Best roof rack?

[That_Titanium_4RNR]

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.

It takes my 175lbs just fine, even better if spread out over 2 bars

 

[Boort]

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.

You'd want to distribute the load across multiple cross members. I would not be really concerned about the cross members carrying the weight. Some back of the napkin calculations: The cross member profiles are 1x2" extruded aluminum about 47" long (on my 4th gen) If you weigh 200 lbs and stand in the center of the member it would be expected to deflect a bit more than 1/3" down. (not accounting for any deflection of the side panels that are supporting the ends.)

Each cross member is connected by 2 Stainless Steel 1/4x20 bolts at each end. The shoulder of the profile would take out much of the leverage by the 1/3" deflection caused by the center load. So your 200 lbs on just one member would be focused primarily on the shank and heads of these bolts. Looking up a grade 5 1/4x20 bolt would report a clamping force of 1117lbs over a clamping area of 0.0318 Sq Inches. 200lbs spread evenly across the 4 bolts works out to each bolt supporting ~50lbs + 1/4 the 1 lb weight of the cross member itself.

The next item down is the mounting points on you're 4Runner's roof which I don't have specific details for other than the original rack's load rating of 150 lbs. But that was likely due to all of the fiberglass/GRP in the stock rack rather than the mounting point failure load.

TLDR: you probably don't want to focus all of your weight on just 1 or 2 cross members but otherwise I think the Sherpa rack can take the point load of a 200lb person standing on top.

The Owners and Engineers from [MENTION=413201]SherpaEquipmentCo[/MENTION] are members here and could weigh in with more technical details or point out where my calculations are wrong.

Boort

 

[Ambient]

Thanks for the replies.

I'm thinking I'll have to put down a piece of plywood anyway, so the tripod has something to rest on and I can move around without worrying about my feet too much.

Looks like I'm good to go!

 

[Boort]

Thanks for the replies.

I'm thinking I'll have to put down a piece of plywood anyway, so the tripod has something to rest on and I can move around without worrying about my feet too much.

Looks like I'm good to go!

That is what I'd do. My sleeping platform is an easy grab that will spread my weight across at least 4 cross members.

Boort

 

[SherpaEquipmentCo]

You'd want to distribute the load across multiple cross members. I would not be really concerned about the cross members carrying the weight. Some back of the napkin calculations: The cross member profiles are 1x2" extruded aluminum about 47" long (on my 4th gen) If you weigh 200 lbs and stand in the center of the member it would be expected to deflect a bit more than 1/3" down. (not accounting for any deflection of the side panels that are supporting the ends.)

Each cross member is connected by 2 Stainless Steel 1/4x20 bolts at each end. The shoulder of the profile would take out much of the leverage by the 1/3" deflection caused by the center load. So your 200 lbs on just one member would be focused primarily on the shank and heads of these bolts. Looking up a grade 5 1/4x20 bolt would report a clamping force of 1117lbs over a clamping area of 0.0318 Sq Inches. 200lbs spread evenly across the 4 bolts works out to each bolt supporting ~50lbs + 1/4 the 1 lb weight of the cross member itself.

The next item down is the mounting points on you're 4Runner's roof which I don't have specific details for other than the original rack's load rating of 150 lbs. But that was likely due to all of the fiberglass/GRP in the stock rack rather than the mounting point failure load.

TLDR: you probably don't want to focus all of your weight on just 1 or 2 cross members but otherwise I think the Sherpa rack can take the point load of a 200lb person standing on top.

The Owners and Engineers from [MENTION=413201]SherpaEquipmentCo[/MENTION] are members here and could weigh in with more technical details or point out where my calculations are wrong.

Boort

Thanks for the replies.

I'm thinking I'll have to put down a piece of plywood anyway, so the tripod has something to rest on and I can move around without worrying about my feet too much.

Looks like I'm good to go!

Boort you really broke this down quite well!

