Best roof rack?

[Catahoulabulldog]

I’m sure this has probably already been asked on her but I’m curious to see opinions on the best roof rack for my 4th gen. Any opinions are appreciated. Thanks.

 

[HarveyLewis]

I'd recommend Gobi & Perkins, but there are plenty of other options out there too.

 

[Catahoulabulldog]

Checked out gobi which is quite pricey. Are they worth it?

 

[Catahoulabulldog]

Also should I get a full rack to replace the oem roof rails? Or just a basket style that mounts to oem rails? How strong are the oem roof rails?

 

[That_Titanium_4RNR]

I’m sure this has probably already been asked on her but I’m curious to see opinions on the best roof rack for my 4th gen. Any opinions are appreciated. Thanks.

1st and best option imo is 4th Gen 4Runner Roof Rack | 2003-2009 4Runner | Sherpa Equipment Co. — Sherpa Equipment Company I run this one personally and love it.

Prinsu is another brand, along with Victory 4x4. They all make similar styles. Utilizing 80/20 Tslot extruded aluminum cross bars for ultimate modularity.

Doing a style of rack like this drastically increases strength over stock components

 

[Catahoulabulldog]

I’m liking that Sherpa! Thanks!

 

[JuniorPigeon]

I only have experience with Prinsu, on both my 4th and 5th gens. I definitely have liked them from the beginning. Very easy to customize and organize!

 

[Inv4drZm]

Gobi and ones like it are around 80 lbs. Newer aluminum ones are much lighter and strong enough for anything practical.

 

[Catahoulabulldog]

Thanks for all the input so far!

 

[lsmo_guy]

Suggestions

This is a topic that I have been pondering for a couple of weeks now.

What do you all suggest; that is under $500, is appropriate for vehicles with a sunroof, possibly installed with one person, etc?

I have a 2006 4Runner Limited, and from what I see of the full roof models, they would cover the sliding sunroof (would the sunroof still be able to open), and the half models (that allow for the sliding sunroof) look kinda funky.

 

[Boort]

This is a topic that I have been pondering for a couple of weeks now.

What do you all suggest; that is under $500, is appropriate for vehicles with a sunroof, possibly installed with one person, etc?

I have a 2006 4Runner Limited, and from what I see of the full roof models, they would cover the sliding sunroof (would the sunroof still be able to open), and the half models (that allow for the sliding sunroof) look kinda funky.

I have the full length Sherpa Princeton rack on my 2006, No problems opening the sunroof. though IIRC it's about $800. Install took about 1 day but that was because I dropped one of the stock clip brackets into my headliner and needed to fish it out.

Boort

 

[That_Titanium_4RNR]

This is a topic that I have been pondering for a couple of weeks now.

What do you all suggest; that is under $500, is appropriate for vehicles with a sunroof, possibly installed with one person, etc?

I have a 2006 4Runner Limited, and from what I see of the full roof models, they would cover the sliding sunroof (would the sunroof still be able to open), and the half models (that allow for the sliding sunroof) look kinda funky.

My Sherpa allows for the sunroof to operate in both all positions possible regardless of cross bar configuration. If having a cross bar above the sunroof impeding your view bothers you, you can always just slide it forward or aft the sunroof. It is not sub $500, but you will have a hard time finding one that is! Also I did mine by myself in a few hours, going VERY slow, as to not mess up anything during install.

 

[0verland]

I don't have personal experience with either but know people who have both and would go with Victory 4x4 or Sherpa. They seem to have the best build quality and customer service overall, I will be going with one or the other soon.

I wrote off Gobi a long time ago when they forgot where they came from and decided profits were above all, snuffing out the candle of a small entrepreneur with lawsuits. They won't get a dime of mine, but do as you will.

 

[Catahoulabulldog]

I’m definitely leaning towards Sherpa or Victory 4x4. I didn’t really want aluminum but after seeing that their load capabilities are the same as the steel at half the weight it might be the way to go.

 

[evan1242]

I’m definitely leaning towards Sherpa or Victory 4x4. I didn’t really want aluminum but after seeing that their load capabilities are the same as the steel at half the weight it might be the way to go.

I’m leaning towards Sherpa as well.

