[JohnnyNumber5]

I wanted to get rid of my tool box I have bungied down in the rear cargo space...my wife has been on a Craigslist buying craze and I have to move it out of there every time we go on a new furniture adventure. I did a lot of searching on the forums, looked at all the different ways people have made a rear door rack and decided to add my own flare to it.

I was going to use the same metal I used in my other rear side rack project, however, after putting all the metal in my cart at Home Depot, I realized how heavy it all was going to be. Taking a cue from another members build, I started browsing the aluminum. I was instantly sold when I found 8' pieces of 1" wide x 1/4" thick (!!!) aluminum for $25. I bought two. All the steel I was going to use totaled about $50, so this worked out to be more efficient and MUCH lighter.

The only prob? I gotta drill holes in it now. Solution? My wife isn't the only Craigslist addict: found an estate sale, selling among other things, a bench top drill press (always wanted one!). I got it for $45 :cheers:
(despite the $50 price they so kindly wrote on in permanent marker )

Total parts investment:
$50 - (2) 8' x 1" x 1/4" aluminum
$15 - various bolts, spacers and washers

Enough talk - picture time.

I came up with my own method of drilling my holes dead center. They are spaced 2" apart and I used a 1/4" drill bit.

I wanted the rack to be semi-modular. The long horizontal pieces (36" long) are two of the three sections that are actually secured to the door. The last section will be in the bottom space (about 34" long, if I recall), pictured at the end of this thread. The vertical pieces can be unscrewed and moved to the left and right. There will also be one short horizontal section that is movable up and down.

View from the back: large washers coupled with smaller washers.

 

[JohnnyNumber5]

Final setup:
I added my two Quick Fists for my fire extinguisher, a Rotopax mount and also added the final horizontal piece to the bottom along with two mini Quick Fists for my axe. The vertical pieces are all the same length (12" long) all around. I can unscrew and remove them as I wish, or create more as necessary, as my design needs change.

The 5/8" spacers I used:

Final view of the back side:

 

[JohnnyNumber5]

Installation of pouches and kit:
My badass first aide kit has all kinds of excitement in it. I always wanted one of these along with the mount....expensive investment but super cool and very handy.

The leather pouches are $5 each from Home Depot. I took the sewn "Husky" logo off with my knife, and used linseed oil to treat the leather. It had a bonus effect of darkening and stiffening the leather. Inside are my recovery shackles, two in each. On daily driving, they don't rattle or move at all inside the pouches. The other pouch on the right has a knife and an emergency strobe on the outside that I had laying around. It takes one 9 volt battery and also has an IR cover. Inside I have some emergency items such as spare batteries and lighters.

I wanted to have easy access to a few tourniquets. I found a 1/2" pipe...clamp? I really don't know what they are used for lol...this is why Home Depot personnel can never help me. I knew exactly what I wanted but not what the actual item is properly used for. Taking a tip from my job, I used rubber bands to hold the tourniquets on. They don't move or rattle at all and can easily be ripped off the box in an emergency. I had a spare velcro IR American flag...took some velcro tape and attached it to the aide box. For the non-military: it's "backwards" facing because it's supposed to be worn on your right shoulder in uniform and be like it's blowing in the wind

Conclusion:
Is this the easiest rack to build? Nope. It took absolutely forever to drill all those precise holes lol...I'm super happy with the outcome and it looks really cool. The 1/4" thick aluminum is surely overkill and you could probably get away with something thinner. I'm a fan of overkill, what can I say. It's a very stout rack and even with the thicker aluminum used, it is still very lightweight. There are zero rattles or equipment movement in this design. Everything is firmly tight and in place. I drive 30+ miles one way to work and cannot stand strange rattles and noises on my daily commute (on the trail is another story). On a side note, aluminum is BADASS to work with. Sooo easy to drill and sand. This project has gotten me thinking about other FJ related projects I can do with this metal.

Future additions (read: next week):
I have a wrench roll I'm going to attach on there, along with a standard tool roll. I also have a 2" ORTT recovery strap holder on the way. When I receive those, I'll bump this thread and edit in the pic.

