How much does the factory roof rack system weigh?

SoCalHeadhunter

SoCalHeadhunter

New member
I'm trying to find out how much the factory roof rack system weighs on my 3rd Gen 4Runner.

I've been doing Google searches and searches on this forum and have not been able to find the answer to my question. All I keep finding is the capacity of the roof rack. I'm pretty sure people have posted the answer many times, but I can't seem to find it.

When I built out my Jeep Scrambler, I guessed at a lot of things when it came to what things weighed and ended up with a pretty heavy beast. I'm happy with how that works off road, but driving it on a highway to a trail is less than pleasant. That's putting it mildly and it's a lot of work to drive it on the road. For that reason I don't drive it too far from home.

The goal for my 4Runner is to carefully plan out the build in advance and keep it under its GVWR. It will be the vehicle I take long distance on highways to get to the dirt I'm looking for. I may have to end up towing a trailer, but want to get this all figured out in advance, so that I only build it once.

I've built a planning spreadsheet and am including the weight of each factory item I remove, as well as, the weight of the aftermarket item I add.

I went to a CAT Certified Scale yesterday while the vehicle is still stock with the exception of the BFG KO2s in 265/75 R16 that I just put on to see what the real number is for my weight. With a full tank of gas and me in the vehicle it weighs 4,360 lbs. With a GVWR of 5,250 lbs that only leaves me 890 lbs to play with, which isn't a lot.

Does anyone out there know what the factory roof rack system actually weighs?
 
Last edited:
Register to hide this ad
If you mean the roof rails and associated crossbars that came on most 4Runners than about 25-30 lbs. I took mine off and had then powder coated and put the whole thing back up there by myself a few years ago. I don't remmeber having any issues lifting while using a step ladder
 
ReconcileUs said:
I have no idea but I've always wanted the Antero rack in black from these guys, if you're in the market

Toyota 4Runner Roof Racks | Sherpa Equipment Company
Click to expand...

A used Antero went through the Classifieds here recently. I can't really justify a b1tchen rack right now, but I want one for some reason! I'm never going to use an RTT, but it would be nice to have a solid platform up there for a piece of plywood and a lounge chair and a cooler! What i can't imagine is when or why anyone would weigh the stock rack during an upgrade.....sorry, OP! Can't be more than a couple pounds...

Edit - I hadn't seen the above post - 25-30 pounds?! For real? Doesn't seem possible, but I guess looks could be deceiving.

I don't use my stock (luggage) rack. so I'll probably take it off to satisfy my curiosity......
 
Last edited:
Endlessblockades said:
A used Antero went through the Classifieds here recently. I can't really justify a b1tchen rack right now, but I want one for some reason! I'm never going to use an RTT, but it would be nice to have a solid platform up there for a piece of plywood and a lounge chair and a cooler! What i can't imagine is when or why anyone would weigh the stock rack during an upgrade.....sorry, OP! Can't be more than a couple pounds...

Edit - I hadn't seen the above post - 25-30 pounds?! For real? Doesn't seem possible, but I guess looks could be deceiving.

I don't use my stock (luggage) rack. so I'll probably take it off to satisfy my curiosity......
Click to expand...

It's a fair question!

I'm weighing everything this time around.

When I look at what I carry in my Jeep, I find that it's easy to add a couple of hundred extra pounds over lots of items. A few pounds for a shovel, a few pounds for a compressor, etc. If I shave a pound or two or more off of each item I carry, I can save a lot of weight.

In the case of the rack on my 4Runner, the rack I want to put on it weighs 50 lbs. If the stock rack weighs 2 or 3 pounds it's adding an extra 47 or 48 lbs for the new rack, if the stock rack weighs 30 lbs, then I'm only adding an extra 20 lbs.

I might decide not to do an upgrade if it's going to cost me an extra 48 lbs, but might do it if it only costs me 20.

Hope that explains the reason for weighing a stock rack during an upgrade. It's all about opportunity costs. If I don't think about what I'm doing with all the small stuff up front, I could be 300 lbs over GVWR pretty quick.
 
I have one sitting in the car port waiting to be painted.

just went and took it, thing is light.

I'd say 15 lbs, by feeling it. Definitely not 25-30 lbs like I quickly read above.

edit: went out with my scale. 13 lbs.
 
