Originally Posted by SoCalHeadhunter

I'm planning to extend the coverage on the roof from the OEM rack (which ends just behind the moonroof) to go all the way to the front of the roof.

Originally Posted by SoCalHeadhunter

I'm planning to extend the coverage on the roof from the OEM rack (which ends just behind the moonroof) to go all the way to the front of the roof.

With the OEM rails, my Roofnest Condor XL hangs with no support 24.5 inches in front of the front cross bar. This is well within the engineering specs, which call for no more than 30 inches of overhang. I would just feel better knowing that the support is there. It also gives me more options in the future if I move the tent to an off-road trailer in the future.

A full rack like the ones made by Prinsu or Sherpa use the same holes that the OEM rack does and will give me cross bars all the way to the front. That will support the front part of the tent and also allow me to put some very light items on the front of the rack. I'm thinking of something like a set of Max Trax or a couple of Alu Boxes with lightweight soft shackles and/or clothing, pillows, etc. I may also mount some lights on the rack.

I'm not a fan of carrying much on a roof, since it raises my center of gravity. The tent weighs 160 lbs and the Prinsu/Sherpa rack weighs 50 lbs. That puts me at over 210 lbs on the roof and probably 250 with anything else up there. That would be a compromise I make for some convenience.

Originally Posted by Bad Luck

Does sherpa/prinsu racks mount to the vehicle using the two main OEM roof rack rails or do you remove all of the OEM roof rack system?

Originally Posted by Brian.

Diy: Oem style full length roof rack

Just FYI, you can extend the OEM rack. Probably the Lightest possible option to get full-length coverage too.

Originally Posted by diverscale

I have one sitting in the car port waiting to be painted.

just went and took it, thing is light.

I'd say 15 lbs, by feeling it. Definitely not 25-30 lbs like I quickly read above.

edit: went out with my scale. 13 lbs.

Originally Posted by Outrider

What a very cool mod! I wish I had known about this, when I got mine about 14 years ago. That would have saved me 14 years of cussing about a damned 4' long (not wide) rack, when 6'+ is possible, when I was carrying a 16' canoe up there. Or an 8' L sheet of plywood, unable to get up to highway speed because of too much unsupported length flapping around.

However, keep in mind while carrying loads up there - every bit of the load is supported only by the sheet metal on the roof. I saw that yesterday when I was screwing around with making a crossbar extender to help with canoe/kayak loading on mine. I pulled out the extender, pulled down on it to simulate a load, and the track on the other side of the roof was lifting up noticeably, probably about ready to rip out the mounts in the sheet metal. The roof sheet metal was just flexing upward with it. That tells me that there is nothing structural under the rack.