I ended up making my own roof bars for my Roof Top Tent

I posted about roof bars a few weeks ago, I didn't want to buy Rhino Bars as I didn't think they are worth the money, although I believe they are of good quality. The other option was buying a full length rack, about 60 kg and then it sticks up about 220mm higher than the Patrol, so its heavy, high and ugly and I'm stuck with lugging it around everywhere. The bars I made are only 60mm higher than the Patrol and once the awning is removed together with the end brackets, and weigh 5kg each, so a big saving on weight when using the vehicle , day to day, and looks a bit better.
Making my own didn't end up being a whole lot cheaper, if at all, They are made from 50 x 25 x 3mm RHS, 6mm end plates and powder coated. I incorporated brackets on the end on the passenger side for my awning and set it a little higher so I can stand under it without crouching down and also added a shovel holder.
I made three bars, the front primarily to support the awning and the other two for the tent. The awning is removed easily by taking out the 3 bolts on the end of the bars and can be handled by one person. I have to make an adjustable air deflector to mount to the front bar to get the air over the tent, I have a piece of 6mm Polycarbonate for that purpose.
The 6 ends of the bars have a block of steel welded in them and tapped M10 so I can make side bars if needed later on and i will make a bracket for the front drivers side bar for my sand flag.. I gives me a little flexibility..
I used the S/S brackets from my Formula Offroad Alloy roof rack but I designed 2 brackets in to each end of each bar so i could get the cross bars lower to the roof (60mm), so i had to buy another 6 brackets. The steel $70, powdercoating $130, extra 6 brackets $150 plus a set of Kwik Fists for the Shovel holder $18 delivered. Still OK price wise I think and they are really strong and suit exactly what i want. MichaelImage Could Not Be FoundImage Could Not Be FoundImage Could Not Be Found