Last edited:
SoCalHeadhunter said:
It's a fair question!

I'm weighing everything this time around.

When I look at what I carry in my Jeep, I find that it's easy to add a couple of hundred extra pounds over lots of items. A few pounds for a shovel, a few pounds for a compressor, etc. If I shave a pound or two or more off of each item I carry, I can save a lot of weight.

In the case of the rack on my 4Runner, the rack I want to put on it weighs 50 lbs. If the stock rack weighs 2 or 3 pounds it's adding an extra 47 or 48 lbs for the new rack, if the stock rack weighs 30 lbs, then I'm only adding an extra 20 lbs.

I might decide not to do an upgrade if it's going to cost me an extra 48 lbs, but might do it if it only costs me 20.

Hope that explains the reason for weighing a stock rack during an upgrade. It's all about opportunity costs. If I don't think about what I'm doing with all the small stuff up front, I could be 300 lbs over GVWR pretty quick.
Click to expand...

Fair enough - makes sense. Yes, the Sherpa Racks are very nice - even better is the fact the owner makes them in the USA with domestic ingredients and labor and is a T4R.ORG member who used to post a lot here before he Big-Timed us :rockon:
 
SoCalHeadhunter said:
It's a fair question!

I'm weighing everything this time around.

When I look at what I carry in my Jeep, I find that it's easy to add a couple of hundred extra pounds over lots of items. A few pounds for a shovel, a few pounds for a compressor, etc. If I shave a pound or two or more off of each item I carry, I can save a lot of weight.

In the case of the rack on my 4Runner, the rack I want to put on it weighs 50 lbs. If the stock rack weighs 2 or 3 pounds it's adding an extra 47 or 48 lbs for the new rack, if the stock rack weighs 30 lbs, then I'm only adding an extra 20 lbs.

I might decide not to do an upgrade if it's going to cost me an extra 48 lbs, but might do it if it only costs me 20.

Hope that explains the reason for weighing a stock rack during an upgrade. It's all about opportunity costs. If I don't think about what I'm doing with all the small stuff up front, I could be 300 lbs over GVWR pretty quick.
Click to expand...
Don't most aftermarket racks mount to the OEM roof rack side rails? I think the only weight you would be removing is the cross bars and weight distribution bars so maybe 7-8 lbs
 
Bad Luck said:
Don't most aftermarket racks mount to the OEM roof rack side rails? I think the only weight you would be removing is the cross bars and weight distribution bars so maybe 7-8 lbs
Click to expand...

I'm planning to extend the coverage on the roof from the OEM rack (which ends just behind the moonroof) to go all the way to the front of the roof.

With the OEM rails, my Roofnest Condor XL hangs with no support 24.5 inches in front of the front cross bar. This is well within the engineering specs, which call for no more than 30 inches of overhang. I would just feel better knowing that the support is there. It also gives me more options in the future if I move the tent to an off-road trailer in the future.

A full rack like the ones made by Prinsu or Sherpa use the same holes that the OEM rack does and will give me cross bars all the way to the front. That will support the front part of the tent and also allow me to put some very light items on the front of the rack. I'm thinking of something like a set of Max Trax or a couple of Alu Boxes with lightweight soft shackles and/or clothing, pillows, etc. I may also mount some lights on the rack.

I'm not a fan of carrying much on a roof, since it raises my center of gravity. The tent weighs 160 lbs and the Prinsu/Sherpa rack weighs 50 lbs. That puts me at over 210 lbs on the roof and probably 250 with anything else up there. That would be a compromise I make for some convenience.
 
SoCalHeadhunter said:
I'm planning to extend the coverage on the roof from the OEM rack (which ends just behind the moonroof) to go all the way to the front of the roof.

With the OEM rails, my Roofnest Condor XL hangs with no support 24.5 inches in front of the front cross bar. This is well within the engineering specs, which call for no more than 30 inches of overhang. I would just feel better knowing that the support is there. It also gives me more options in the future if I move the tent to an off-road trailer in the future.

A full rack like the ones made by Prinsu or Sherpa use the same holes that the OEM rack does and will give me cross bars all the way to the front. That will support the front part of the tent and also allow me to put some very light items on the front of the rack. I'm thinking of something like a set of Max Trax or a couple of Alu Boxes with lightweight soft shackles and/or clothing, pillows, etc. I may also mount some lights on the rack.

