I've been to their shop a few times. I did see a 4Runner there, while I getting my rack installed, and he had a frontrunner rack connected to his factory rails. He had a tent on it as well. I wish I would have taken some pictures but I didn't.

The drilling and installing the rivnuts was actually the easiest part of the installation for me. My buddy had the proper tool which made it very straight forward. Just measured twice, drilled once.

The only issue I had was with one of the spacers. It didn't fit as snug as the other 3 so I just took a grinder to it. Fit like a glove after that.

Seems the K9 Alum full length no drill rack is never mentioned and I cant figure out why.

Mines held up to hauling CVT 240lb RTT, lift jack, maxtrax, shovel, 3 camp chairs and firewood, thru thousands of offroad miles, bouncing around but never budging and inch. RTT in Moab is not ideal with high center gravity with a bunch weight attached, getting rocked around constantly will put any roof rack to the test - The K9 passed with flying colors.

The install method they recommend means the front portion that's not drilled (hence no leaks) is cantilevered to apply downward force and works like a charm. There's more feet per side that attach to the rail, spreading out the weight.

The T-slot rails are similar to the Front Runner except they run front to back on the K9, and hence many of the Front Runner and K9 accessories will work on either rack- bonus for both brands.

Its def worth a look, but you prob cant go wrong with either the FR or K9.

I will say Paul at Equipt1.com the state side dealer for K9 was awesome, ordered and had my rack in 5 days.

Good luck.

So while I was browsing the Front Runner website I saw for the first time that they have a fairing for the Slimline II that mounts to the front on the rack to cut down on the wind noise and fuel consumption. Anybody have this attachment and can you post a picture as I am Little concerned about wind noise.

I have one. I’ll get some pictures up. Have any specific angle you’re looking for?


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Doc could you do a front and side view?

Thanks in advance.

Mine is a 3/4 so not as easy to see. I have no wind noise but I am guessing it’s because it’s not all the way forward like a 7/8. There is some adjustability for noise reduction if needed.

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I really like my Baja Racks Flat Utility Rack with cross bars (not the mesh). It sits very low without a cage or a front bar sticking up. If I'd bought a taller basket rack it would not have fit in my garage once I installed the lift. Because it's flat with no cage or front bar it's very easy to load on a canoe, lumber and other long gear.

You still have to tie things down, like you would with any rack and it's easy with the cross bars.

I had Baja Racks custom make my rack to eliminate the rear cut-out loop for the shark fin antenna and it fit very close without touching. It's easier to load lumber that way. I often have house projects on this old house that require bringing lumber home. I once had 7 sheets of 1/2" plywood on top (~280#). I added some 1/4" neoprene rubber shims at the 6 mounting points to protect the roof and add more area around the OEM plastic roof strip to the front bearing points. I found the 1/4" neoprene sheets on Amazon. I also used it for lining my wheel wells to close the gap between the body pinch welds and the frame.

The ladder is by Baja Racks too.

Baja Racks is just south of you in San Diego near the Mexico border. It would be easy for you to pick it up and save on shipping. It's completely bolt on at the OEM mounting points so there's no drilling of the roof.

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ok, I have the WIND FAIRING FOR SLIMLINE II RACK / 1165MM/1255MM(W) - BY FRONT RUNNER Product Code RRAC143



I though about getting the bigger one, the 1345-1425mm, but there are only 2 inches on either side, about 100mm total, and the fairing would cover the outside rails and stick out.

I have more wind noise at times but my mpg has risen 2-4 mpg. I have a trip tomorrow and I'll get a better idea how different the mpg's are now.

Also, don't mind the corrosion, the first picture, on the footrail...it's being taken care of by FrontRunner.

have you tried walking on this? curious to see how it fairs as the mesh helps distribute the weight

@Doc.SS thanks for the pictures as they really help and i will be purchasing this fairing as well. I really liked that you stated that your MPG has gone up due to the fairing.

Have a safe trip!

Didn’t go in the trip so I couldn’t get any trip data. I have noticed that I get around 18.5 mpg currently, 3 tanks. Without the fairing I averaged 16.9 mpg. It may be that I haven’t been using the skinny pedal as much or as aggressively.
I’m having a lift installed Monday, and my numbers will definitely change. As much as I like to save money, I didn’t buy the T4R for the fuel economy.


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I was in the same boat. Spent about 4 months reading everything I could about the frontrunner, rhino, and some other options.

My biggest concerns were wind noise, sunroof access, as low pro as possible, and comfortable for the kids to sit on.

I'm surprised to see so many people on here saying they have no wind noise with the FR. I read so many reviews that complained about the excessive wind noise of the FR with some people even going so far as to get rid of it for that reason. While I didnt test this in a lab physics seems to be at play here. 1) the rhino rack has a curved leading edge as opposed to square block. 2) Slats run in line with the vehicle as opposed to running perpendicular to the vehicle (FR), chopping through wind instead of going with it.

I ended up purchasing the RR 76x49 with backbone and just got it installed last weekend. Road noise is there but minimal. I think most of what i hear is from the side mount ski rack.

Best I could tell nothing else matched the load bearing capacity of the RR with backbone. 220lbs driving, 700lbs static. Thats what I would want if im putting a RTT up there. Which I personally wont be. But my big ass can get up there with the kid and a couple of lawn chairs, cooler etc and not sweat it.

RR seems to have good accessory support and I've purchased a few including the side mount maxxtraxx holder, a 2 ski/4 fishing rod holder (mounted on the side to the maxxtraxx holder), and an eye bolt kit.

Also, the gentleman that talked about the mounting bolts interfering with the channels for mounting accessories is completely inaccurate, at least when using the backbone system. There are 5 crossbars that bolt to the bottom of the platform and run from side to side. 3 of these bars are used to attach the platform to the backbone system via a "t bolt" that turns and locks into the channel of those bars. The channels for mounting accesories are completely separate and are on the aluminum planks that run the length of the car. There is absolutely no interaction between the two.

RR was slightly less $.

I think the backbones look better than the FR option.

I put the FR to the back of the list fairly quickly due to wind noise concerns. I either missed it because of that, or they werent out at the time, but I didnt see the feet option (just noticed them while looking for load bearing which btw is 660lbs static with their feet). If I had, I may have said damn the wind noise and gone that option since their 3/4 option doesnt cover the sunroof at all. With RR the shortest you can go with the backbones is the 76 which covers half to 3/4 of the sunroof

Either way, I'm sure you will be happy, you're driving a 4runner

I didn't know this existed. I had thought about making my own, but i'm too lazy. Looks like i'll be ordering one of these soon!

Happy indeed. Either way, RR or FR, you're getting a good product.

I am one of those people who has no complaint of FR wind noise. I sometimes notice it, but only mildly. I do hear the wind at certain angles at high-speed or when the wind is very gusty, in particular on the full-length rack (I have both sizes, one for each of my 4Runners). But then I hear the wind against the glass and from the windows, too. No complaints - it's not excessive nor is it distracting - in those situations it just reminds me to be careful. I did have more noise without the fairings.

I drilled the roof on the full-length. If you do, measure 2 or 3 times, use the rack to double-check, and get the right fastening nut tool. Very happy. Extremely solid and sturdy.