 

[alpinhi]

I guess Ill be that guy, I didn't want to pay a whole lot for a rack but needed one since my spare wouldn't fit in the factory spot anymore. I ended going for the Rola rack off of amazon, I did opt to add the center extension to add some length and Im glad I did because I use every inch of it on trips. The brackets that come with the Rola rack attach to your factory cross bars on the luggage rack. I didn't even put those on, just threw them in the trash and opted for the 4XInovations Rola rack lowering brackets. I wanted the rack to have a low profile and not stick up like some of those goofing looking baskets and I wanted the truck to still fit in the garage when the rack was empty.
Long story short, some people complained about Rola rusting and dripping rusty water on their vehicles. Rola now sends rubber sleeves that slide over the connection joints to help prevent this. I took it one step farther and put black RTV around all the screws and connections then put the sleeve over. I have had this rack in the midwest for 5 years with zero rust or powder coat flaking off. The rack says its rated for 200lbs of weight but I can crawl on top of it fully loaded with the spare, fuel can, and gear with no issues at all. The one issue I did have early on was the front fairing would hum badly at highway speeds, the mounting screws couldn't get it tight enough. I had a cheap remedy that worked like a charm, I pulled the fairing back off and wrapped the front tube that the fairing mounts to with a bicycle inner tube and re-installed the faring over it and that did it. You can't see the inner tube or even know its there. A little ghetto you say, maybe but it was cheap fix for an annoying problem. I love the rack and it was only meant to be short term use until I saved up for a "nice" rack. I like it so much I haven't changed it and it has been throughs trails in Moab and all over Colorado including the entire Kokopelli Trail. I have just under $300 totally invested in it.

 

[Boort]

I’m definitely leaning towards Sherpa or Victory 4x4. I didn’t really want aluminum but after seeing that their load capabilities are the same as the steel at half the weight it might be the way to go.

[MENTION=358519]Catahoulabulldog[/MENTION]

Aluminum has another bonus over steel besides weight... It does not rust. The last thing you want is a rusty rack dripping ugly Bloody Sh!t stains down your rig.

:eyebrows:

Boort

 

[Ambient]

This may be a dumb question, but can the Victory or Sherpa racks take the weight of a person?
The reason I ask is because I would like to set up my tripod on top of my 4runner and do some photography. Just want to be sure that it could take the "point load" weight.

 

[mysticz]

I think the first question needs to be answered is what do you plan to use your roof rack for? RTT, gear, gun box storage and etc.



Example for me I decided to go with BajaRack exp style rack to hold gear in the front enclosed area and a RTT on the rear portion of the rack. Now I have sold my Tepui RTT I am looking to replace my current rack with a Sherpa style rack.

 

[mysticz]

I guess Ill be that guy, I didn't want to pay a whole lot for a rack but needed one since my spare wouldn't fit in the factory spot anymore. I ended going for the Rola rack off of amazon, I did opt to add the center extension to add some length and Im glad I did because I use every inch of it on trips. The brackets that come with the Rola rack attach to your factory cross bars on the luggage rack. I didn't even put those on, just threw them in the trash and opted for the 4XInovations Rola rack lowering brackets. I wanted the rack to have a low profile and not stick up like some of those goofing looking baskets and I wanted the truck to still fit in the garage when the rack was empty.

Long story short, some people complained about Rola rusting and dripping rusty water on their vehicles. Rola now sends rubber sleeves that slide over the connection joints to help prevent this. I took it one step farther and put black RTV around all the screws and connections then put the sleeve over. I have had this rack in the midwest for 5 years with zero rust or powder coat flaking off. The rack says its rated for 200lbs of weight but I can crawl on top of it fully loaded with the spare, fuel can, and gear with no issues at all. The one issue I did have early on was the front fairing would hum badly at highway speeds, the mounting screws couldn't get it tight enough. I had a cheap remedy that worked like a charm, I pulled the fairing back off and wrapped the front tube that the fairing mounts to with a bicycle inner tube and re-installed the faring over it and that did it. You can't see the inner tube or even know its there. A little ghetto you say, maybe but it was cheap fix for an annoying problem. I love the rack and it was only meant to be short term use until I saved up for a "nice" rack. I like it so much I haven't changed it and it has been throughs trails in Moab and all over Colorado including the entire Kokopelli Trail. I have just under $300 totally invested in it.

I still have sitting in my garage collecting dust something similar I used before a full rack, its a BajaRack mule rack. Photo of my old parts.