Made With Metals Ep. 1 | Fabricating a Forever Sprinter Van Roof Rack

MWM EPISODE 1 // In our first episode of Made With Metals, we focus on Joshua Borsman and his goal of bringing his sprinter van roof rack to life! From CAD designs to reality, this tigerwood and aluminum rack is built to last forever!
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Co-produced By Online Metals & First Article Productions
Filmed By: Jesse Larson
jklvideo.com/
Need Metals? bit.ly/shopmetals
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Materials Used:
1.5 x 1.5 Aluminum Square Tube 6061-T6- www.onlinemetals.com/en/buy/a...
¼” Aluminum Plate 6061-T651 (For Mounting Plates) - www.onlinemetals.com/en/buy/a...
1 x 4 x 16ft Long Tigerwood
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#madewithmetals #buymetalsonline #onlinemetals #vanlife #makermovement #sprintervan

[@TylerBellMakes]

Turned out really slick!

[@onlinemetals]

Definitely, who wouldn't want that rack. So much room for activities!

[@raulernestogutarramarticor3789]

@@onlinemetals deberían traducirlo al español

[@marcwisdorf4092]

great accomplishment but lots of learned knowledge and money needed! And all those tools and a shop!

[@builtbysteele2944]

Extremely well done! Both the fabrication and the video production. Can’t wait for more.

[@onlinemetals]

Thanks Bryson, glad you enjoyed it!

[@HouseofChop]

Excellent work and great video. Use of the wood plugs to set spacing is absolutely brilliant. 🔥👍🏼🔥

[@onlinemetals]

Definitely an effective tactic. Have you ever use that strategy in any of your projects?

[@photog1529]

Beautiful rack...top-notch fabrication.

[@yrigoyen0108]

It's beautiful !!!!!!!

[@gbd5626]

never taught that building a roof rack need a video that "dramatic looking" but overall .... a very nice Job ! :)

[@onlinemetals]

Thanks! It's all about the story and the build. Love capturing the project with the same effort that was put into it!

[@SchysCraftCo.]

Awesome video series. Can't wait to see the next video. Very nice and unique design there. Most definitely useful project. Keep up the great craftsmanship and hard work my friends. Fab On Weld On God Bless.

[@onlinemetals]

Thanks Jared, we are going to try to highlight a variety of different builds. If you have anything in particular you would like to see we can always add it to the queue if it makes sense.

[@L4WNY..]

Love it 👌

[@garyvanbuhler735]

Very Cool!

[@onlinemetals]

Thanks Gary!

[@1000pppito]

The wood was a great idea, looks nice 👍🏼

[@onlinemetals]

Thanks, we are really happy with how it all came out!

[@xxlalbatross3287]

I have V250d 4matic. I am very happy with my car but your project inspired me. maybe in the future I can have a sprinter too. Greetings from Sweden

[@onlinemetals]

Awesome, definitely keep us updated!

[@khavafis]

Best design I've seen on roof racks, if this one should go on production for sale it would have to cost three times or more than whatever is in the market out there and with good reason. As much as I love it I would never put it on my van because the extra fuel consumption required to move along those 370 lbs on top of my regular cargo weight would be the least of my concerns, the tranny's shortened life would be my biggest worry.

[@onlinemetals]

Thanks for the feedback Carlos and we are glad you love it. Definitely not practical for every application, but we are glad you enjoyed the build and final product as much as we do!

[@lmcatech]

Looks really nice. I wanted to see how you attached it to the roof though.

[@onlinemetals]

Hi Roy, we used an aftermarket aluminum extrusion that bolts to the van's rack provisions.

[@Jaydayallday]

Nice vid nice rack. Curious to know about the weight and how much did the wood add to overall weight. Just wondering also rack was pretty long because of van size so I get it.

[@jojozz52]

Nice work !

[@onlinemetals]

Thanks so much! What was your favorite part?

[@jojozz52]

@@onlinemetals The team work and finished product.

[@johnmichaels4330]

Really like the tiger wood. I bet that thing cost a pretty penny.

[@onlinemetals]

Definitely not a build for everyone, but pretty cool to see the process and outcome. Thanks for watching!

[@johnmichaels4330]

@onlinemetals oh definitely. Very nice to see someone willing to pay for a product done right. I used to own a fab shop. They did a great job. That platform will last forever if maintained. Wish all my clients would have been like that 🤣.

[@TigardMikeR]

Estimated weight capacity?

