I haven't actually used my rack yet (only had the 4Runner for 11 days) but the rails look very sturdy to me. The factory crossbars are usually the weak point.

I use the Yakima system already. I bought the RailGrab feet and 48" bars years ago to hold my RockyMounts. I've had them on three vehicles now. Very easy to adjust between different vehicles, and I can put the rack on my Volkswagen in 5-10 minutes, and it has the same type of rails. I would recommend it based on my experience so far.

For bikes, I will probably be using a hitch rack with the 4R because I'm not crazy about putting my 29er on the roof, let alone 4 of them. I dropped a handlebar on my Legacy and put a nice dent in the roof just before I traded it for my Volkswagen. I don't want to risk that on the 4Runner.

However, I will be picking up another set of (longer) bars at some point because I'd like to get back into kayaking. Time to cash in my REI dividend during the 20% off member sale.

Great pics and ideas. Love the tear drop trailer. Looked into buying one a few weeks back but forgot I married a city girl. Doh! Let me clarify what I meant by useless. I agree. The rails and cross bars are well constructed. The cross bars come with nice tie down holds. I have used them quite a bit. My beef is that Toyota doesn't provide accessories that you can mount to the cross bars. I looked long and hard for some simple load pegs that I could mount to the bars but found nothing. I'm a bit risk averse. The cross bars are curved so loads tend to shift. Thanks for the Thule tip jdkilroy but went to the Thule site and their product selection wizard did not include aero bars for my 2007 just the square ones. What model aero bars do you have? Sounds like I'm heading in the right direction with the Rhino Aero SXB bars.

Now I am reevaluating sticking with Yakima for my truck. I like these Rhino bars, and that price is pretty good, too. I certainly wouldn't mind a set of aero bars. My Yaks are a bit noisy on the VW, even though they were quiet on both of my Subarus. Doh.

Thanks, Silver!

That is the special edition 4Cruiser grille, otherwise known as the Satoshi grille.

Search "Satoshi" for some great how-to's.

Hey Ken, I just ordered the Rapid Crossroad Foot Pack; they clamp to existing rails and then ordered a couple 53" AeroBlade load bars to go with them. The set-up is really strong. Needs to be as the wind forces on those big boats can get severe.

It's great to see the different ways guys are using their roof rack. I appreciate people mentioning the parts they're using to make it work too.

You wouldn't happen to have the stock cross bars for sale would you?

My kayak is 70 lbs.. I dead lift it and a lot of times kinda slam it on my OEM cross bars. I think its pretty sturdy. Wind gust at 30mph going down the highway at 60-70 mph... it held.. you have to find use for it.

Sorry Adobo, They are still in use on the rig.

I just made a rack to add into the existing rails. Strong as heck, probably loaded close to 400#'s up there on a 200 mile camping trip with not one issue. Roof Rack Complete, Home Brew Style...

For my first three-week scenic backcountry driving trip this past July, I mounted two 4-gallon Rotopax cans and a pair of TRED 1100s on the roof. One design goal was to use the factory roof rack with minimal extra hardware. The other design goal was to make everything removable for urban driving.

Parts list for mounting Rotopax cans:

• 4x Yakima MightyMounts 23H (discontinued but still available on Amazon)
• 1x Rotopax universal mounting plate RX-UMP
• 2x Rotopax 1/2/4-gallon extension RX-EXT
• 2x Rotopax locking pack mount RX-LOX-PM
• 2x Rotopax 4-gallon gas can RX-4G (or any combination of four 2-gallon cans)

I started by attaching the Rotopax extensions to the mounting plate. Then I inserted the hex nuts that came with the MightyMounts into the corresponding holes and used the Rotopax bolts and nuts to attach the mounting plate. This required moving the crossbars closer together from the recommended position after sliding on the MightyMounts. (Front = left)



I strongly recommend getting the more expensive locking mounts because the have a square center that stays in place when inserted into the openings in the cans even when the cans lose pressure owing to temperature or lower elevation. I lost a non-locking deluxe mount that came loose and fell off at highway speed. Also, it pays to shop around a bit for the various parts.

The complete setup includes a pair of TRED 1100 recovery boards.

Parts list for mounting recovery boards:

• 1x 1 5/8" foam pipe insulation (tube)
• 1x Orbit 20mil pipe wrap tape (does not dry out like duct tape)
• 2x Keeper 8' by 1" 200 lbs lashing straps

Here is the complete setup in action:



This worked well for moderate backcountry driving on trails such as White Rim Road (Canyonlands NP) and Medano Pass Primitive Road (Great Sand Dunes NP). We never needed the gas but did use the TREDs quite a bit.

Looks awesome.

Don't know if the OP is still on here but when we traded our canoe for 2 kayaks, I put a set of Yakima 72" crossbars on with the Rail Grabber mounts (purchased off of CL for $50 - 1/4 of retail) and it holds 2 wide kayaks side x side.

That thing is sweeeeet!

I have successfully used Yakima MightyMounts 23H to attach a Rotopax mounting plate directly to the factory crossbars and carry two stacked 4-gallon cans:



Today, I finally added two more crossbars I bought on eBay last fall:



I also acquired a second set of MightyMounts.

Do you think I can use these to attach this Yakima spare tire carrier directly to the crossbars and use it to carry a stock or 32" P-metric tire (255/75R17) as a second spare? This would seem to be a safer option than strapping the spare tire directly to the crossbars.

To clarify, the idea is to carry both the gas cans (30 kg) and the spare (also about 30 kg). I still need to determine if everything fits length-wise, but my hope is to carry the two stacked Rotopax 4-gallon cans across the front and the spare tire toward the rear.

I'd be grateful for any feedback!