DIY ROOF RACK 3RD GEN 4RUNNER
I decided on repurposing a Humvee storage rack to make a low-profile roof rack for my 4runner.
Customizing and Mounting:
I wanted a 3/4 rack that is low-profile, can mount lights, smaller accessories, and jerry cans when I need and can easily remove all of it (except the rack) for daily driving.
The Humvee rack was found at my local military supply for around $50 and measures 64" x 35.75". It's a bit long for what I need and a bit narrow, sitting just inside the factory roof rails. The width of the rack ended up being okay with how I wanted to mount it and the desired clearance for the side lights.
The rack was shortened to 53" long in order to accommodate a front light bar and rear lights and remain clear of the sunroof and rear spoiler. I had to cut off the bottom angle iron supports and weld in 2 small angle channels to form a channel on the bottom of the rack in order to mount to the truck. In hindsight, I could have just built this from scratch to the exact width and length I wanted and would have been less work (all you will need for the rack is expanded metal, angle iron, and cross supports). I used the appropriate sized metal spacers to mount from the channel to the captive nuts in the factory rails. The rack is about 3/8" off the roof.
It turned out well and very low profile. Lots of mounting options and lights with this route. I used a 32" light bar on the front, Nilight oval style spot lights on the sides and rears, 5-pin rocker switches in the factory knockouts left of the steering wheel. I tied all of the lights on the rack to a common ground, so only 5 wires running down into cab. I came right off the passenger rear of the rack with the wiring into the gap between the door and body, down the channel next to the weather strip and drilled a hole to the left of the passenger rear tail light to run the wires into the cabin.
If you have questions and want to do a build like this, feel free to PM me. This is a cheap, effective, versatile, low-profile roof rack.
Mounted with M6x1.00x25mm screws and 3/4" metal spacers to get the rack off the roof a bit.