I'm not a fan of carrying much on a roof, since it raises my center of gravity. The tent weighs 160 lbs and the Prinsu/Sherpa rack weighs 50 lbs. That puts me at over 210 lbs on the roof and probably 250 with anything else up there. That would be a compromise I make for some convenience.
Click to expand...

Curious - for me, an RTT would make sense if I was camping at a spot for a few days straight and doing something (other than 4X4 trails) nearby with feet, a boat or a mountain bike, but isn't it a hassle to close up the tent every time you need to make a beer run?
 
Endlessblockades said:
Curious - for me, an RTT would make sense if I was camping at a spot for a few days straight and doing something (other than 4X4 trails) nearby with feet, a boat or a mountain bike, but isn't it a hassle to close up the tent every time you need to make a beer run?
Click to expand...

We tend to move camp everyday when we're out, so setting up and taking down ground tents every day gets tedious. That's why we decided to get an RTT. It takes less than 5 minutes to pop it of or take it down. I don't have to stuff the sleeping bags, since I just leave them up there.

In the future if we go with a trailer, we can leave the trailer behind with a lot of weight in it if we want to do 4x4 trails, hiking, mountain biking, etc. We can also reserve a spot with a trailer for our camp if we stay for a few days instead of having to find a new one every day.
 
SoCalHeadhunter said:
We tend to move camp everyday when we're out, so setting up and taking down ground tents every day gets tedious. That's why we decided to get an RTT. It takes less than 5 minutes to pop it of or take it down. I don't have to stuff the sleeping bags, since I just leave them up there.

In the future if we go with a trailer, we can leave the trailer behind with a lot of weight in it if we want to do 4x4 trails, hiking, mountain biking, etc. We can also reserve a spot with a trailer for our camp if we stay for a few days instead of having to find a new one every day.
Click to expand...


That makes sense
 
SoCalHeadhunter said:
I'm planning to extend the coverage on the roof from the OEM rack (which ends just behind the moonroof) to go all the way to the front of the roof.

With the OEM rails, my Roofnest Condor XL hangs with no support 24.5 inches in front of the front cross bar. This is well within the engineering specs, which call for no more than 30 inches of overhang. I would just feel better knowing that the support is there. It also gives me more options in the future if I move the tent to an off-road trailer in the future.

A full rack like the ones made by Prinsu or Sherpa use the same holes that the OEM rack does and will give me cross bars all the way to the front. That will support the front part of the tent and also allow me to put some very light items on the front of the rack. I'm thinking of something like a set of Max Trax or a couple of Alu Boxes with lightweight soft shackles and/or clothing, pillows, etc. I may also mount some lights on the rack.

I'm not a fan of carrying much on a roof, since it raises my center of gravity. The tent weighs 160 lbs and the Prinsu/Sherpa rack weighs 50 lbs. That puts me at over 210 lbs on the roof and probably 250 with anything else up there. That would be a compromise I make for some convenience.
Click to expand...
Does sherpa/prinsu racks mount to the vehicle using the two main OEM roof rack rails or do you remove all of the OEM roof rack system?
 
Brian. said:
Diy: Oem style full length roof rack

Just FYI, you can extend the OEM rack. Probably the Lightest possible option to get full-length coverage too.
Click to expand...

What a very cool mod! I wish I had known about this, when I got mine about 14 years ago. That would have saved me 14 years of cussing about a damned 4' long (not wide) rack, when 6'+ is possible, when I was carrying a 16' canoe up there. Or an 8' L sheet of plywood, unable to get up to highway speed because of too much unsupported length flapping around.

However, keep in mind while carrying loads up there - every bit of the load is supported only by the sheet metal on the roof. I saw that yesterday when I was screwing around with making a crossbar extender to help with canoe/kayak loading on mine. I pulled out the extender, pulled down on it to simulate a load, and the track on the other side of the roof was lifting up noticeably, probably about ready to rip out the mounts in the sheet metal. The roof sheet metal was just flexing upward with it. That tells me that there is nothing structural under the rack.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Members online

Total: 3,601 (members: 2, guests: 3,599)

Forum statistics

Threads
278,316
Messages
3,554,120
Members
248,016
Latest member
Advally Service

Share this page

Trending content

Back
Top