra%20-%20new/Rack%20V2/RackswithHi-Lift.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v221/Toyman/Xterra%20-%20new/Rack%20V2/Hi-Liftmounting.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v221/Toyman/Xterra%20-%20new/Rack%20V2/Hi-Liftinsiderack.jpg





And what’s that you say – you want something a little fancier?

This is a Yakima rack mounted on the cross bars.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v221/Toyman/Xterra%20-%20new/Rack%20V2/Yakimarack.jpg

If the rack was moved forward about an inch you could mount an Xterra crossbar in the rear.


Bill of Materials for the cross bars:
Four NAPA 2 1/4” x 3/8” muffler clamps.
Two 1 1/2” x 1/2” bars of A36 steel channel.
Eight nyloc 3/8” x 16 nuts.
A little bit of flat black paint.

Cost was about $50.

Notes:
I drilled 7/16” holes in the cross bars.
I added two layers of Gorilla tape to the top of the bars after painting them.

Several layers of tape was applied to the top of rails to keep the muffler clamps from disfiguring them.

A 9/16” Gear Wrench was a great help in tightening the nyloc nuts.

****

Much better!
Posted via Mobile Device

Maybe it's just me but I definitely wouldn't secure a hi-lift with hose clamps. But I do like the exhaust clamp/cross bar idea! As shown, there are a whole bunch of options with that.

Now that is ingenious!

I like the second idea much better.

I don't really know how thrilled I would be about using hose clamps in any of those applications. I like your ideas, and the fact that you are using readily accessible materials. Can you use a rectangular shaped U-Bolt to hold the Basketcase on?

You can use anything that you think might work. Try it and see if it works.
And hopefully report back with your experiences.

****

Definitely got to give you props for the different ideas and doing this on the cheap. If all someone's mounting is light-weight gear, those are some great ideas.

I feel confident in putting heavy loads into the rack.

The steel channel crossbars will handle some pretty hefty loads and I have used the Yakima rack loaded up on another vehicle.

But as always - you are the captain of your vessel and the responsibility is yours.

**** - Toy Man

I really like the muffler clamp idea - for those of us who cant weld, there are what we have to deal with. I've been trying to come up with something similar, since a dephep rack isnt in the budget just yet...

All you need is a hacksaw. drill and some time.

The steel cost about $20 per 4' bar because I was too lazy to look for it locally and ordered from metalsdepot.com so the shipping was half the cost.

I would be sure and get the NAPA 2 1/4" x 3/8" muffler clamps. Other muffler clamps tend to be a little 'wimpy' at 5/16".

Toy Man

Very good idea !
The only thing I would fear is that the aluminum bar would bend under heavy load. Maybe just putting the muffler clamps closer to the plastic mount would solve that.

Are you referring to Xterra rail?

If so, I think it would take a VERY heavy load to bend it.

Toy Man

You can use anything that you think might work. Try it and see if it works.
And hopefully report back with your experiences.

****

I was making a suggestion to beef up your system. I already have put together a solid, safe, and proven rack system.

I

But as always - you are the captain of your vessel and the responsibility is yours.

**** - Toy Man
I think that you are right on in this statement, just realize that by posting this on the forum, you are setting an example that could imitated.

It says in your owners manual that the cross bars for the roof rack are rated for aroudn 150 lbs.. give or take a few as far as i remember.

Version 2.5

I removed the side 'ears' on the Yakima rack which gave me a little more space between the Xterra Rail and the rack.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v221/Toyman/Xterra%20-%20new/Rack%20V2/Basketafterv25.jpg

Just enough for a perfect fit.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v221/Toyman/Xterra%20-%20new/Rack%20V2/Hi-lift-final.jpg

And a picture of the grab handles I installed.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v221/Toyman/Xterra%20-%20new/Rack%20V2/GrabHandle.jpg

While the Hi-lift fits great the amount of unsupported weight at the end of the Hi-lift concerns me. I have several ideas on how I want to fix this.

Stay Tuned.

Toy Man

While the Hi-lift fits great the amount of unsupported weight at the end of the Hi-lift concerns me. I have several ideas on how I want to fix this.

Stay Tuned.

