The area the rust is likely to occur on isn’t immediately real visible. By the time it is noticeable, the leak has been going on for some time.

I’d guess lots of people have insufficient/degraded seals that are in fact leaking or will and are unaware.

you could always add some LFD crossbars on the stock rails

i've got a full LFD rack which still requires silicone, but unlike other racks the spacer is a single machined piece with one side open so water shouldn't pool on the bolt

I still used the silicone....I followed the instructions from the original post.

It's amazing to me that these issues still persist after decades of roof-rack design.

How the hell is there not a better way by now?

So you used the washers and the silicone or the butyl rubber?

I have the same washers now and my victory rack is coming tomorrow so I was trying to determine if i should go get RTV or the Butyl Rubber with it.

Well we had a super hard rain yesterday and went out to investigate this Am. Pulled seat belts all the way out as far as they would go and yep the bottom is wet on all 4.

Understatement to say I'm pissed AF, as I followed the supplied directions from Eazi-awn & Equipt (USA importer). Just looked at them right now to confirm for the 5th time. THERE is NO mention of using sealant AT ALL.

I would have never known except for the poster above who said Equipt used his rig for a youtube install video.

Pulling rack tomorrow and the will see what I can do about the pulling the headliner.

Can only imagine as Oregon is rainy AF for half the year and this has been on for 3 years. Can you say Negligence - the airbags are below the rear mounts wonder what water does to those. What a FKin crock of shit.

Sorry to hear about that and glad you checked. If nothing else, at least this thread brought up a good conversation for those running aftermarket roof racks. Better to assess the damage now than when its too late.

My experience was similar to yours, had one big down pour and felt water running down my seat belt and that's even with using silicone. Fortunately only one of my seat belts had the leak. My guess is that it must never rain in South Africa and thus they don't suggest adding silicone during the install.

Anyone have any thoughts or input on the ARB flat wire aluminum rack as far as possible leaks/rust? Thanks

Watching this vid, how I'd improve on this: YouTube

I didn't notice a gasket on my 4runner when I pulled the OEM rack. Perhaps it was stuck to something. In the event that there is a gasket, this is what i'd do.

1) I'm anal so I'd use butyl rubber as described earlier in the thread around the OEM spacers
2) I'd also lay down several thin strips of butyl underneath the rubber gasket (directly on top of the paint) as well as around the edges of where the gasket would sit when laid on the roof.
3) Do the same as step 2 but on the top of the gasket (this is where the bottom of the mount will mate with the top of the gasket)
4) Install the mount on top of the gasket (it'll stick right on to the the butyl)
5) Cake on blue loctite like a MF around every single thread of the mounting bolt
6) Screw in the bolt as they suggest.
7) for shits and giggles, I would lay more butyl around the edges of the bolt you just screwed in just like you did with the OEM spacer to ensure as well as the rubber washer. Anywhere you think water can enter the system, cover up with butyl.

re: #7, keep in mind butyl will be exposed to the air so it'll get dirty. I was thinking if I put butyl on top like that, I'd strategically cut super thin strips of black garbage bag to cleanly mate to the exposed butyl. That'll cover it up and prevent shit from sticking on to it.

Now you have a perfectly sealed system.

Edit1: Some will argue that the gasket is enough, but I ask those people what the ROI is on cheaping out / being lazy with something so simple yet critical? For an extra few bucks and a handful of minutes, you could have a mounting bracket that you'll never have to worry about.

Edit2: If that OEM gasket from the video is rubber, I would buy a sheet of high temp orange/red silicone from amazon and cut one to size. Rubber dries out really fast in super hot and super cold weather. So, your gasket will fail sooner than later.

I have a pretty solid solution to build a water-tight system for your rack. I've been thinking about how to build a spacer for a rack that uses spacers ever since I bought a prinsu rack (I have since pulled and sold it). I hope the following is useful to you.

1) measure the height the spacer they use and buy a small sheet of plexiglass or nylon reinforced abs or something (some sort of material that will last a long, long time) of the same thickness. e.g if the spacer is 3/4" tall, buy a 3/4" thick bit of plexiglass.

2) I'm going to assume you used plexiglass since it lasts forever, is readily available at home depots, and is easy to cut and drill. Cut the plexiglass to make a rectangular spacer. This spacer will be a single piece for both holes.

3) Drill holes to fit around (not on top) the OEM spacers.

4) Buy high temp silicone sheet like this Amazon.com: Rubber Silicone Sheet Roll High Temp, Red 8x8", 1/8" Thickness: Industrial & Scientific

5) Cut a strip of the silicone out that matches the bottom side/dimension of the spacers you created. You will have just made a solid gasket for your spacer. It's also pretty dense stuff so won't squish too much and will protect your paint from the spacer.

Then follow my instructions in the post above to seal everything.

Plexiglass can be cut with a jigsaw so you don't need special tools to cut or drill it. I just used plexiglass as an example -it might be a poor example, but you get the deal -find a hard plastic that won't melt under super hot temps if you leave the car out under the sun on a summer day, won't shatter, etc., etc.

Edit: Or, check out my previous post about RA Motorsports located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. They have that 3D printed spacer with built-in gaskets. It might be a touch tall for your application, but give things a measure. It might be an easy solution for you. I know they sell and ship them separately. If you need a link or whatever, lemme know. I'm picking up my rack from RA Motorsports tomorrow so I'll take pictures and measurements of the spacer.

not sure if i did this right but i am currently installing the victory full length rack put the butyl under the silicon washer and am getting ready to place the rack soon as my 3rd and 4th hand get here

probably could have cleaned it up a bit better but don’t currently have any alcohol laying around so i just wiped it as best i could.
since it’s not actual silicon going on didn’t think it would be too bad.








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My wife ordered a Sherpa rack for me for Father's Day. I'm just gonna have the Sherpa guys install it so I don't have to F with all this.

While I'm in this thread, why is it that the factory racks don't seem to have these issues? I hear this sort of thing all the time with aftermarket racks, but that the OEM racks from the factory are GTG.

Why is that? Do they do an amazing job of sealing them or something? IIRC, the TRDP racks are port-installed, so they can't even be factory...

Check out this review here. Looks like the ARB uses a rubber gasket that fits over the channel and mount holes.

ARB Flat Rack - Overview & Install on 5th Gen 4Runner, Low Profile Rack

The OEM racks use a rubber seal and thread locker. Rubber is more resistant to general wear, temperature changes, and won't deform, degrade or shrink overtime like silicone does.

Where did you buy the washers? All the ones I find at local hardware stores are too flimsy and not thick enough.