[@pan6593]

What is this for a phantastically made video ? Makes me immediately want to buy/order something from them or work at that shop! It shows great design, material choice and craftsmanship so beautifully executed. What a delight! P.S. I have no idea about the audio, had to watch it muted….-)

[@benjamincamarilloloza9012]

Is there any blog or page where you put more pictures of this? Awesome build

[@onlinemetals]

Not at the moment, but good idea!

[@skyski20]

Its a beautry! I'd make it with 2" round but I cant bend the 90s. Are the plans available? Again, great job!

[@onlinemetals]

Sorry the plans aren't available, but the materials used are in the description below. Definitely not the rack for everyone but it definitely is a beauty!

[@youngmers]

loving your work dude.. where the F did you get get the 3d model of the van I cant find one anywhere... or did you draw the whole thing from scratch

[@onlinemetals]

Thanks! This was a collaboration project and the two partners designed this in a CAD program. I'm surprised there aren't any generic ones out there. Best of luck!

[@lakayshredsmtb447]

Cornering stability is now sacrificed with 370lbs weight on top. I'd would have a bad case of anxiety driving through twisty mountain roads at speeds. Rack looks nice but not worth sacrificing safety.

[@onlinemetals]

That makes a lot of sense, this rack was more intended to be on site for design and architecture jobs, not necessarily driving through twisty mountain roads.

[@lakayshredsmtb447]

@@onlinemetals The owner of the van have stated at the beginning of the video what the van was going to be used for which was mobile studio to be able to drive on site. Are you going to tell the owner to avoid driving through twisty roads? Like I said the rack looks really nice. I just think you could have made it with a lot less material and still have enough support and still look nice.

[@fredschacht4602]

Great build - what modeling software was used?

[@onlinemetals]

Thanks, it was drafted in Fusion 360.

[@youngmers]

Have you noticed any extra wind noise from the rack.

[@OrganicsteamcleanCo]

Im interested in the same roof rack for my sprinter 144wb. How much?

[@onlinemetals]

We are glad you liked it, however, this was a custom build and would probably be extremely expensive purchased from a manufacturer. Are you looking to build one yourself?

[@MusicByJC]

Are there any laws or regulations in US about creating roof racks that are oversized and and extend out past the sides and back? I have never seen one. Maybe people think it looks bad.

[@pruetlekpech2132]

Nice g i d..

[@EverGone03]

the rack will last forever. the weak point goes to the U channel rails on the van

[@GnosisMan50]

370 pounds? So that means you need to subtract that from the van's load capacity. I guess in their eyes, the rack is worth having. ..

[@petervda85]

I never taught of it but you are correct ! And I was thinking just use metal because I have loads of it . But damn you make me think twice.

[@alanwestport]

IMHO power coating would have been a good choice even if you did it clear (if that's possible) to keep the "kinda has a fabricated look, like it was made by somebody". I don't get that sentiment because everything was made by somebody but having said that the protective value of powder coating would have substinative. For example. Aluminum and coastal living do not go well together. Salt air "eats" aluminum in a fraction of the time that is does in a dry climate so powder coating would have provided a protective coating. Again that is just my opinion.

[@onlinemetals]

Thanks, we really do appreciate the feedback. Love active listeners and followers that ask these questions and think about how they would do it!

[@braidenedwards4617]

The fact that this video isn’t the #1 video for this build is shameful!

[@GOLDVIOLINbowofdeath]

If you can afford a Sprinter and you can afford to waste very expensive tiger wood by putting it in the roof where nobody else will see it, you can afford to hire an architect or someone with the aesthetic skills and materials experience to design it rather that designing it yourself and relying on a fabricator for feedback. I guess you can also afford the liability insurance you’re gonna want to have if you’re gonna have a party up there with no railings. Should’ve designed some pop up railings. Would be interesting to know what the fabricator guarantees you can put up there in terms of additional weight without denting the roof, but I’m guessing the fabricator didn’t guarantee anything about that. Putting an additional 375 pounds at the highest most point on your van will undoubtedly change its handling and cause some back-and-forth rocking. I would love to hear how that turned out. This seems to me like a job more suited to 80/20 aluminum extrusions and I think that would’ve looked better too. It would also allow me to make you another bowl changes in the future and the tea slots are wonderful for lying to quick releasably attach things that you can later re-position without having open holes and without drilling holes. And as for the attitude of you can’t over build it. I’m sorry but on a moving vehicle for which you have a limited payload capacity and for which this placement up high greatly affects the handling of the vehicle you can overbuild it, and you did.

[@onlinemetals]

Hey Mark, really appreciate the thoughtful response and love the suggestions and changes you'd make as both a fabricator and end-user.

[@_0O0O0O0_]

300lbs to the top. Lol.