[roXterra]

expanded metal:
Yes I saw your rust issues with the expanded metal, many reasons why that could happen, like cheap powder coat material or application technique, improper sanding (sandblasting being preferred on steel) skipping steps in heat-to-remove impurities, let cool, heat again, spray, heat again process.... because powder coating should stick for.. very long time. Like with paint, some powder coats are just better.

How has your front bumper held up with powder coating, similar fate to the expanded metal? Both having been in the same environment... down here I was able to drive around with bare metal rack (uncoated) for about a month and pick up very reasonable amount of surface rust (very little). The sanding took it quickly away but sandblasting eliminated all signs of any surface imperfections from rust, mystery imperfections.


blue:
The blue was meant as making the 51" top support extend to 81" top support, in line with the existing 51" line.
I have carried beds, 16 ft tubes and other long things on the roof, and the front would flex in the wind.
Some people carry a lot of stuff, regularly or on some long trips, they cover the whole roof, the equivalent of 81" on Xterra. So one could use the cargo box and have stuff on top of it. Or go crazy on side lights? Or side mount something that fits within 30" or so. Something driver reachable?


shade bars:
I thought of adding some kind of shade/rain cover support with expanding side beams, like pullout arms to support the weight of the canopy. Tube into tube seemed cool, or telescoping round bars

So basically a DepHep but aluminum...? It is pretty awesome. If I didn't have my DepHep already I would totally be in for this. I don't carry much in my basket, and when I do it is not hundreds of pounds. I think this would satisfy 100% of what I have carried up there so far. The light weight and rust-resistance would be much preferred.

I'm trying to think of a use case for the blue & green to the front of the roof. The green could obviously have lights attached to it. Maybe you angle the blue part down to follow the wetbox lines and have low-profile roof light mount. But what could you put across/carry on the blue lines? Of course I would love to still be able to open the wetbox, but have that be usable roof rack space as well. Maybe that is not possible though. IDK what I might carry in that spot realistically.

 

[LVX]

A mesh-only bottom is something we are working on, one that would need very little support under it, yet be strong enough for heavy loads. The grid while cool looking gets covered up with mesh anyway.
That could save $100
Partial mesh you put on yourself? We just finished a 72 hour adhesion of VHB 3M tape to attach aluminum mesh to a steel tubing bottom. Time will tell, but that's what the tape is designed to do, join metals that are powder coated
VBH link - https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/vhb-tapes-us/

in the meantime...
With aluminum, you could sand, prime and spray can paint it yourself for just the cost of the primer, paint..... $20 ?
Even when it doesn't stick as well as powder coating, there is no rust concern anyway
- saves $100

Pick it up in Tucson as part of "Honey let's see the southwest which you always wanted to see" trip?
- saves $100

"Po boy December mesh discount"
- saves $40 on the mesh

How much weight do you think a mesh-only bottom (no grid) would be able to hold? Thanks!

 

[roXterra]

We would pick a setup that would be comfortable with 100lb in the middle.
Thicker mesh and 3 by 2 flat linear grid, as opposed to 3 by 8 tube offset grid.
Will someone want to carry 10 gallons of fuel, and a tire on a rim, and few other things at the same time? Then get the current heavier duty design.
Camping gear, 5 gallons of fuel, tire on temporarily? Thicker mesh and lighter support under it. The middle is most vulnerable so if you don't stack 2 tires on top of each other, it won't deform over time.

How much weight do you think a mesh-only bottom (no grid) would be able to hold? Thanks!

 

[LVX]

We would pick a setup that would be comfortable with 100lb in the middle.
Thicker mesh and 3 by 2 flat linear grid, as opposed to 3 by 8 tube offset grid.
Will someone want to carry 10 gallons of fuel, and a tire on a rim, and few other things at the same time? Then get the current heavier duty design.
Camping gear, 5 gallons of fuel, tire on temporarily? Thicker mesh and lighter support under it. The middle is most vulnerable so if you don't stack 2 tires on top of each other, it won't deform over time.

Well, you've definitely piqued my interest. What would the cost be (including shipping to Frisco, TX) for an unpainted, aluminum, thicker mesh-only setup be? Feel free to send via PM, if you'd rather do it that way. Thanks!

 

[AlbatrossCafe]

How has your front bumper held up with powder coating, similar fate to the expanded metal?

My powdercoated front bumper has held up great. No rust spots except where it has been hit. The same could be said for my former spray-painted rear bumper and my new powdercoated rear bumper. I think the DepHep coating job on expanded metal was just bad - seems to be a common issue.

 

[campisi]

Slim model, mesh, bare AL, picked up in Tucson over Christmas pricing? Ya think mesh only (no bars) will hold up even when one cinches down a load with ratchet straps? Price it with and without the underlying grid bars.

