Would love some help designing an exoskeleton/ roof rack and latter on my VW Vanagon. Plan to attach a decent amount of items on the top and on the side of the van. If anyone has experience welding pipe together I’d love to know more about getting it set up for my set up.
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I’m surprised that neither @Team_Automotive nor @Team_Metal_Shop have said anything. Probably because it’s the holidays and everybody’s crazy busy, between Christmas projects and just the craziness that is December.
It’s because the post is too vague.
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Maybe not so much vague (picture 2 looks pretty explicit) as a very ambitious project.
You will need to cut and weld a bunch of coped pipe joints, google “tube cope calculator” I think we have a Pipe notcher in the machine shop that uses a hole saw to cut the coped joint. A roof rack is too big for our welding tables so you’ll need to do it on the floor or build a plywood fixture, use blocks to lift the pipe so the joints you are welding are not in contact with the plywood. I’ve never welded anything that big. Be careful of making it too heavy, I was on a bike trip once and got a really good deal on some nice Thule bike racks that our guide ended up taking off his van cause they were too heavy
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I meant I don’t know if, as the post suggests, he can’t fixture and weld, or he needs help with the design and pipe bending as well as weld fixturing.
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Yes, on the notcher, up to 2.5" OD
We have bend tech on the design computers, but the license needs to be activated.
The tubing bender needs some love. I looked at it a couple weeks ago, someone galled the pivot pin. Also the 1.75” tube follower die was tore up.
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The top brown van is the one I own and am wanting to build the rack/ cage. The racks are going to be there for holding things on the roof upwards of 100-300 pounds. There is alot I can elaborate but that is what I’m starting with.
Definitely need help with the pipe building and welding the design I can manage in a design program and get dimensions for size options.
I’m not planning for to much weight. I want to put some solar and a possible grow box and plants in certain spots on the vehicle.
If I can bring in a dgn or dwg file I can make the file and bring it over.
Was that a kit? If so save yourself tons of money and buy it… the price of steel is super expensive… and it going to be a lot of work… and without the proper knowledge 
in our Mig class you should have been. Told not weld anything where life and limb is on the line…
An exoskeleton is typically structural, like roll cages just on the outside of your off road vehicle.
If not designed correctly it’s going to howl like a MOFO driving down the road. It may not stay attached to you Vw… in the event of an accident it may come loose and kill someone? Whatever weight you put on top of the VW it need to stay on top of the bus if you get in an accident…
Can you say Liability?
Are you certified ti weld that up? I don’t know anyone that is that would have the time to help you…
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Very important points. I have a small amount of knowledge on welding. I plan for the exo cage is to be able to build grow boxes for small plants and have somewhere to connect to and hold them on. The other objects will be on the roof but won’t weigh much. I can design a rack I just don’t know anyone in the business to have a good starting point. The cage will have multiple weld spots but it doesn’t really need to be super huge steel bars. I have some pictures that I drew in pipes but nothing advanced.
I just wanted to post encouraging words because I want to see work like this being done; I hope one day to get to join in, because this kind of stuff is ubercool in my book. 
This seems…inspirational…I guess, so I’m going to leave it laying here…
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I’m doing everything possible to keep my ideas flowing with how to make it happen! It has been at makerspace pretty often. I can’t wait to see how this goes so far this van has been nothing but a pleasure!
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Sorry I wasn’t trying to be a buzz killer… I think its cool… I’ve made modifications to every Jeep I’ve ever owned… 
with that overlanding is very popular so what he wants to build is even cooler/.
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Well looking at the photo of your inspiration… you need to tie it to the lift and tow points on the Vw… your owners manual will tell where those spots are… this is to transfer the weight to the unibody frame… to transfer loads to strongest structure of your unibody…
weight isn’t your only issue I can think of…
your solar Cell could become a solar sail… uplift in high winds is another problem. I know your bus gets blown Around like a shoe box in the wind…
Then what ever gear you store up top needs to stay put when in motion… then means during, acceleration, I’m sure your Bus kills the quarter mile times at Mile High… 
but also during braking… tie downs are key…
Then there is insuring your Exo cage stays put in an accident…
Start by building attachment point that connect to the unibody frame… the parts that looks like a box under the bus…
when welding your heat penetration is critical for a strong weld… I would find someone who as a lot of experience welding cages to help you…
also look at other production exo cages for your bus… mimic there attachment points…
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