DIY unistrut roof rack on your sprinter van installed

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Our van did not have the factory roof rails installed and since we wanted to have a roof rack primarily for solar panels and an awning of some type we started looking at premade racks. After recovering from the heart attack i had after adding the cost of the factory roof rails and then a roof rack, I thought there must be a better way that's cheaper and just as strong if not stronger. I have worked with unistrut/superstrut in the past and it is a relatively cheap, super strong system of components that are easily customizable. The rails which cost about $35.00 for a 10 foot piece and all the accessories are available at your local hardware store as these systems are used commercially to hang electrical and mechanical equipment.
In this video we go over how to prepare the roof for the unistrut, show some of the benefits of using the system, mounting it to the roof and then setting the crossbars for the solar panels. during this time we also installed the maxx fans here is a link to that video • How to install Maxx Ai...
Unistrut 90 degree bracket - amzn.to/3egtF8t
strut channel nuts 1/2 inch - amzn.to/3VceuxL
strut channel nuts 3/8 inch - amzn.to/3fVZHHk
flat plate connector - amzn.to/3RSDiI5
L shaped connector - amzn.to/3rQoVcx
T shaped connector - amzn.to/3T7RZbl
Sikaflex 252 adhesive sealant - amzn.to/3TaLK6B
heat gun - amzn.to/3VsvrnI
mini heat gun - amzn.to/3SWzuH5
3/4 stiff scraper - amzn.to/3fW9ahL
#diy #diyvanroofrack #vanbuild
Thanks for watching please consider subscribing, share the video with others whom you might think would like it, and please leave a comment if you like. If you need van supplies please consider utilizing the links above, it costs you nothing extra and does help us out a tiny bit. If you want a more in depth discussion of the reasoning and process behind our decisions please check out our BLOG at ramblingambition.com
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Опубликовано:

8 сен 2024

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Комментарии : 26

@muminavan 7 месяцев назад

Thank you so much for this video, so well explained and really helpful having the close up of parts at the start.. now I feel confident I know what to do! Also using this exact system for my solar panels on my 2019 sprinter!

@ramblingambition 7 месяцев назад

Outstanding, I am glad it was helpful, good luck with your project, it is an inexpensive incredibly strong system that is really versatile and easy to change! Thanks for checking out the channel and the video!

@KennethHCox Год назад

This was what I was thinking about doing. So glad I found this!

@ramblingambition Год назад

Awesome glad its helpful!!

@Ms.Frankenbuilder Месяц назад

Thank you, this will come in handy for my panels.

@ramblingambition Месяц назад

Awesome, thanks for checking out the video, good luck with your build

@GlennInLaguna Месяц назад

You can purchase aluminum Unistrut from McMaster and Grainger. In high and low profiles. Also better steel options there as well.

@ramblingambition Месяц назад

Thanks for the info

@stephenpearen478 Год назад

Nice video Dan. Thank you.

@ramblingambition Год назад

Thanks for watching!

@oatiko3065 Год назад

New subscriber! Great job on the build! I have a 2021 sprinter 144 wb Thor Tranquility 19L. I’m planning on installing a roof rack with these unistruts. I’m planning on adding a small deck so I’ll be removing our weBoost to make room. We haven’t used it since we have Starlink.

@ramblingambition Год назад

Thanks, excellent that will be a cool feature, so starlink is working well for you?

@oatiko3065 Год назад

@@ramblingambition Yes, Starlink has been awesome! We’ve been here in Utah for 3 weeks and it’s worked great around Joe’s Valley and Wedges overlook area.

@ramblingambition Год назад

Awesome, we were just out there in july for two weeks in our jeep overlanding, love that part of the country

@sgtdice 7 месяцев назад

Thank you for the video. Good stuff! Is there any wind noise while you're driving with the setup?

@ramblingambition 7 месяцев назад

Thanks, I appreciate it, and no wind noise at all, frankly i was surprised that there wasnt, but no whistles

@robertdevore3350 Год назад

Dan, that's awesome! I never thought about using those channels for the roof. So you had to change out the factory bolts on the underside? Used larger bolts to attach? The system looks legit, good thinking!

@ramblingambition Год назад

Thanks, no factory bolts, they drilled like 10 holes each side of the van roof and either you had a factory roof rail installed or in my case the plugged the holes with a plastic plug and used an adhesive sealant to seal them all done before the body was final painted, used half inch bolts to secure the unistrut so have to overdrill the 5/16 hole from the factory and then used a large square plate washer on the underside inside the van to pull it all tight to make sure there was adequate surface area for the fastener to fix to so i was not simply relying on the sheet metal of the van roof to hold everything, probably overkill because the van skin is quite thick but it made me feel better

@TyGunnlaugsson Год назад

Thanks for making this video! I'm doing the same. How did you waterproof your holes? Did you just use a 1/2" x 1" bolt with nut and washer and sikaflex or something? What did you do with the unused holes? Just left the plastic in? Any other suggestions? Thanks for the help!

@ramblingambition Год назад

Ty, thank you! I only pulled the plastic factory covers out of the ones that lined up with the unistrut, sealed the holes with sika flex 252, and I used 1 1/2 half inch bolts with the unistrut square washer on the inside with nylon lock nuts, the square washers are 1/4 inch thick and gives a perfect medium to make a tight fit and seal, its a super easy product to use and incredibly strong, i painted mine with a enamel paint and self etching primer just for looks, its electro galvanized so it already has good protection from rust, just be really careful about treating any ends you cut. The great thing about it as a side benefit is it really strengthens the roof structure too and really your imagination is the only limitation with what you want it to look like. Good luck with yours and thanks for checking out the video and the channel

@TyGunnlaugsson Год назад

@@ramblingambition Thanks for the reply! I welded together the struts so they are a total length of 14' and got them powder coated. Its looking nice! Going to mount it tomorrow. Thanks for the advice!

@ramblingambition Год назад

Awesome,powder coating was a good call its gonna work out long term much better than my rattle can finish. Good luck on the install!

@MarcusParisian 8 месяцев назад

What diameter size hole did you drill into the van? Are you able to link the bolts and washers you used to connect the unistrut to the van roof?

@ramblingambition 8 месяцев назад

They are 3/8 bolts, so i drilled a 7/16 hole. The bolts go through the unistrut, through the roof of the van and then i used a 1 1/2 square washer thats 1/4 thick as a backer on the inside to make it solid, thanks for the question

@MarcusParisian 5 месяцев назад

Went this route for my roof! Gotta say, I love your channel. Extremely helpful. One question I have is how to cut the unistrut rails? It seems like a diamond blade on a circular saw wouldn't be enough. I wanted to run some horizontal like yours.

@ramblingambition 5 месяцев назад

@marcusparisian4504 thanks i appreciate that, i used a chop saw to cut the unistrut, but you can use a reciprocating saw with a metal blade too or a grinder with a cut off wheel, or if you dont have those tools a hack saw will get the job done as well just requires some sweat equity with a hand saw, good luck!!