Toy Man

You could move the muffler clamps further back to move the crossbar closer to the Hi-lift end (or a third crossmember)? Also may be beneficial to put a washer and bolt thru the bar and put a nut on it. Then you could slide the Hi-lift onto the bolts and hold them down with a large wingnut. Might make it easier to get it off without screwing with the hose clamps. Looks a lot better, nice job.

You could move the muffler clamps further back to move the crossbar closer to the Hi-lift end (or a third crossmember)? Also may be beneficial to put a washer and bolt thru the bar and put on a nut it. Then you could slide the Hi-lift onto the bolts and hold them down with a large wingnut. Might make it easier to get it off without screwing with the hose clamps.

Great minds think alike.

Working on it.

Toy Man

Final version:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v221/Toyman/Xterra%20-%20new/Hi-lift%20mounting/Hi-Liftmountcloseup.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v221/Toyman/Xterra%20-%20new/Hi-lift%20mounting/Mountingbolt.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v221/Toyman/Xterra%20-%20new/Hi-lift%20mounting/Mountingboltsassembled.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v221/Toyman/Xterra%20-%20new/Hi-lift%20mounting/Rear-final.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v221/Toyman/Xterra%20-%20new/Hi-lift%20mounting/Sideview.jpg

Toy Man

Much better

Looks awesome, nice touch with the plastic knobs. Where did you get them from?

Clamping knobs from the local Ace Hardware.

Toy Man

My mother taught me that "if you have nothing nice to say, say nothing".

Okay Mom.

Nothing.

Version 2.8

Added cross racks for lumber runs to Home Depot.

I could have used the same steel channel that I used previously but I wanted to try 1" thick UniStrut. Worked out pretty good. Just required a little enlargement of the holes in side of the UniStrut to fit the U bolts.

Used NAPA 2 1/4" x 3/8" muffler clamps.

I have since added non-skid tape to the bars.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v221/Toyman/Xterra%20-%20new/Rack%20V2/Crossview1.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v221/Toyman/Xterra%20-%20new/Rack%20V2/Rearview.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v221/Toyman/Xterra%20-%20new/Rack%20V2/Frontview.jpg

Toy Man

I love this man. All the great home-brew ideas. As previously stated, awesome for those of us who cannot weld.

I think I will be doing something like this for my camping trip down to Daniel Boone National Forest. Those muffler clamps were just the last piece of the puzzle for me. Good stuff Toy Man,

You will have the best results with these muffler clamps.

Four NAPA 2 1/4” x 3/8” muffler clamps.

Toy Man

i like it! been trying to figure out a rack for a little while and this seems perfect. granted, i think you are best with the yakima instead of the wire shelves for more strength. I do think that heavy loads might be asking a bit much (as others have stated) but the thing to remember is that the stock rack is only rated at 150# anyway. i think this is best for light camping gear (tent, sleeping bags, etc) but the cooler and toolbox should stay in the truck. if I ever have need of a roof rack, i'll look into this. thanks! and genius for a cheap mod

I will probably take something like this for a week long trip into The Maze (Canyonlands NP) later this year.

11+ gallons of gas plus 2.5 gallons of water (more inside truck) plus other 'stuff'.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v221/Toyman/Xterra%20-%20new/Gas%20cans/Proposedfuel-watercarryinYakimarack.jpg

Not shown is the Hi-Lift jack mounted on the other side of the Yakima rack.

Toy Man

i like what you did there. the ratchet straps holding the heavier gas tanks down on the side rails oughta add a lot of stability.

the ratchet straps holding the heavier gas tanks down on the side rails oughta add a lot of stability.

They are better than ratchet straps (IMHO). They are poly straps from nrsweb.com.

Also not shown is a sub base of plywood for the 3 upright gas cans with 3 gas can mounts screwed into the plywood. The plywood base is secured to the Yakima rack. Each can is strapped to a mount and then the top strap across all of them. A test run did not reveal any shifting or movement.

Toy Man

Final product looks cool. Good thinking!

Version 2.5

The previous version with the Yakima basket worked fine except the basket was not quite large enough for all of the stuff I wanted to carry on back country trips.

To replace the Yakima basket I used a 4’ x 4’ piece of black gridwall.
Gridwall is used in stores as a display device. It is made of 1/4” rod welded on a 3” square pattern. I cut it down to 43” x 31”.

