Im builing a roof rack with a light bar on it for my xj. im putting 4 hid lights on it but they have external ballasts so i was thinking of making some sort of box on the front to protect the ballasts and maybe a spot for spare parts.
i was thinking of making it out of 16-18 gauge sheet metal. i will more than likely be tack welding it with a mig welder. what do you guys think about the thickness of the sheet metal?

 

Im not sure on the dimensions of mine, but I have a home made roof rack with 4 off road lights. Check out my picture.

 

ive got the rack part down i build them for money while im in college iv built 46 of em for other people. i was concerned about how thin of sheet metal i can get away with but still be able to weld it.

 

16 guage is a good thickness. its strong in small sections, so your protecting those ballasts fairly well

 

16 gauge comes out to be about .060 wall so i might go with 22 gauge because its lighter and cheaper. it only needs to protect the ballasts from the weather and give me a place to hide my co2 tank, which the box will have a lock on it

 

If I were doing a box and going to put a co2 tank in I would do the 16 ga. Its nicer to weld and its pretty strong. How big of box are you building?
22 ga is thin.

 

its going to be 4ft long by maybe a foot wide at the most. im not sure what gauge ill prolly end up going to the steel yard and looking at the sheets and picking one. welding will be a challenge if i choose 22ga cuz im using .035 wire in the mig.

 

If your box is that big I would do 16 ga and with using .035 wire 16 ga is a lot easier to weld.

 

Got any pics of them and how much do you charge? I started to make one but dont have the patience

 

150 for a 4x4
220 for a 4x5. i can make any dimension you want those are the most popular sizes though for xjs

heres a pic or two

the black one below i sold to derrick the distributor of vision x lights and it went on display at king of the hammers


























and one of the gutter mounts, this was the first set i made so they look better now

 

lol do 3/8"

 

why not pick up a small 1lb spool of .030 wire. its alot easier to weld to the thin stuff trust me ive been helping bassackwards make half doors and using that wire to weld to the sheet is tough. gotta move quick. i know you know your welding since you build things on the side for income just saying. at lowes you can get a pound spool for 10 bucks. just an idea for ya.

 

been thinkin about that. ill see what my welder does turned all the way down and on a low wire speed as i just bought a 33lb spool of .035 wire. ill post pics when i get around to it as dialing in the long arm kit and getting it running is on the top of the list. when i have 4 hids sitting there im sure thatll give me motivation to build myself a rack

 

wait you have built 46 racks and do it for money but dont have one yourself? thats just funny there

 

i did have one then i sold it, theres another one on there now that im selling and im building a new one that will be on there permanently

for a while i was averaging 4-5 racks a week, iv built 72 racks to date, this is my full time job and not just a side job now, but im sure it beats the heck out of your job