Hope you all enjoy! Thanks to everyone on here who inspired this design!
John

19April2011 UPDATE: Added pic of final look
Have my ORTT recovery strap holders attached now and am at the (currently) final setup I think for this rear door rack.

 

[DAGORED]

:rocker: Nice rack, better looking than alot of the ones I have seen here. I just picked up one of those Roto-Pax 1st aid boxes (got mine with out the kit since I already had one) and mount, I had a Aluminum bracket custom made and mounted it where the subwoofer use to live.

 

[d.blick]

Did you think about painting them? Or is it not worth the effort since they'll be barely visible.

 

[Whoop90]

Well, fortunately for me, I attached the horizontal brackets with wing nuts facing in toward the passenger compartment. Don't have to remove plastic door panel to update my rack to look like yours. Gotta go visit my friend with the drill press again. Nice work. I was kinda thinking about doing something like this. Glad you followed through with it.

Rose

 

[Antarctican]

Aluminium looks totally sick, more inspiration for me, thanks for posting!

 

[JohnnyNumber5]

Did you think about painting them? Or is it not worth the effort since they'll be barely visible.

I personally don't mind the bare aluminum look. And yes, once I have the rest of the pouches, etc. installed, you won't be able to see much of the metal.

Aluminium looks totally sick, more inspiration for me, thanks for posting!

Sure! :cheers:

Thanks guys

John

 

[FJoel]

Did you think about painting them? Or is it not worth the effort since they'll be barely visible.

He should see if there is an anodizing shop nearby... it's surprisingly affordable and WAY wear more resistant than paint. The shop I use has a $50 minimum order, and I know anodizing all those parts would be less than that in total, but sometimes if you tell a shop you aren't in a rush, please run them with your next commercial batch of black, they won't charge you the minimum.

Very nicely done Johnny. :rocker:

 

[FonnieJr]

you should anodize them. pretty nifty craftsmanship you got there. i like how its modular.

 

[Tonka Cruiser]

hey how much was that drill press? let me guess $50:jester:

 

[JohnnyNumber5]

Lol yes and my crafty bargaining skills got it for $45 (tried for $40). Isn't that nice of them to write the price directly on the base?

I didn't know anodizing was that cheap...that would've been badass. Something to think about next time!

 

[JohnnyNumber5]

Added finale pic with ORTT recovery strap holders to original post

 

[d.blick]

I copied you slightly but went with molle packs from a near by army surplus.

And I used etching primer for the aluminum. Man I wish I had thought about anodizing. Ive been really interested in learning about that process since my paintballing days when I was younger.

 

[cnckart]

Nice work. Anodizing is fairly inexpensive,I would go for it. A little lacquer thinner on a rag will take the price off your drill press. :cheers:

 

[fj6high]

Excellent Job Johnny! I have been collecting illuminum metal and all the hardware to bascically do the same as you. Nice job and you saved yourself a bunch of $$$ over what that rear rack costs through certain vendors.

Nothing wrong with getting the satisfaction of a DIY project! :cheers:

Again...Nice JOB :cheers:

 

[JohnnyNumber5]

Thanks guys!

Yeah I didn't think about anodizing at all...it'd be pretty easy to remove the rack completely and have it done.

cnckart - Lol thanks man....and I see why you enjoy working with aluminum

 

[fjdio]

Noooiiiccceeeee mate, well done ... great bit of kit!!!

 

[Cholerabob]

OT question, where did you get that Emergency kit ?

 

[JohnnyNumber5]

From Rotopax:
Emergency Preparedness : Gasoline Cans : RotopaX.com

Someday I might get one of their black storage packs and put it next to my first aide kit, in place of my shackle bags....these things are not cheap, however. The kit is about $50 if you buy the empty one (I filled it with my own stuff) and another $25 or so for the mount. I'd also have to relocate my fire extinguisher if I did that...I'm happy with it's ease of access right there