I added two more cross pieces to support the gridwall.
I use 1.5"x.5"x1/8" C channel for the cross pieces.

I made all four cross pieces longer so that they project past the roof rails about 2” on either side. I will use this projection to carry small amounts of long lumber, metal, pipe, etc.

I use two wraps of Gorilla tape under each muffler clamp.
I HIGHLY recommend NAPA 2 1/4” x 3/8 muffler clamps for the roof rails.

The gridwall is fastened to the cross pieces with 175 lb. nylon ties.

Haven’t tried it yet but I think it will work great.

If the 1/4” gridwall turns out to be too weak for lashing then I will try 3/8” gridwall.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v221/Toyman/Xterra%20-%20new/Roof%20rack%20v25/Newroofrack1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v221/Toyman/Xterra%20-%20new/Roof%20rack%20v25/Newroofrack2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v221/Toyman/Xterra%20-%20new/Roof%20rack%20v25/Newroofracksupportbars2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v221/Toyman/Xterra%20-%20new/Roof%20rack%20v25/Newroofracksupportbars3.jpg


What's that you say? You want top cross pieces also?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v221/Toyman/Xterra%20-%20new/Roof%20rack%20v25/Crossbars1.jpg

Toy Man

Approx costs?

I think it was about $45 for the gridwall. $1.10 a foot the C channel. About $3 each for the muffler clamps.

Probably less than $75.

Toy Man

This looks beefy.

Thanks for the pricing info.

Version 2.5

The previous version with the Yakima basket worked fine except the basket was not quite large enough for all of the stuff I wanted to carry on back country trips.

To replace the Yakima basket I used a 4’ x 4’ piece of black gridwall.
Gridwall is used in stores as a display device. It is made of 1/4” rod welded on a 3” square pattern. I cut it down to 43” x 31”.

I added two more cross pieces to support the gridwall.
I use 1.5"x.5"x1/8" C channel for the cross pieces.

I made all four cross pieces longer so that they project past the roof rails about 2” on either side. I will use this projection to carry small amounts of long lumber, metal, pipe, etc.

I use two wraps of Gorilla tape under each muffler clamp.
I HIGHLY recommend NAPA 2 1/4” x 3/8 muffler clamps for the roof rails.

The gridwall is fastened to the cross pieces with 175 lb. nylon ties.

Haven’t tried it yet but I think it will work great.

If the 1/4” gridwall turns out to be too weak for lashing then I will try 3/8” gridwall.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v221/Toyman/Xterra%20-%20new/Roof%20rack%20v25/Newroofrack1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v221/Toyman/Xterra%20-%20new/Roof%20rack%20v25/Newroofrack2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v221/Toyman/Xterra%20-%20new/Roof%20rack%20v25/Newroofracksupportbars2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v221/Toyman/Xterra%20-%20new/Roof%20rack%20v25/Newroofracksupportbars3.jpg


What's that you say? You want top cross pieces also?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v221/Toyman/Xterra%20-%20new/Roof%20rack%20v25/Crossbars1.jpg

Toy Man

How is the grid wall secured to the bars??

Not a bad idea, I have been kicking the same idea in my head ever since I saw someone up at goneMOAB do the same thing back last May.

How is the grid wall secured to the bars??

I am using 175 lb nylon ties.

I used SS hose clamps on the previous version. The clamps worked well but were a small PITA to put on/take off.

I am not concerned about the strength/durability of the nylon ties.
They will be replaced at least once a year when I cut them off to remove the gridwall and clean/wax the roof.

Any load of significant weight will be secured to the cross bars and not the gridwall.

Since my last post I have added spacer washers to the two interior crossbars to make them level with the end cross bars. Am also in the final stages of attaching a Camping Labs awning to the rails using the same type of muffler clamps. Will post pictures when I finish it.

Toy Man

Where did you find the gridwall? Do any local box stores carry it?

I found it at a firm in Portland Oregon that specializes in store fixtures.

