[KEVIN C.]

Bought the LFD 3/4 aluminum rack during the 2020 Black Friday sale. Delivery took about 7 weeks. LFD packaged the rack very well and the install went smooth. I prepainted the bolt heads black. The rack is well built, looks great, and has no wind noise. I’m happy.






Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Deuxdiesel]

My crossbars and fairing are for sale in the classifieds if anyone is in a hurry.

[besamel]

Originally Posted by Drobs

Where did you post the comment?
What's your question?

They have a question section on their website...that's where I asked my question for them. And left voicemails, etc..

Anyway, maybe you guys can help: I am interested in the crossbars+fairing for my 2020 model and I am a bit lost in the options. I see that they come in Aluminum or Stainless steel. What are the pros and cons of each option? My initial use would be for general cargo on the roof.

They say that these are compatible with roof top tents. Although I don't have one, I might get one. I thought that you needed a full roof rack for those (I'd rather not mess up with installing a full rack). Can anyone send me a few pointers of RTT that can be mounted on the short rack with crossbars?

[LFD_Off_Road]

Originally Posted by besamel

Is anyone getting any replies from LFD?
I tried posting a comment, calling the cell phone they gave me; 0, nada.

LFD, are you listening? How can I talk to somebody in your company?

Hey, we've had a bunch of employees out with covid - so far almost a third of the company (about 40 employees) have had it in the last four weeks. We've been pretty short on personnel to answer messages and continue to pack orders and run production - though I really thought I had us caught up on messages Friday. Guess I missed some?

I will say I haven't looked at messages again since Friday afternoon - I was in the plant all weekend running production trying to get a little caught up.

For your question, we typically do not recommend aluminum for RTTs, stainless would be the better option. Many people use crossbars with RTTs on factory side rails, it works though depending on how you mount the tent it can be cumbersome to install.

[besamel]

Originally Posted by LFD_Off_Road

Hey, we've had a bunch of employees out with covid - so far almost a third of the company (about 40 employees) have had it in the last four weeks. We've been pretty short on personnel to answer messages and continue to pack orders and run production - though I really thought I had us caught up on messages Friday. Guess I missed some?

I will say I haven't looked at messages again since Friday afternoon - I was in the plant all weekend running production trying to get a little caught up.

For your question, we typically do not recommend aluminum for RTTs, stainless would be the better option. Many people use crossbars with RTTs on factory side rails, it works though depending on how you mount the tent it can be cumbersome to install.

Oh, so sorry to hear that. I wish everybody who is sick a prompt recovery and please stay safe.

Maybe you can PM me a phone number where I can ask questions without going back and forth through this forum or your message webpage.

Thanks

[carlodonz]

I'm looking to mount a rotopax on the crossbars mounted on stock roof rails.
I saw that LFD sells the accessory plate but to me it seem a bit overkill to just mount a rotopax.

Has anyone mounted a Rotopax directly on the crossbar? Any issues? Photos would be great, thanks!

[TRD PANTHER]

Originally Posted by carlodonz

I'm looking to mount a rotopax on the crossbars mounted on stock roof rails.
I saw that LFD sells the accessory plate but to me it seem a bit overkill to just mount a rotopax.

Has anyone mounted a Rotopax directly on the crossbar? Any issues? Photos would be great, thanks!

If you get a wide bar the Rotopax mounts fit without modification. You could mount multiples on one wide bar or one 4 gallon plus another 2 or 3 gallon. I purchased 4 wide bars and a fairing over BF and it was only $100 difference including the shipping, etc. I didn’t want to buy plates and wanted the wider, stronger bars. Maybe just buy one or two.
LFD Off Road - Ruggedized Crossbar 5th Gen - Wide

[salsanacho]

Originally Posted by carlodonz

I'm looking to mount a rotopax on the crossbars mounted on stock roof rails.
I saw that LFD sells the accessory plate but to me it seem a bit overkill to just mount a rotopax.

Has anyone mounted a Rotopax directly on the crossbar? Any issues? Photos would be great, thanks!

A lot of folks (like myself), got a mix of thin and wide crossbars so we could directly mount the rotopax to the wide crossbar. Seems to be the best of both worlds.

