80/20 15 Series Aluminum End Cap - Set of 4

Four aluminum caps and the screws to fit them — the last ten minutes of a rack build that makes it look finished instead of unfinished.

A cut length of 15 series extrusion has an open end: four hollow cores and a set of exposed T-slots. Left open on a roof rack it collects water, road grit, pine needles and wasps, and it reads as unfinished from twenty feet away.

These are aluminum end caps, sold in fours, with self-tapping screws included. They cap the profile end, keep debris and standing water out of the cores, and give a cut extrusion a deliberate-looking termination.

What it is for

• Closing the open ends of cut 15 series extrusion on a roof rack, a bed frame or an interior structure.
• Keeping water and debris out of the hollow cores — particularly relevant on an exterior rack that lives in the weather.
• Aluminum rather than plastic, so it does not go chalky and brittle after two summers of UV.

Compatibility

The 15 series is the 1.5 inch profile — the size almost every van roof rack and interior framing system is built from. If your extrusion measures 1.5 in across the face and takes a 5/16-18 fastener, this is your hardware.

Specifications

What's included

• (4) 15 series aluminum end caps
• Self-tapping screws

Working with it

Offer the cap up square, start the self-tapping screws by hand, then run them home. They are self-tapping into aluminum, so they will bite easily — which also means they will strip easily if you lean on a drill. Finish them with a hand driver.

• Start every screw by hand to keep it square to the core.
• Finish by hand, not with an impact driver — self-tappers in aluminum strip fast.
• Deburr the cut end of the extrusion first so the cap sits flat.
• On an exterior rack, a dab of anti-seize on the screws makes them removable in three years’ time.

Questions we get asked

How do I know if my extrusion is 15 series?

Measure across the flat face of the profile. A 15 series extrusion is 1.5 in wide (or a multiple — 1.5 × 3.0, and so on) and the T-slot takes a 5/16-18 fastener. If your rack came from Unaka, 80/20 Inc., or most van rack makers in North America, it is 15 series.

Do I really need them?

Functionally, on an interior frame, no. On an exterior roof rack, yes — open extrusion cores fill with water and grit, and the grit is what eventually seizes a T-nut you wanted to move.

How many should I order?

Count your joints, then add 20%. Rack hardware is the cheapest thing in a build and the most annoying thing to run out of halfway through a Saturday. We have never once regretted having spare T-nuts in the drawer.

Pairs well with

• Van roof rack, ladder and 80/20 hardware

Sold and shipped by Campervan Parts R Us, the parts counter of Noke Van Co. — a working van conversion shop in Roanoke, Virginia. If you are unsure whether this fits your van, email us the year, model and wheelbase and we will check it against a build sheet before you order.