Toy Man

Where did you find the gridwall? Do any local box stores carry it?

ive got a version of this im installing next week ill have to throw it on here.
but yeah check for local stores goin under. bought a crap load of this stuff for 50 bucks for my pops from a JOANN FABIRICS goin under. got roughly 30ft by 60inches worth. its tan with a rubberized coating but can be painted.

another place to look is outback a shopping center, i know the store i used to work for always was trashin that stuff for new planograms

I will most definitely be doing this to my X!

No luck on the gridwall. I dug around in my shed and found some channel to make the crossbars. I also found some welded wire steel shelving. This weekend I cut the channel. I realized that the scraps would work for length wise bars. I cut the sides of the channel and hammered them flat (pics later) and re-painted the ends.

How are you attaching the gridwall to the crossbars now? Are you still using nylon ties?

How are you attaching the gridwall to the crossbars now? Are you still using nylon ties?

Yes - HD ties.

Four of the gridwall cross grid bars rest against the 4 channel cross bars to prevent back and forth motion.

I feel it is very secure.

Toy Man

I thought about doing that. I also thought about getting a few eyebolts, bending open the eyes to over the bars and then bending back. Also my hardware has some very small U bolts which would also work but were a bit pricey ($2 each x at least 8, preferably 16)...

Any other thoughts?

Great idea and execution. I have a Malone rack, but want something lower, and a bit larger.

Instead of Gridwall, you can purchase Woven Wire Cloth or Welded Wire Cloth from McMaster Carr, the mesh is a tighter pattern but it could work.

http://www.mcmaster.com/#wire-cloth/=cqw105

Nice but a lot more expensive. I even thought about using rebar mesh (concrete mesh) with 4" holes.

SWEET! Doing some searches and ran into this. Love the concept and execution. One adaptation I might make is to use unistrut intead of the C channel. It is available locally and then I can use all of the available unistrut hardware to make mounts, tie downs, backets, etc.

I am just going to start with some cross pieces since I have an X trim and it came with none. :-( That will let me carry long lumber pieces for now. I will think about the grid or basket later.

Nice job. :thumbup:

Unistrut is thicker than C channel and you might run into clearance problems with the roof.

Also it will harder to attach the nuts.

But I would love to see your finished setup.

Toy Man

Unistrut is thicker than C channel and you might run into clearance problems with the roof.
Toy Man

The standard unistrut is 1 5/8 x 1 5/8 but the low profile is 1 5/8 x 13/16. The low profile should work OK.

I have some of both at home and will use my precision calibrated eyeball on it later. ;)

Pretty much what I thought; the full depth unistrut is a bit too big. It might be possible but not worth it. The low profile set in there just fine with room to work under it.

Local NAPA store was out of muffler clamps. They will have 4 for me tomorrow. Think I will go ahead and pick up some more unistrut tomorrow, but I am also going to order in some pieces of low profile aluminum strut without the holes in the back.

I considered unistrut but I wanted the rack to set as low as possible which is why I went with C channel.

Toy Man

I considered unistrut but I wanted the rack to set as low as possible which is why I went with C channel.

Toy Man

I ran into this post when I started looking;

http://forums.overlander.com.au/viewtopic.php?p=723430

While the design is not what I wanted it was still an interesting approach. Then your posts filled in the design I was looking for. I will give it a try and see where it goes.

The Xterra roof rails are slightly bowed front to back so if you want a flat roof rack you will need to add spacers (washers) to the middle U-bolt(s).

Or so I recall.

Toy Man

The Xterra roof rails are slightly bowed front to back so if you want a flat roof rack you will need to add spacers (washers) to the middle U-bolt(s).

Good to know! I will give it another eyeball. I have a large lathe in my home shop so spacers are really easy to make.

I also made two top crossbars out of unistrut.

But I found that I was having to remove the front crossbar to load items in the rack so I removed it. If I needed to carry something long and wide I would put a floor rug or something similar on the top of the wet box. That and the rear crossbar worked well.

Then I decided the rear unistrut bar looked too big so I replaced it with C channel.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Sll2XTEiHfk/T05NX-GO6LI/AAAAAAAAB-g/_U_oMI5K_Bk/s800/Rear%2520top%2520cross%2520bar.JPG

Toy Man

You see people's, This is how we got to the moon & back! Its just these little ideas that make our X's great, it just gets better as it as it goes along, never mind about those who say it can't be done, it don't look good, it'll never fly. and as you can see we haven't been back to the moon. keep up we the good work man!