[krhayes79]

Originally Posted by carlodonz

I'm looking to mount a rotopax on the crossbars mounted on stock roof rails.
I saw that LFD sells the accessory plate but to me it seem a bit overkill to just mount a rotopax.

Has anyone mounted a Rotopax directly on the crossbar? Any issues? Photos would be great, thanks!

This was a challenge without the accessory mount sold from LFD. I am someone who does not like to spend money when I can make my own version, so that is what I did. This process did take two crossbars. I have a 4gal Rotopax that requires two mounts.

I bought one metal flat bar from HD (1" x 72" x 1/8" thick) and cut them down to four 1ft pieces. I then measured to find the middle of the bar and marked drill holes for where I would mount the rotopax mount to. I also measure 1" from the end on each side for holes to mount to the LFD crossbars. I then spray painted them black and mounted.

They worked really really well and it only cost me $12 for the flat bar (I already had paint and mounting hardware) and maybe 2 hours of time. It is so solid that I can use the Rotopax handle to pull myself up from the ground.

[carlodonz]

Originally Posted by TRD PANTHER

If you get a wide bar the Rotopax mounts fit without modification. You could mount multiples on one wide bar or one 4 gallon plus another 2 or 3 gallon. I purchased 4 wide bars and a fairing over BF and it was only $100 difference including the shipping, etc. I didn’t want to buy plates and wanted the wider, stronger bars. Maybe just buy one or two.
LFD Off Road - Ruggedized Crossbar 5th Gen - Wide

This could be an option, I honestly missed this option when I place my order.

[carlodonz]

Originally Posted by krhayes79

This was a challenge without the accessory mount sold from LFD. I am someone who does not like to spend money when I can make my own version, so that is what I did. This process did take two crossbars. I have a 4gal Rotopax that requires two mounts.

I bought one metal flat bar from HD (1" x 72" x 1/8" thick) and cut them down to four 1ft pieces. I then measured to find the middle of the bar and marked drill holes for where I would mount the rotopax mount to. I also measure 1" from the end on each side for holes to mount to the LFD crossbars. I then spray painted them black and mounted.

They worked really really well and it only cost me $12 for the flat bar (I already had paint and mounting hardware) and maybe 2 hours of time. It is so solid that I can use the Rotopax handle to pull myself up from the ground.

This is somewhat similar to what I was planning to do myself, thanks for sharing! Glad to know that it is a solid solution.

[TRD PANTHER]

Originally Posted by carlodonz

This could be an option, I honestly missed this option when I place my order.

I wonder if they would substitute and you pay the difference for a couple wide bars? I’m guessing you purchased the 4 standard bars with integrated fairing? Or do what KRHAYES79 did.

[LFD_Off_Road]

Yep, that's exactly what was behind the wide bar, direct bolt on for rotopax.

I have bolted a rotopax to a regular bar using only two of the bolts on the rotopax mount. It worked, and honestly would probably be sufficient, but I feel better with four bolts in it.

That metal strip bridging the crossbars is a good idea. We've done that before too in a pinch trying to mount something.

[carlodonz]

Originally Posted by LFD_Off_Road

Yep, that's exactly what was behind the wide bar, direct bolt on for rotopax.

I have bolted a rotopax to a regular bar using only two of the bolts on the rotopax mount. It worked, and honestly would probably be sufficient, but I feel better with four bolts in it.

That metal strip bridging the crossbars is a good idea. We've done that before too in a pinch trying to mount something.

So I was looking at the actual rotopax mount:

I was wondering if it's possible to mount just the mount itself (top left in the picture above) without the round base.
Or maybe mount the round base diagonally?

[krhayes79]

Originally Posted by carlodonz

So I was looking at the actual rotopax mount:

I was wondering if it's possible to mount just the mount itself (top left in the picture above) without the round base.
Or maybe mount the round base diagonally?

Mounting diagonally will make your rotopax sit diagonally as well. Ask me how I know LOL

I would assume you could go without the plate, I just do not know how sturdy it would be with only two bolts. Also, the Rotopax would rub in the crossbars and may rattle and cause wear on the outside of the Rotopax where it is touching the crossbar.