Ordered a 4X and the associated extrusions from tnutz. Both have reasonable shipping to Canada so that's good.

I just ordered from TNutz and shipping to Canada (Toronto area) was very reasonable and USPS, only US$30 total for four crosspieces and a random bunch of hardware.

Short of whittling it down with a file I'm not sure of a good way to do it. I'm patient and like that kind of stuff and I'm not sure I'd want to undertake that.

I'll come up with something agreeable if folks want to swap theirs out. I just need to figure out what that is...

I just wanted to give the thread a bit of an update....

I finally pulled my original rack apart after a year of service. I wanted to look for any issues that may have arisen due to fatigue, corrosion due to dissimilar metals or any other issues.

After a year of service I found no issues whatsoever. The one single thing that I could find that wasn't perfect was that the paint on the bracket was a little messed up where the 8020 bar was contacting the bracket. That makes sense due to the relative motion of the bar against the bracket under load. Since that was under the crossbar you couldn't see it.

That's it... After a year of service (30k miles) it looked like the day it was installed.

Also, I'm still working on the faring. My prototype didn't fit perfectly and I'm working on figuring out why. Either way it's an easy fix.

Also, for any orders that come in starting tomorrow they are going to be delayed by 7 days. I'm taking a few days off and will pick back up in a week.

Could you PM me your order or somehing? I could have sworn I was seeing much higher shipping charges to BC... don't know how you got it all $30 all-in!

I've been looking for a a rack solution for my 2013 for a while. I was so glad to stumble across this thread! It has been entertaining and informational to read. Congrats on a fantastic solution! I hope you enjoy your week off.

I am really hoping to make this work for my 'pre 2014' 4Runner and will get some width measurements soon on the rails front to back. I imagine that the solution is a slightly different length crossbar from TNUTZ for the rear but won't know until I measure it.

Dan

Dan, here’s some food for thought when measuring. For the 2014+ rails, which are the same front to back, the widths are 40 7/16 inches. The NiceRack bracket thickness is 1/8 inch. So 40 7/16 minus 1/8 minus 1/8 = 40 3/16. That’s the length to order from TNutz for a 2014+ 4Runner.

For your 2013 4R you might want to figure out how many bars you need, buy the brackets from NiseRack, install them on the rails and space them out evenly along the rails, then measure the crossbar width needed exactly at each location. That would be my OCD method, LOL.

But you could also just measure carefully with a good four foot ruler at your preferred bar locations. Maybe map it out every 6 inches along the length of the rails to see how much variation you get. Then place your TNutz bar order.

@ElectroBoy

You are correct... mostly. On my original rack, I measured between the rails backed out the thickness of my brackets and used that distance for my bars. What I found is that it's a perfect fit. This means if I want to loosen the bars and slide them back and forth they're a bit "sticky" and hard to move. An additional 1/16" provides enough room for free movement if you choose to loosen them and slide them.

The crossbar bar should be Total distance between rails - 1/8" - 1/8" - 1/16".

Also I'm in posession of the rails for the destructive testing. Now I need to design the rig and test protocol.

Excellent thought! I will send in the order but won't get the brackets for a couple weeks, most likely, due to the week of vacation!

I will try to do some PRE measuring in the meantime. I should be able to identify where the brackets would go assuming I get 4 of them!

Dan

Quick Update:

2013 4Runner Limited with factory rails and crossbars (2).

The width from side to side in the front is 40 1/2" and tapers to 40 3/8" in the rear, so you only lose 1/8" front to rear. I also noticed that the factory crossbars slide from front to rear so that 1/8" can't be that big a deal is it?

Let me know if there is any other information that would be helpful.

That’s interesting, it’s not a lot of difference. The design of the plastic OEM slot attachment system, the adjustment wheel, the two hex nuts at the bar ends, and the flexible bars themselves must accommodate that slight difference.

But I’d think you’ll need to allow for that shorter distance at least at the rear location so the NiseRack bars/brackets don’t bind as you slide them on the rails to make forward/backward adjustments. With your info Eitek1 will know what various bar lengths you should order to make this work.

When you get your brackets, to space them out evenly along the rails, leave 1/8 inch between the end of the front bracket and the front plastic end cover. Also do the same at the back bracket to rear plastic end cap. Then space the brackets evenly. For me it worked out to be 11.5 inches center-to-center between each bracket.

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Just wondering if Eitek1 is back from vacation and has resumed taking orders. Also, any new progress on the wind fairing?

Haven’t heard anything lately. He lives in the recent hurricane region, so hopefully all is well and he’ll respond soon.

BTW, I made my own wind fairing and I’m testing it out now. I started with a cardboard template of the roofline then cut out some 1/4 inch plywood. That worked well to block the wind noise. Then I transferred the pattern to a 1/4 inch 6061 aluminum plate 40x4 inches. I cut out the roof pattern shape with a jig saw. With a lot of fine tuning with the saw and filing and sanding work I got it to where it fit, and bolted it up to the leading angled bracket with stainless 1/4-20 x3/4 inch socket cap screws and 1/4-20 flange nuts. Even at 1/4 inch thick it flexes some so I put a rubber bumper between it and the crossbar mid span to damp any motion. It’s working well now.
There’s just enough gap between fairing and crossbar to slide in the hook of the ratchet straps I have.
I think @Eitek1 will have a more elegant solution.

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Didn’t know he lived down there. Guess I’ll wait till he checks in before placing my order. Great job on the fairing!!

I'm checking in! Luckily I we dodged a bullet from the storm. I live in New Orleans and even with a really heavy rain it can get "interesting" down here.

If you place an order I can have it in the mail to you tomorrow.

@ElectroBoy Nice job on the faring. That looks like what I'm working on with a slight variation. Glad to see the hook slid through the gap between the faring and the bar. That worked out really nice.