Installed: Rola low-profile mounts on 5th Gen

[b407driver]

After having trouble finding whether or not 4x Innovations low-profile Rola mounting hardware would work on a 5th Gen (flipped upside-down), I finally got the info I needed from [MENTION=152258]Toytrpr[/MENTION] that it would work. Bit the bullet on the rack ($143 shipped from AutoAnything), and finally got it mounted today.

As per many previous reports, it needed some touch-up work for holes in the (crappy) welds, so I sealed those up with some black gasket sealant. When joining the two sections, I used ample sealant on all male/female surfaces, as the 'stock' fit is pretty loose. Sealed all the screw holes as well, and vinyl-wrapped the fairing (satin black) to get rid of the logo and glossy plexiglass. The powder-coating wasn't as bad as I expected, but we'll see how it holds up. Made the mistake of clear-coating due to the flat black paint touch-up I did; although it looks good on the paint, it will scrape right off the powder coat.

I'm very happy with the mounts (not cheap, though); well designed product, and very burly. Brackets and all hardware are stainless. Flipped upside-down, it puts the rack a good 1 to 1.5" below where it would have mounted using the included brackets attached to OEM crossbars, and only about maybe 1-1/4" above the traditional low-mount as designed for the 4th Gen 4Runners.

Mounting was pretty straightforward, just had to decide where I wanted the rear compared to the shark fin. Decided to mount the rear bar behind it, keeping the basket closer to the rear for loading, and further from the sunroof (for noise).

For my modest uses it's going to work well, and glad I saved the $800+ on a 'real' rack. I'm out $221.

 

[b407driver]

Not sure why that last one is upside-down, but it doesn't seem to want to cooperate...

 

[kevinmai712]

For my modest uses it's going to work well, and glad I saved the $800+ on a 'real' rack. I'm out $221.

I had the exact same rack on my subaru, one bad thing about that rack is that even tho you seal all the openings and what not, water still get in it and rust... also it fades quicky.

 

[b407driver]

I had the exact same rack on my subaru, one bad thing about that rack is that even tho you seal all the openings and what not, water still get in it and rust... also it fades quicky.

After spending an hour on sealing the holes, I can see how it would be easy to miss several, resulting in the myriad rusting issues. Also, the fairing mount holes are not so easy to seal, so we'll see...

 

["krax"]

Looks like you could use those brackets with a Yakima or other basket. I dig the mounting solution.

 

[kevinmai712]

After spending an hour on sealing the holes, I can see how it would be easy to miss several, resulting in the myriad rusting issues. Also, the fairing mount holes are not so easy to seal, so we'll see...

I also bought it from AutoAnything.com. I like the way it looked but it was on the heavy side for my subaru so i sold it

 

[b407driver]

Looks like you could use those brackets with a Yakima or other basket. I dig the mounting solution.

You probably could, though there's a pretty narrow margin for what width rack would work easily. Might be able to wing an adapter, but the more parts there are, the more there is to loosen.

 

[(none)]

Looks great. I really like the low profile with the stock rails, I'd like to do something like that as well. Stupid question though, why are you running the brackets upside down? Will it not fit the correct way? I'd figure it would be better to have the rack sitting as low as possible.

 

[b407driver]

Looks great. I really like the low profile with the stock rails, I'd like to do something like that as well. Stupid question though, why are you running the brackets upside down? Will it not fit the correct way? I'd figure it would be better to have the rack sitting as low as possible.

Brackets were designed for '03-'09 rails; if mounted 'properly,' the u-bolts likely will contact the roof, and there'd be little to no room to wrench. I thought about 'hanging' the rack in the u-bolt, beneath the upside-down bracket, in order to lower it another inch (putting it closer to the normal low-profile height), but the bolts/nuts would have been sticking up into the rack.

 

[007Tacoma]

It looks really good, and it requires minimum effort? Win-win!

Edit: How is the wind noise and drag?

What is the weight capacity?

 

[Redfisher3]

Thanks for this. Just bought a gen5 (1st 4runner) last weekend and have been looking at this exact rack.

 

[(none)]

Brackets were designed for '03-'09 rails; if mounted 'properly,' the u-bolts likely will contact the roof, and there'd be little to no room to wrench. I thought about 'hanging' the rack in the u-bolt, beneath the upside-down bracket, in order to lower it another inch (putting it closer to the normal low-profile height), but the bolts/nuts would have been sticking up into the rack.

Gotcha. Makes sense. Thanks!

 

[UtahFox]

I had the exact same rack on my subaru, one bad thing about that rack is that even tho you seal all the openings and what not, water still get in it and rust... also it fades quicky.

Black duct tape to seal the joint? Or maybe red and call it a mod

 

[Toytrpr]

It looks really good, and it requires minimum effort? Win-win!

Edit: How is the wind noise and drag?

What is the weight capacity?

I've had it in for about a month and no noise below 60mph. Once I go up to 70 mph I hear the drag and wind noise. I have yet to seal my joints and have I not put in the plastic tubes/ gaskets they provided. So maybe that will take care of some of it. Hopefully.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[r1verf3nix]

[MENTION=144051]b407driver[/MENTION]
what length did you buy the standard (48") or the extended (66").

 

[b407driver]

[MENTION=144051]b407driver[/MENTION]
what length did you buy the standard (48") or the extended (66").

Standard; didn't want it in front of the sunroof.

 

[b407driver]

It looks really good, and it requires minimum effort? Win-win!

Edit: How is the wind noise and drag?

What is the weight capacity?

Not sure yet about noise, still evaluating. Weight capacity is 130 lbs., per the stock rails.

 

[GabrielM]

Nice installation!

Looks like you could use those brackets with a Yakima or other basket. I dig the mounting solution.

I do have the Yakima LoadWarrior and looked at this bracket, but on the Yakima the tube running parallel to the factory rack are way more inside than the Rola which may require a lot more work to make it happen. Someone local to me suggested he could make some similar brackets but never followed that.

 

[Diablo169]

[MENTION=144051]b407driver[/MENTION] do you know if that rack will fit inside of the factory rails. If so I might build some custom brackets so that the basket can be mounted as low as possible.

Your setup looks clean, thanks for posting.

 

[b407driver]

[MENTION=144051]b407driver[/MENTION] do you know if that rack will fit inside of the factory rails. If so I might build some custom brackets so that the basket can be mounted as low as possible.

Your setup looks clean, thanks for posting.

The picture above is of it mounted inside the factory rails, so not sure what you're looking for. You might be able to get it a bit lower with something custom, but not sure it would be any different than 'hanging' the rack from the bottom of the 'flipped' bracket. Despite some peoples' fears to the contrary, I'm not sure it would be any less secure, and I may try it for the 'fun' of it.