Installed: Rola low-profile mounts on 5th Gen

[b407driver]

lol, come on man. it's only a 4 page thread. read it.

edit: classic, it's now a 5 page thread.

I have my settings set to 40 posts/page in my user preferences; it's only a 2-page thread to me.

 

[WhiteWashSurfer]

I have the rola on oem crossbars - it's really quick on/off - it can be a bit awkward but it's manageable to put on or take off by yourself if you're careful. I also marked my crossbars with a subtle line using a sharpie so I can quickly align the feet that attach to them because I am OCD about the thing being perfectly centered and aligned which is what takes the most time.

No wind noise for me (using the rola wind fairing as well) but a loss of about 1mpg.

Wow a whole mile. That seems like a lot to me. Anyone else see similar results?

 

[b407driver]

Wow a whole mile. That seems like a lot to me. Anyone else see similar results?

Not me. 1.5/1" lift, 275s (from 265s), and rack installed at same time. Was 17.3 before, now 16.8-17.0 not taking into consideration the speedo/mileage error.

 

[ColoradoToyota]

Wow a whole mile. That seems like a lot to me. Anyone else see similar results?

Could be an over estimate - using the Road Trip LE app that was the change I saw in a small sample size of data (6 mos without rack and about 1 month with before my phone went in a river and that data was lost), so whether it's 100% accurate I can't say but it's the estimate that stuck with me. :thumb3:

 

[5thGen4Runner2015]

lol, come on man. it's only a 4 page thread. read it.

edit: classic, it's now a 5 page thread.

Let's see how much free time you have with 5 kids 6 and under =).

And I did read it and only saw one pic from the red 4Runner with the extension, which doesn't show it from a straight on side view.

So, if anyone else has pics of the Rola w extension, especially from the side, I'd greatly appreciate it.


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[Big Daddy K]

Here's a few.

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[OH4Runner01]

Here are a few pics with the extension, I mounted about as low as you could on the factory rails. It is loud at highway speeds with nothing in it, sounds like a plane flying directly overhead. Quieter with a couple of dog cages wrapped in a tarp on our trip to the outer banks. I keep it off the truck unless I need it.

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[5thGen4Runner2015]

Here are a few pics with the extension, I mounted about as low as you could on the factory rails. It is loud at highway speeds with nothing in it, sounds like a plane flying directly overhead. Quieter with a couple of dog cages wrapped in a tarp on our trip to the outer banks. I keep it off the truck unless I need it.

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Thanks bro that looks great. Do you think it's so loud due to it being closer to the front of the roof? Have you run the rack without the extension before? If so, do you notice the difference? Ive had mine with and without cargo up there on the standard size and it isn't much louder than when I don't have the rack up there.


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[5thGen4Runner2015]

Here's a few.

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Thanks! Do you notice lots of wind noise with the rack and extension? Ever had it without the extension? I can hardly tell the difference bt having the rack or not without the extension.


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[OH4Runner01]

Thanks bro that looks great. Do you think it's so loud due to it being closer to the front of the roof? Have you run the rack without the extension before? If so, do you notice the difference? Ive had mine with and without cargo up there on the standard size and it isn't much louder than when I don't have the rack up there.


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never ran it without the extension so I couldn't tell you.

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[Big Daddy K]

Thanks! Do you notice lots of wind noise with the rack and extension? Ever had it without the extension? I can hardly tell the difference bt having the rack or not without the extension.


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Yeah, I can hear it. It got louder with the extension, I had some vibration that I really couldn't explain. I'm thinking something is loose somewhere but haven't tracked it down. At highway speed it would make humming sound that I can only think of as some harmonic vibration. I put a ratchet strap on it and it went away but that's not a permanent solution. So until I figure it out I added this aluminum angle that also stops the noise and is spaced so they hold my cases to the outside of the rack.

I think the noise comes from the amount of overhang in the front. With the factory rails spread out as far as they will go the mount is still on the first rails of the front section of the rack.

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[b407driver]

Yeah, I can hear it. It got louder with the extension, I had some vibration that I really couldn't explain. I'm thinking something is loose somewhere but haven't tracked it down. At highway speed it would make humming sound that I can only think of as some harmonic vibration. I put a ratchet strap on it and it went away but that's not a permanent solution. So until I figure it out I added this aluminum angle that also stops the noise and is spaced so they hold my cases to the outside of the rack.

I think the noise comes from the amount of overhang in the front. With the factory rails spread out as far as they will go the mount is still on the first rails of the front section of the rack.

Without an extension, mine had the harmonic vibration (that's precisely what it is) between 60 and 75 mph; you could put your hand on the headliner and feel it, and the sound would increase/decrease with speed, but not linearly (i.e. once you slow quickly, the vibration slowly quiets to nothing). Drove me nuts for the first week, during which I finally tried mounting a load, and the vibration immediately went away.

Now that I have two Rotopax plates permanently installed, the vibration no longer occurs. Prior to that, I had used a bungee cord threaded in and out of the center of the bottom tubes across the center to break up the harmonic, worked great.

Just get a black one and no one will likely ever ask what it's there for.

.

 

[Big Daddy K]

Without an extension, mine had the harmonic vibration (that's precisely what it is) between 60 and 75 mph; you could put your hand on the headliner and feel it, and the sound would increase/decrease with speed, but not linearly (i.e. once you slow quickly, the vibration slowly quiets to nothing). Drove me nuts for the first week, during which I finally tried mounting a load, and the vibration immediately went away.

