FULL LENGTH 3rd Gen Roof Rack

[Whitson Metalworks]

Built to be an affordable and tighter fitting version of MUCH more expensive racks out there, measures a full 7ft x 41". 56 inches of expanded sheet metal (mesh) laid in floor leaving the sunroof wide open. Can be built with full length mesh also. Mounts onto the factory rails and includes front supports, no drilling or anything like that required. Finished with a DIY bedliner so any trail scrapes can be easily touched up at any time. Weight is 65lb. Buyer to pay shipping: if you are in the southeast i can freight it pretty cheaply (~90 bucks-southeastern freight), outside of that i'd need to get a quote.
Price as shown- $625
Bare Steel- $575
Build thread here: http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/113925-full-length-rack-build-input-request.html

 

[98_4runnerSR5]

This is badass! I'm digging it. What are the mounts on the front link? Can we get some pics of those?

 

[Whitson Metalworks]

Yes sir, I'll have them in the am

 

[kac0825]

Thats exactly what i was looking for! your in florida too, so when i have the money ill deff send a PM your way!
Do have one question though. Can we work in low profile light mounts for the front?

Goodluck with the sales though!

 

[Whitson Metalworks]

Yes, light tabs would be no sweat, I left them out of this one since everyone wants their own light setup. I'll add them as the buyer needs.

 

[Whitson Metalworks]

front supports: tighten the knob to put a little pressure on the plate (secured with 3m doubles sided tape), lock the nut down, thats it.

 

[Whitson Metalworks]

Bump, I can drop the bare metal to 550 for the DIY'ers out there.

 

[Whitson Metalworks]

Bump!

 

[Whitson Metalworks]

To the top, thanks for all of the interest from the t4r community!

 

[Silly Wabbit]

GReat looking rack.

So how is the mesh supported? What is the load rating and can a person step in the rack for loading?

Thanks

 

[Whitson Metalworks]

The mesh is supported by the floor supports which are 1x1 square tubes, all welded of course. The mesh is welded to the floor supports and the outside rails. The mesh is stout stuff, 3/4x9 size, and is very sturdy. The rack would easily hold 300 pounds distributed and its no problem to stand up there.

 

[MJW]

Customization questions

That looks like what I am looking for. I have a couple of questions.

Does it use the factory rails for mounts? I am asking because I would be using is it to carry surfboards. Due to the large sail area on surfboards, I am afraid the factory rails would be pulled out of the roof. If does use the factory rails can it be mounted some other way?

Can adjustable/removable crossbars be added?

Do you offer powder coating?

I am guessing light mounting tabs can be placed anywhere.

You do very nice work. I am a few months away from ordering one, but your rack seems exactly what I am looking for more versatile then the Thule system I was looking at.

Thanks

MJ

2002 TR4 SR5

 

[Whitson Metalworks]

I am still working on adjustable cross-bars, very tough to find decent hardware. depending on how you load the rack, you should be fine with factory rails (it does mount to the factory rails using beefed up hardware). i see folks around here with the boards loaded so that the bottom is up, and there seems to be less of a chance for wind to get under it that way? im no surfer so correct me if im wrong. yes, light tabs can be added anywhere, $5 each and as many as you want. for me to offer powder coating i would need a good batch of racks as the only powder shop in my area is pricey and small batch work is too expensive.

 

[MJW]

Thanks for The information. Time to start saving

MJW

 

[Whitson Metalworks]

Do have one question though. Can we work in low profile light mounts for the front?

edited

 

[humphreys1588]

do you still have the factory roof rack?

 

[GergDees]

Wow!

WOW! I don't know what else to say but wow! Ever since I saw the Gobi Stealth rack, I knew I wanted it and had to have something like it. I just couldn't convince myself to drop that much coin on a roof rack. I also had wished it was a bit wider and a bit lower.

Rather than pay all of that money for a Gobi rack, I figured it was time to buy a bender and some dies to add to my ever growing tool collection and make my own roof rack exactly how I wanted it. Thing is, you are already making them EXACTLY how I wanted it and for an amazing price. It's as if you read my mind, took what I thought would be the perfect roof top rack for a 3rd gen 4Runner, and then made it. I still want a bender, and will buy one someday, but I will have to find something else for my first project with the bender.

I had a job a few years back as a welder/fabricator and in high school I took every metal fabrication class I could as well as spent every study hall in that metal shop (my high school has an amazing metal fabrication shop) so I'm halfway decent at making stuff out of metal. With that being said, I'm willing to bet your fabrication skills are far greater than mine so rather than making my own, I will be placing an order from you as soon as I can afford it. In the meantime, could you PM me the shipping cost to 53575 (residential) or to 53711 (commercial)? I may be able to convince my shipping and receiving guy at work to allow me to have the rack shipped there if it will save me some money. I just want to get an idea what the total cost will be so I know how much I need to come up with.