3 Designs of Wooden Luggage Rack Roof Support for your Car 2026

3 Designs of Wooden Luggage Rack Roof Support for your Car, which is very simple to make and will help you transport whatever you want.

Step 1: The reason

My wife and I enjoy many outdoor activities, including camping, biking, cross-country skiing, canoeing, and kayaking. We generally use our truck to transport some of this equipment. We also own a 2010 Mazda 5 pickup truck that unfortunately did not include a roof rack.

Using our van would be more economical to transport skis, a kayak and other camping equipment.

I recently discovered that the Mazda 5 (and probably many other vehicles) actually have four bolt holes in the roof, allowing a grill to be easily attached to the vehicle.

These holes are covered with a plastic clip that can be easily removed. After discovering these holes, I looked into purchasing a roof rack system for my truck. The cost of most roof racks was quite expensive. That is the reason for this project.

Step 2: Tools and materials used

To complete this project, I used the following:

• Table saw
• Miter saw
• Router
• Sander
• Drill and bits of different sizes

Reclaimed material: oak pallet wood, satellite dish brackets, broken deck swings, broken office chair armrests

• Waste plywood
• Flaxseed oil
• Various screws, U-bolts.
• Airplane cable

Step 3: Wood for pallets

I love building with wood, so I decided to make the roof bar out of oak wood. I used repurposed oak from large old shipping pallets that I got for free from a local farm implement dealer.

The wood is solid oak and comes in a variety of dimensions.

The largest pieces I have found are 5″ x 8″ x 11 feet long.

This wood is usually quite rough and weathered, so I use my table saw and sometimes my thickness planer, to cut it to the dimensions I needed for some of the projects.

Step 4: Make the base blocks

For the first part of this project, I used a piece of oak about 3.5″ square.

Using my table saw, I cut away the rough edges of the wood to reveal the pretty oak underneath.

I then cut the wood into four 6″ long pieces and then cut a bevel on each end of these four blocks, as shown in the picture.

To give them a nice round edge, I used a round tip on my Router. Finally, I finished the blocks by sanding them lightly.

Step 5: Drill the holes in the blocks

I drilled a large 1 inch hole in the center of these blocks. This hole was drilled approximately halfway through the block.

I then drilled a smaller 3/8″ hole through the remaining section of the block. I will use this hole to screw the block to the ceiling.

Step 6: Open the holes in the roof of the car

These four blocks will be the base points of the rack. To attach the blocks to the roof, I removed the plastic clips covering the bolt holes in the roof.

By trial and error, I determined that the bolt holes take a metric 6 bolt size.

Step 7: Finishing the base block

Before placing the blocks, I decided to cut a 3″ channel in the top of the blocks. This notch would be approximately 1/4″ deep and 3″ wide. The channel will be used to support the rails that will span the roof.

To cut the channel, I squeezed the four blocks together (as shown). Using my table saw, with the depth set to about 1/4″ and the table saw fence 2″ from the blade, I made the first cut on the four blocks.

Then, adjusting the distance of the fence about 1/8″ further from the blade, I made the second cut. I continued to adjust the fence further and further away from the blade, finally finishing the channel I wanted.

To protect the oak from the elements, I coated the blocks with linseed oil.

I used this instead of a urethane coating because linseed oil absorbs into the wood. This will allow me to redo the wood whenever necessary without having to sand it.

NOTE:

To add an extra level of strength to these blocks, I plan to coat the blocks with marine epoxy resin and fiberglass.

Step 8: Attach Base Blocks to Roof

The blocks were now ready to be installed on the roof. Using a #6 metric screw and washer, I attached each block to the roof of the Mazda 5.

Step 9: Make the cross rails

The crossbars were next. Again, using oak from the pallets, my thickness planer, table saw, and miter saw, I cut two pieces 3″ wide, 1″ thick, and about 40″ long.

Then I used my Router a bit to round the edges of the rail again, leaving about 4″ on each end of the square.

This is the part of the rails that fit into the channel of each block. I sanded the rails, again, coated the rails with linseed oil.

The next task was to attach the rails to the block. I used #8 x 2" GRK low profile washer head screws to attach the rail to the block.

I have pre-drilled the holes to prevent the rails from splitting. My luggage rack was now complete and ready to go. I was quite surprised and satisfied with how solid and strong the wooden luggage rack is.

NOTE:

Again, to add an extra level of strength to these rails, I plan to cover them with marine epoxy resin and fiberglass.

Step 10: Attach the ski rack

Now that I had finished the roof rack, I wanted to add a variety of accessories to make it more useful. I have a ski rack that I haven't been able to use for about four years.

Now that I havethis wooden shelf, I was eager to try it again.

As you can see in the pictures, the ski rack adhered perfectly to the wooden rails and the system worked very well.

It's a shame I didn't think about making the roof rack years ago.

Step 11: Cargo Luggage Holder

One side of the frame had holes about 4″ apart. I drilled matching holes along the opposite side of the frame and also along the two short lengths of the rectangle. Using airplane wire that I purchased at my local hardware store, I wove the wire through the holes in both directions to form a web as shown in the pictures.

To attach the frame to the rails, I used four U-bolts. I centered the frame on the wooden rails and marked the location where the holes for the U-bolts should be drilled. After drilling the holes, I attached the metal frame to the rails with the U-bolts. The platform was ready to use.

Step 12: Ready.

These are great car accessories because they are lightweight and tightly wrapped around the cargo inside with the compression straps. As the images show, it fits the frame very well and is easily secured with the straps.

Step 13: Kayak Rack Attachment

The final accessory I made for the luggage rack is for a kayak. There are a variety of kayak racks on the market, everything from J-cradles, stackers, and saddle racks. I decided to make a saddle kayak type roof rack. After going through my "recycling" supply, I found some brackets that are used to mount satellite dishes to ceilings or walls. I used to install dishes and often had pieces left over that I usually kept just in case. I thought the wall mount would make a great adjustable kayak saddle.

To attach the metal clamps to these blocks, I cut a section of each side of the block in a curve using the same method of 1/8″ incremental cuts using the guide on the table saw. I then drilled a 1/4″ hole in each block to allow the wood to attach to the metal frame.

Before putting the two together, I coated the blocks with linseed oil.

Step 14: Kayak Saddle Supports

Then I used some scraps of plywood to make a backing board for any soft material. After cutting the four boards, I folded the sides with the Router and rounded them a little. I applied linseed oil to one side of the boards and the edges. I marked andI drilled four holes for the bolts needed to attach the boards to the metal supports. I attached the four tables as shown.

Next, I found some dense foam and cut it into four rectangles the same size as the plywood boards. I then glued the foam to the plywood boards and, using a utility knife blade, cut the foam. This completed the four kayak rack saddles.

Step 15: Attach the kayak supports to the rails

To attach the mounts to the wood railing, I purchased four square bolts. These were 3" wide by 7" long, which was too long for what I needed. I had to cut about 2.5" from each of the 8 bolts. I then attached the four saddles to the wooden rails with the U-bolts. It is very easy to adjust the distance between these saddles and the angle of the foam boards to achieve the best fit for the kayak. Using the tie down straps as shown, the kayak is mounted securely to the van. You don't need to attach the extra straps to the front and back, but it adds an extra level of stability.

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