I hate it when I hit the submit reply instead of the preview post button.

Anyway
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/53700883@N06/6516882035/" title="2011-12-15 12.41.58 by 1952 Ford F-1, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7027/6516882035_a247aa2b1f.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="2011-12-15 12.41.58"></a>
Loaded the KC lights on as they have been rolling around in the garage for a few years waiting for a good use. I don't have them wired yet, that will have to wait until we get back from this trip.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/53700883@N06/6516882203/" title="2011-12-15 12.42.08 by 1952 Ford F-1, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7025/6516882203_9ccc014ae2.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="2011-12-15 12.42.08"></a>

The rack is 53" wide by 95" long inside the basket area. The wind deflector is 36" wide and laid back at @ a 40 degree angle to try to match the windshield.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/53700883@N06/6516882393/" title="2011-12-15 12.42.23 by 1952 Ford F-1, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7001/6516882393_a704331b3e.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="2011-12-15 12.42.23"></a>
Yes those are two different tires. I am dropping one of the off to my brother and the other is my actual full size spare. I got on the rack and can bounce all I want and it only deflects a tiny little bit. Grab the side rails and I can rock the whole Excursion without the rack moving a all.


So was it worth all of the work? When I decide I wanted to add the Safari Rack and started pricing and sizing them the closest I could find to what I wanted was around $500 for the rack and another $200-400 for the feet and cross bars to mount it since no one makes on the will work with the factory crossbars. The biggest size was 52" wide by 48" long (66" if I bought the 18" extension).

My rack is 53 inches wide and 95 inches long of useable area inside the basket. I spent around 30 hours of time building and fitting it how I wanted it.
Here is the breakdown of costs if you are interested.
1/2" conduit $31.36
2 1/4" flat stock $5.95
Black spray paint $18.36
J-bolts 5/16 x 3" $9.60
5/16 fender washers and nylock nuts $3.10
3/8 x 4' Rubber $7.49
Metric bolts to raise rails $24.00 (stainless)
Total cash investment is $99.86

I already had the bender for the conduit, the sheet of Aluminum for the air deflector, and the KC lights. I borrowed the welder from a friend in exchange for helping him with an upcoming project.

I am happy with the time and money I have invested. I hope this inspires at least 1 person to take on a project that they normally would be wary of doing. I will let you guys know after the trip how things work out. Thanks for all of the encouragement, it really helped to keep me motivated.

 

Thats something to be proud of! Came out great well done.

 

Looks great. My only thought was that over time the rubber pads may compress/flatten. I know you will check and re-check all the mounts for security on a regular basis.

Great job and thanks for taking the time to post all the pics and info as you were designing and building.

 

Looks like it came out of the ford off road catalog. Look great man. Now make your way to Florida and bring me one!!!!!!

 

809taino I am in Florida, just south of Jacksonville, lol.
After I got the Excursion loaded for the trip I ended up having 3- 285/75/16 tires, 1 with a rim, all strapped to the rack. My wife got home from work and asked "Are we going on an excursion to Africa?" Then she threatened to buy me leopard print seat covers so I went back to the garage.
We have made the halfway point of the trip and I have had no problems with the rack. With the tires up there I expected wind noise but had no more then normal. I figured the MPG would be horrible but it was a steady 11.7-11.9 for 1400 miles. I can do better but my foot gets "heavy" on longer trips so it tends to drop. The rack is still solid and none of the bolts have worked loose. I will be hauling some parts for my 78 Bronco home on the rack so we'll see if different things may cause noise or problems. So far its great!

 

Let me know when you decide to take a trip south. We planing on taking the Ex to the keys in may or june.

 

Alright, a final update. I am happy to report that the Safari Rack held up beautifully for the entire 4000 mile trip. I went north with 2 full size mounted Ex wheels and tires, and an extra tire. No extra wind noise and I averaged 11.8 mpg all the way there.
On the way south I had 1 Ex wheel mounted up with a 285/75/16 BFG on it. I added 2 old school steel 8 bolt wheels with tires and the entire front grill assembly from the radiator support forward for a 1978 Bronco.
I checked and rechecked the straps holding my cargo and the bolts holding the safari rack at every fuel and family stop and nothing moved!
I averaged 10.8 mpg on the way home, but that probably had move to do with the #1400 of cargo in the interior of the Excursion. I brought home a complete 1952 Ford Flathead engine and a bunch more toys.
Now all I have to do is wire up the KC lights, add some marker lights, extra brake lights, build a highlift jack mount, maybe a wind deflector for when I'm towing the camper...

 

looks awesome, great work!!!

 

Sick, sick build!

 

Found 1 cell pic from before I loaded the Bronco parts. We were in the hotel and I snapped it, glad I did as none of the camera pics turned out...
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/53700883@N06/6643130983/" title="2011-12-23 09.36.32 by 1952 Ford F-1, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7145/6643130983_b3bc6a5302.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="2011-12-23 09.36.32"></a>

 

 

Now that is cool Even the same color as mine, lol.

 

That looks great! Did you do a build thread on that?

 

Looks awesome! I would want one if my Ex was stock height. You say you got 11.8mpg...is that close to what you got pre roof rack? I imagine with the deflector the wind resistance isn't too bad.

 

Awesome mod. I'd love to be able to put my GF's Yakima cargo box up top, but there's not enough space under the factory crossbars. Do you remember what size fasteners you needed? Were they machine screws? Also, how much did the rubber compress? I think I need about 1-1.5" underneath the bars in order for the Yakima to clamp on.

Thanks in advance !