I have thoughts to add a roof rack and have been searching and have come up empty handed. I can not afford a smittybuilt but was looking at this one from curt. The only problem I have is the mounting hardware.
CURT Manufacturing - CURT Roof Mounted Cargo Rack #18115

 

Yeah, I run a roof rack, probably not the kind your looking for....lol



I made this roof rack about 20 yrs ago

 

You sir are correct that is not exactly what I am looking at....lol. That is a nice rack though. It seems to have held up for being 20 years old.

 

That's really a cargo tray, since it requires some existing rack to mount to. Unfortunately there is no easy way to mount to the roof on these trucks like the old days when there was a gutter edge you could clamp to. To mount anything today you need to make moderate gauge sheet metal tabs curved to match the radius at the edge of the roof and attach them with some heavy 1/4" pop rivits.

http://wpnet.us/Roof_rack.jpg

 

Anything here help? https://www.etrailer.com/roof-2011_F...Super+Duty.htm

 

Lots of "not intended for off road use" i.e. the clamp has such a feeble grip that a little body flex and it will be off in the ditch behind you.

ETA: The tab shown in the pic in my earlier post supports a full walk on platform on a TV ENG van with roughly one tab per foot of platform length.

 

I hear they can make a lot of wind noise in the cab.

 

This is the 5th truck I've had them on. They started blue, then silver then gray and now black.

 

Everything is new if it has new paint.

 

Try www.4wheelparts.com.

 

I've got one of these on my truck. Nothing is drilled into the roof and it seems to be really strong.

 

^ I have the yakima setup for mine. just the bars and q clips though. Went sturgeon fishing with some friends, we used his ski rack clam pieces and it held pretty solid. Fortunately for mine I can use the bars with different clips on my wifes Toyota.

What are you going to be using the rack for and how often?

Check out your local craigslist, may have the bars and some other attachment for cheaper.

 

What size bed do you have? I carry an 18'2" canoe and 17' kayak and the racks on my cap that are bout 7' apart work fine no need for aything on the cab. I would look at somehing for the stake pockets or cap if you have one and not mess with the cab. Not neccesary and mort trouble than its worth

 

thanks for all of the replies. i have gotten some good ideas from the responses.
to anomic, i have a short bed. i want the roof rack/cargo basket so that i can through my dirtbike or 4 wheeler in the bed and then use the rack to carry gear and whatever else i may have at the time. it will also make a good mounting point for some trail lights.

 

I have a Thule set up.

This is what I had on the old 2002 truck.




I decided not to drill holes with the sunroof and side air bags so I went with foot pads that require no drilling (same as JoeyCap posted). They work just as well and allowed me to use my old cross bars.