 

[roXterra]

We don't have the right thick mesh yet, so that design needs to wait.
We do have a simpler bottom base, instead of the 15 "openings" as below, there will only be 6 (3 up/down bars on the shorter side and 1 across).
The outside bars of the bottom will be channels (half tubes), and top will be tubes as now [saves on weight]
That design in bare aluminum is $350 with the mesh in December.
If you're cinching down something, you want to go around the bars not the thin mesh of this model, especially if you're ratcheting it. With the stretchy cords only cinched by their tension, the mesh holes are great. With the thick mesh someday, it still would be better to go with the stronger structural parts.

Slim model, mesh, bare AL, picked up in Tucson over Christmas pricing? Ya think mesh only (no bars) will hold up even when one cinches down a load with ratchet straps? Price it with and without the underlying grid bars.

 

[campisi]

$350 ... Not too bad! Let me plan out my Christmas days and I'll get back to you in a day or two. My Dad lives in Tucson and I'm likely to drive down there from San Jose, could pick it up then. How many days leadtime do you need to build it?

 

[roXterra]

A week to play it safe.

$350 ... Not too bad! Let me plan out my Christmas days and I'll get back to you in a day or two. My Dad lives in Tucson and I'm likely to drive down there from San Jose, could pick it up then. How many days leadtime do you need to build it?

 

[roXterra]

If you can pick it up in Eugene, Oregon, you can get shipping for about $30 for the next little while, because shipping can get combined with the rack that will leave in the next 2 weeks.
So if you order before March 8, that should work
Steel or aluminum, with mesh or not, powder coated or bare..........

Also if you're near Eugene, I may help you get $50 powder coating right there......

One of my rack's many uses. Stinky soil on the roof...
(Thule cross bar mounts are optional. I used to have bike carriers in the past, on the outside)

 

[roXterra]

New aluminum slim roof rack fits in between the stock bars. Expanded aluminum on the bottom.
U bolts attach from the sides, facing inwards

 

[bsherryjr1]

New aluminum slim roof rack fits in between the stock bars. Expanded aluminum on the bottom.
U bolts attach from the sides, facing inwards

View attachment 126230

How much does it weigh?

Sent from my SM-N975U1 using Tapatalk

 

[roXterra]

Roughly
55 lb steel vs
25 lb for aluminum,
both with mesh bottoms.

 

[Kruked]

I'm in the market for a basket. Are you able to hit me up on Messenger, or I you?

 

[roXterra]

Sure, I will direct message you now

I'm in the market for a basket. Are you able to hit me up on Messenger, or I you?

 

[Spooled]

I can vouch for these racks. I've been looking to get a rack that sits between the rails for awhile, but didn't want the weight of steel that high up on the vehicle, and aluminum racks are slim pickins. I ran across this thread and worked with roXterra to have a rack made for me. I went with the slim model with mesh in aluminum. Man, this thing is exactly what I needed, and Robert is amazing to work with. If you need something custom with it, hit him up! For me, customer service has a lot to do with what determines my purchases, and Robert goes above and beyond in that regard. Checked in with me and double checked what options I wanted. Made sure to do everything he could to get the shipping cost down. You don't have to wait months for the product. What showed up was beyond expectations. The mounting solution is simple, inexpensive and effective. And it's LIGHT! Feels lighter than the 25lbs quoted. I'm 190lbs and it had no issues holding me. If you have any doubts about ordering any of the hardware he is producing, put your mind to rest. Here's a couple pics of mine mounted after I powder coated it.

 

[roXterra]

Thank you Ryan, I am glad to see our racks on different colored Xterras! So far there has been interest from Arizona, California, Florida, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon and Texas.

Here I was virus killing while driving in April... This got tied down with short bungee cords, even though it was just a couple of miles home.

baby bunny transport in March. The cat brought in a shaking scared baby bunny.
So we released it in the neighborhood.
Later that day, the same cat found it and... brought it back!
It was time to relocate the bunny outside the cat's domain.

The hunter, semi domesticated, home sleeping, night hunting, talks to be let out, talks after he comes back, bird/lizard/rabbit catching specialist:

 

[mrfriedhoff]

You can add NY to that list as well - I'd like a quote on the larger version, Aluminum, bare, with the expanded mesh.

Thanks!

 

[roXterra]

One quote coming up... can I ask you to email me at [email protected] ?
Having the history in emails makes it a lot easier for me to keep track of things...
Thank you!

You can add NY to that list as well - I'd like a quote on the larger version, Aluminum, bare, with the expanded mesh.

Thanks!

 

[roXterra]

Finally clouds in the desert after a week of heat waves up to 107 degrees...
combining my recent projects with amber lights, Baja spots.... and the Lowrider roofrack
It's nice how the Bajas fit in between the ambers without overlapping... like I planned it. Big light from 2x3 inch lights.