The Xterra roof rails are slightly bowed front to back so if you want a flat roof rack you will need to add spacers (washers) to the middle U-bolt(s). Or so I recall.

You recall correctly. Looks to be about 1/8" on each end lower than the midpoint of the rail. How hard would it have been to just make a straight piece. :angry5:

I will certainly adjust for that. Tnx for the heads up.

Got my clamps and some low profile unistrut today. May get some time this weekend to work on it.

BTW; just as a reference for others the rails on my 2012 are 2.180" diameter. (if you even care)

Here's my version I did a few months back. Worked perfectly with about 300lbs on it.

http://www.thenewx.org/forum/showthread.php?t=38658

Does anyone know how thick the walls of the roof rack rails are?

Not thick at all.

Made some progress. Here are some pics of one of the mounts I am trying out. I used the 2 1/4 inch muffler clamp with 3/8 inch u bolt. Then I got some 3/8 fuel line and covered it. I made a bracket out of 1/4 inch steel with a 4" leg and a 3" leg and drilled holes in it. Using some 1/4 inch rubber pads I just tighten the u-bolt and bracket down. This orients the u bolt sideways rather than up / down. It looks a little cleaner from the side. The fuel line and rubber pad eliminate the need for tape or protection on the rail. The bracket can be mounted with the horizontal part on top or on bottom depending on what you are doing.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7039/6803899814_c3b371bdf4_z.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7039/6803900182_5e2290be02_z.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7205/6803900560_3c594254b0_z.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7195/6950010699_65ca081715_z.jpg


I have not decided on a basket or something else to mount on the brackets but wanted to post what I had so far. I like the wire wall grid stuff and may go that way. Plan to powdercoat the brackets in black.

I like the idea of the fuel line cover.

I also like the way you can flip the L bracket up or down.

Toy Man

I like the idea of the fuel line cover.

Have to give credit to Toro in this thread:

http://www.thenewx.org/forum/showthread.php?t=51493&highlight=mount

Have to give credit to Toro in this thread:

http://www.thenewx.org/forum/showthread.php?t=51493&highlight=mount

Go have a look at the pics on Toro's post #10. Looks like he put a piece of fuel line under the sliding part of the muffler clamp also. Very clever and useful.

Bunch of smart folks on this forum.

Really nice pictures..

I am in the process of slightly revising the rack.

Changed all of the spacers and nuts to SS. (SS flanged/serrated nuts).
Also changing the crossbars from 1.5"x.5"x1/8" steel channel to 2"x.5"x1/8" channel.

Slightly stronger bars but a LOT easier to fasten/remove.

Pic's when I finish it.

I currently have 2.75" of depth (from the top of the rails to the top of the gridwall) with this setup. With longer U bolts I could probably get 3.25" (possibly 3.5".)

Toy Man

I completely revised the rack and started a new thread here:
http://www.thenewx.org/forum/showthread.php?t=55339

I wanted a set of roof cross bars for hauling sheets of plywood.

Off to Home Depot and bought a 10' stick of SuperStrut (UniStrut) for $16.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v221/Toyman/Xterra%20-%20new/Roof%20rack%20version%203/Crossbarsforhaulingplywood2.jpg

Cut the stick in half giving me two 5' bars.

Used 2 1/2" x 3/8" exhaust clamp U-bolts from Napa. Cut some off the ends of the U-bolts to keep them from protruding above the strut bars. Had to drill 1 hole in the strut per U-bolt.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v221/Toyman/Xterra%20-%20new/Roof%20rack%20version%203/Crossbarsforhaulingplywood3.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v221/Toyman/Xterra%20-%20new/Roof%20rack%20version%203/Crossbarsforhaulingplywood4.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v221/Toyman/Xterra%20-%20new/Roof%20rack%20version%203/Crossbarsforhaulingplywood5.jpg

Clearance between the roof cargo bin and the item being hauled.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v221/Toyman/Xterra%20-%20new/Roof%20rack%20version%203/Crossbarsforhaulingplywood1.jpg

Haven't tried it yet but I expect the bars to work well.

Toy Man

Good thread . Thanks 4 taking the time to keep us posted.