Through real-world experience, you can stand on just one cross-member. It will absolutely deflect though. I will say if you are planning on taking pictures you'll want to be comfortable and standing on just one bar is not at all comfortable. Building yourself a platform or purchasing a couple of our Adapt plates or similar style plates that bridge the crossbars and make a platform would be ideal. Youll be able to then put a camping chair or chair of your choosing up there, place your tripod and hang out in comfort! While at King of the Hammers I stood on my adapt plate often taking pictures with my long lens!

 

[Ambient]

Thanks for the help!

 

[mountainrider]

Can anyone help me figure out what kind of roof rack this is? I'm attaching 2 photos. I really like this guy's build, and I want to copy that roof rack. I currently have a full-length roof rack on my 4th gen, but I would like to switch to a half-length roof rack. And I just love the look of this one. But I can't figure out what kind it is. Also, it seems to be mounted on cross bars that are bolted on (i.e. not mounted on the factory rails)?

If anyone can help me figure out what kind of roof rack this is, I would really appreciate it!

 

[Loose Axles]

Ive heard many great things about Sherpa. I think thats the route I am going to go here. Their lightbar cutout looks amazing with the X6S Slim light bar :flame:

 

[AndroT100]

Can anyone share comparison or experience with wind-noise from the Sherpa and Prinsu? They look to be comparable otherwise....

 

[Ujanti]

Can anyone share comparison or experience with wind-noise from the Sherpa and Prinsu? They look to be comparable otherwise....

I can't compare the two, but I have the Sherpa and love it. Wind noise is more than factory, especially with the light bar at freeway speeds, but it is not any more than I would expect from any rack. Crazy thing is, if you close your shade on your sunroof it cuts the noise down noticeably. If it is bothering you, just close the shade. If not, leave it open and it really isn't that big of a deal in my book.

Making sure to adjust the wind fairing so you don't have vibration is the biggest thing. I had no vibration under standard driving, then found the sweet spot on the freeway where I did. Adjusted the fairing and no more vibration.

 

[Tricorp]

Check out Uptop overland. They use the same 80/20 t slot aluminum bars but is 50 inches long versus 47-48 inches of their competitors. They recently updated their 4th gen roof rack.

 

[2wd&4wd]

4th gen 4Runner best roof rack in 2024

Since the most recent post I can find for this is from 2020, I was wondering if anyone can recommend a low profile roof rack. The Sherpa has gotten really expensive relative to its competitors. Can anyone recommend an alternative, or is $1,500 just what you have to pay for the quality now? Thanks for your help!

 

[MrSeth]

Since the most recent post I can find for this is from 2020, I was wondering if anyone can recommend a low profile roof rack. The Sherpa has gotten really expensive relative to its competitors. Can anyone recommend an alternative, or is $1,500 just what you have to pay for the quality now? Thanks for your help!

Agreed! Way too expensive for a roof rack these days. I spent a total of $60 making some unistrut cross bars for my OEM rack to house either a RTT or my current solar panel. You can stand on the bars and they don't move!

If you wanted to:

1.5" Angle Iron
However many unistrut bars you want
Carriage bolts
Washers
Nyloc Nuts
Black spray paint
MIG Welder



It works, looks OEM, its adjustable, you can have as many or few bars as you want.

 

[Runnin on E]

About $60 and three days to put together.

 

[RBLACAUSA]

Make your own! Someone on MUD pointed me to this thread on how-to with extruded aluminim. Doesn't look ike rocket surgery...
80/20 with Stock Roof Rack | IH8MUD.com Forum | Toyota, Lexus & Off-Road Community Discussions

 

[MrSeth]

Fun little update: I purchased a 5th gen rack from Hooke Road ($499), did a little trimming on it and ended up drilling some new holes in the rack- but it fits nicely. It holds my Renogy solar panel, and Pelican VAULT case for camping trips. Super quiet and doesn't leak.

103_0454 by Seth Schueller, on Flickr

103_0456 by Seth Schueller, on Flickr

103_0451 by Seth Schueller, on Flickr

103_0455 by Seth Schueller, on Flickr

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CX8N2T9Z?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_1&th=1