Carrier #1

For rockets up to 4” wide. Made from an 8-foot length of 1” x 2” lumber. Position the brackets to fit your vehicle’s existing luggage rack. The front and rear brackets fit over the luggage rack, and are held in place with small bungee cords or luggage straps.

Carrier #2

Similar design as #1 but with extra support for larger rockets. Main support made from three lengths of 1” x 2” lumber.

(See cross-section diagram below.)

                                                                                                              Foam Pad

                                                                                        1” x 2” boards

After painting them, use hot glue to attach strips of urethane foam to the tops of the carriers. You can buy a used sleeping bag pad from a military surplus store for a couple bucks and cut it into strips.

Regular foam rubber won't work -- it decomposes quickly in sunlight, and it sticks to the rocket's surface.

Bracket Detail

Bracket is made from two short pieces of 1x2 to form an L shape. A thin strip of urethane foam on the underside of the bracket provides cushioning and grip when the carrier is mounted on your vehicle’s luggage rack.

Use bungees or straps to secure the brackets to your luggage rack. Then place the rocket on the carrier and tie it down with luggage straps.

Here are some photos showing how I recently built a new, two-rocket carrier to fit the Gobi roof rack on my Toyota 4Runner:

Above and below: Detail of the bracket at the front end of the carrier. The carrier is upside down in these photos.

Above: Detail of the bracket at the rear of the carrier. The carrier is upside down at this time.

Above: The carrier was painted with two coats of flat black latex paint.

Below: Detail of the bracket at the rear of the carrier, after painting.

Above: Detail of the bracket at the front of the carrier.

Below: Urethane foam padding has been glued to the underside of the bracket at the rear of the carrier.

Below: Strips of foam padding were glued to the top of the carrier. Small, angled strips were added to help keep the rockets from rolling off before they are strapped in place.

Above: The finished carrier in place on the rack. It has not yet been strapped down.

Here’s a way to build a rocket carrier that mounts on the luggage rack of your car.

Click here to return to

Ray’s Rocket Page

Copyright Notice:

The contents of this entire site are property of Ray R. Dunakin III except where noted, and may not be used without permission.