Now that I have two Rotopax plates permanently installed, the vibration no longer occurs. Prior to that, I had used a bungee cord threaded in and out of the center of the bottom tubes across the center to break up the harmonic, worked great.

Just get a black one and no one will likely ever ask what it's there for.

.

A friend has the rack on his Montero and he says there is no noise. He has 3 cross bars and a light bar mounted under the front. I think his roof rails may be longer as well.

I think if I do some shaping to the aluminum and give them a coat of paint they should blend okay.

Not sure how much work I'll put into it though since this is probably an interim rack until I can justify a full length platform.

The rack is off right now though. I did a 300 mile trip on the 4th of July and all of the screws on my factory cross bars rattled loose. I had to loosen it to get to the screws so I just took it off. It's easy enough to do. After many miles of washboard roads the rack was rattling quite a bit. It also slid to the right about an inch.

I'm not impressed with the knobs for tightening the rack. One of my mounts was bad from the start. I had to re-thread both ends and then backed up the knobs with nuts since the threads were too far gone on the knobs.

I emailed Rola but got no reply. I bought the rack privately so I can't go back to a retailer. But since it had never been installed I tried to get something from Rola. But apparently customer service isn't on the priority. I really didn't expect anything from them but a reply would be nice.



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[good2go]

There are several interesting YouTube videos show wrapping a robe/chord around the front crossbar of the roof rack to reduce wind nose. They worked apparently. My assumption is that the wrapped rope/chord disrupted/redirected/somewhat dissipated the windflow going above the roof, thus reducing wind noise. Not sure if it works with a cargo basket on top of an existing roof rack. Here'sideo:

https://youtu.be/ESeMhjHyGfg

Try it out to confirm this theory. I'll test it once my roof cargo basket arrive.

 

[Explore604]

Big daddy - interesting about the Rola mounts shifting/loosening from I presume off road driving.
This guy seems to mention a similar issue but his rack was loaded well over Rola's stated weight capacity. http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/180623-rola-roof-rack-review-under-heavy-load.html

How much weight was in your rack when it began rattling?

Makes me think the low pro mounts noted in this thread would be a more secure system for off road travel with this rack.

 

[b407driver]

Makes me think the low pro mounts noted in this thread would be a more secure system for off road travel with this rack.

They are indeed bombproof. Four days on the White Rim with a pretty decent load (100+ lbs), rock solid. Those crossbar mounts it came with looked rinky-dink out of the box, but not sur e what you can expect for $130. I'm happy spending the $75 on the low-profile mounts.

 

[5thGen4Runner2015]

Yeah, I can hear it. It got louder with the extension, I had some vibration that I really couldn't explain. I'm thinking something is loose somewhere but haven't tracked it down. At highway speed it would make humming sound that I can only think of as some harmonic vibration. I put a ratchet strap on it and it went away but that's not a permanent solution. So until I figure it out I added this aluminum angle that also stops the noise and is spaced so they hold my cases to the outside of the rack.

I think the noise comes from the amount of overhang in the front. With the factory rails spread out as far as they will go the mount is still on the first rails of the front section of the rack.

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Thanks for your response and input. Really appreciate it!


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[5thGen4Runner2015]

They are indeed bombproof. Four days on the White Rim with a pretty decent load (100+ lbs), rock solid. Those crossbar mounts it came with looked rinky-dink out of the box, but not sur e what you can expect for $130. I'm happy spending the $75 on the low-profile mounts.

OP, have your low profile brackets come loose at all? Did you use loctite? Also, what was your method of rust prevention for the brackets since they came bare steel? Mine had rust on day 1. Had to take them off, sand off the rust, rust reformer, and paint. Hoping that keeps the rust away.


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[Big Daddy K]

Big daddy - interesting about the Rola mounts shifting/loosening from I presume off road driving.

This guy seems to mention a similar issue but his rack was loaded well over Rola's stated weight capacity. http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/180623-rola-roof-rack-review-under-heavy-load.html



How much weight was in your rack when it began rattling?



Makes me think the low pro mounts noted in this thread would be a more secure system for off road travel with this rack.

Just to be clear, it was the factory cross bars that rattled not the Rola rack.

My rack was empty except for the hi lift jack mounted on it. It did shift to that side, not sure if it was because of the weight on only one side or not. I've heard of them moving around while loaded up and off road driving, not really a surprise, or an issue for that matter. I was on miles of washboard roads so again no surprise.
I was surprised that the factory screws came loose as it appeared they have some loctite on them. One screw came completely out so I need to source a replacement for it.


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[b407driver]

OP, have your low profile brackets come loose at all? Did you use loctite? Also, what was your method of rust prevention for the brackets since they came bare steel? Mine had rust on day 1. Had to take them off, sand off the rust, rust reformer, and paint. Hoping that keeps the rust away.


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No, and no; they are solid. I temporarily avoided the rust issue (at least on top) by putting a layer of rubber (Vycor) on the top of the plate, but in the first round it stretched a bit and left a gap on either side of the tube. There was only a very slight amount of rusty residue in the 'open' area. I may remove this winter and have the brackets powder-coated.