Mounting Rack To Roll Bar

Maybe this have been covered before...feel free to push me in the right direction of previous threads...

Looking to mount a small rack to my roll bar... this would actually be inside the cab, in the rear seat area. My the rear support bars for the main hoop are square corners - think FJ40 - as opposed to the more common straight bars that go directly down to the rear corner. I want to mount a rack to the horizontal portion of the roll bar...kind of like a shelf. I don't intend to put lots of weight on this - its mostly for soft duffel bag, rucksack type stuff. The rack is weighted for 300lbs itself and probably weighs about 20lbs - I can't imagine ever getting near 300lbs on it, but lets say that is the target max weight. I see two options:

1) is there a way to clamp onto the roll bar tube (2") with something like an exhaust clamp? Can I get the exhaust clamp tight enough to keep it from rotating on the round tube too much without damaging the tube? Other options than an exhaust clamp - maybe just some u-bolts?
2) Drilling and mounting direction to the roll bar, but I am concerned about just drilling through the roll bar and bolting through it...is that okay? It seems I remember discussion about that might just squeeze and deform the tubing - but maybe that was for very high strength applications like shoulder seat-belts mounts. I could drill the holes through, then weld in a sleeve...this is probably the best solution, but is it necessary?

I don't need huge strength in this mount - but it is important to not compromise the integrity of the roll bar itself. thanks

 

that's the words I needed...much better time searching for stuff now...thanks!

 

thinking: The rack is 49.5 inches across, and the space across between the roll bar on each side is 50.5". The shaft collars for 2" ID are 3" OD - which means they take up about 1/2" of space each (1"total) between the roll bar. I think I could use a single shaft collar (vertical alignment of the horizontal portion of the roll bar) on each side with a welded plate (1/8") that will mount to the rack with two bolts (might have to pry a 1/4" of space in there). Probably the ideal, strongest set-up, but not sure if I have quite enough room or not.

but...also thinking of another, maybe simpler (well no welding) but a bit less secure...I could use two exhaust clamps on each side with the ends of the u-bolts pointing inwards and mount the plate to those ends. The mounting to the rack would be the same with two bolts on each side. This should give me just a bit more room to fit everything between the roll bar. I am using the HF 300lbs ATV cargo hitch rack...in other words, its not the strongest most solid thing ever built...not sure I need to go overboard with the mounts, but I just don't want to damage the roll bar with over tightened exhaust brackets....

 

These are pretty cool - have a space saving flat spot for welding onto...

 

Cosmetically speaking...I personally think this part would look better at a 45° angle vs the 90°, IMO.

 

true...especially with low back seats in the front. But then again...having something to strap stuff down to securely is better than having stuff piled up with no way to secure it. Also want to make sure it's placed properly to minimize the chance of hitting the back our heads on it in a whip lash scenario. One if the safety trade offs with low back seats.

 

All of the shaft collars I can find locally are black oxide...can I weld on that safely with standard mig/flux core? Otherwise I will have to order online plain steel.

 

Was thinking of grinding one side a bit flat anyway to weld the angle iron bracket I intend to make.

 

Good point.