DIY Roof Rack - Lightweight, No Weld & 960W Solar Panels

Our Mercedes Vario gets a new DIY roof rack this week that we custom built to hold three 320w solar panels. We have constructed is using basic hand tools on the main by riveting and bonding together aluminium angle. We wanted it to be light, sturdy enough to house the solar and provide a little space for some lighter items. We also needed it to be affordable and involve no welding - as we cannot do that - yet ;-). This is a skill we plan to hone on smaller parts of our #campervan We have painted the roof rack in bed liner paint too to give it a matt black, hard wearing, finish. We still have a couple of things to add to this in the future but now have the solar cables in, cables for lights in and the panels are all securely mounted. Would love to hear what you think down in the comments. Thanks so much for watching. The steps in this weeks video - this is just a rundown of what we did. 00:00 A little update from us on what to expect 00:00:44 Laying out and cutting down the aluminium angle 00:03:33 aluminium angle strengthening plates, bonding and riveting 00:08:30 trial fitting the 320 watt solar panels in the frame 00:10:49 fitting the side marker, drilling out the roof bar brackets 00:12:05 Drilling the solar panels and fitting m6 rivnuts into them 00:15:03 Etch priming the aluminium and first coat of bed liner paint 00:16:03 Spraying the second coat using a pistol grip aerosol can gun 00:17:04 Raising the DIY roof rack onto the roof for the first time 00:19:58 Update on our rusty windscreen and leaking bus windows 00:21:22 Securing the roof rack to the roof bars using VHB tape, bolts and thread locker 00:22:35 Installing the solar panels 00:24:19 Why we chose the cheaper bed liner paint and some tips 00:25:45 Our LED floodlight choice and install 00:26:47 securing our solar cables and other cables to the roof rack 00:27:25 close up view of the solar panels and roof rack installed 00:28:02 Wrap up and coming up next week About us and our journey We are converting this beast of a Mercedes Vario minibus into a tiny adventure home on wheels. We have grand plans for travel and adventure and are documenting the build each week. We are taking on #vanbuild in our spare time and need all the help we can get really - these aren't how to videos but moreover what we achieve over the weekends. With that in mind we love hearing your thoughts in the comments and would appreciate a cheeky thumbs up if you've enjoyed the video. We have a playlist with every weekly update to date;    • Mercedes Vario Campervan Conversion: The J...   If you want to see how it all began check out our first video;    • Mercedes Vario Campervan Conversion: The J...   Check out the rest of our videos and support the channel by subscribing; it means a lot to us :-)    / @wanderbusadventures   Things used in this DIY roof rack Ulti Bar roof bars for a High roof ford transit 1 ½ inch aluminium angle. 30 meters roughly Galvanised gusset plates - https://amzn.to/3vc1Hhh 4.8mm rivets - https://amzn.to/3vbtY7y 3.2mm rivets - cable clips - https://amzn.to/348TpLe WowLed spot lights; https://amzn.to/2SjFiA9 epoxy bond (we had some Plio grip left over from installing a panel on the roof) 6mm Rivnuts long handle rivet tool - https://amzn.to/3fcNPOo long handle rivet gun - rivet washers - https://amzn.to/3fbhRSr Short handle rivet gun (you could get away with this only) High coat bedlinen - https://amzn.to/3fIlLkZ Jenolite acid etch - https://amzn.to/3fbLnYo xtreme thread locker - https://amzn.to/2TfK3v7 spray can trigger grip - https://amzn.to/3fbciDo Any questions - please ask :-). Take care #vanlife troop.