Installed: Rola low-profile mounts on 5th Gen

[5thGen4Runner2015]

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.

Gotcha. Good to hear about the bolts not coming loose even without loctite! I also used these rubber packing sheets on top of the brackets. Seems to be working out well so far. No signs of rust after some heavy rain.

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[JLeePhoto]

Also curious about what other racks might mount just inside the bars with these low-pro brackets? I don't yet have my T4R as I will be getting it next week. Can someone give inside measurements of rails?
Not crazy about putting something up there likely to rust in my salty environment. Also considering the Rocky Mounts 14er.


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[Off2Mtns]

40 1/2" ID rails.

 

[Explore604]

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.

Is it only the L bracket/mount that comes bare and needs to be finished? What about the bolt/nut that secured the mount to the rails? I think I read the U bolt is stainless?

 

[007Tacoma]

For you guys running the Rola Low Profile to carry stuff, what do you think is the heaviest load that you have carried on it?

...I know that the specs are limited by the OEM numbers of the rack and the 4R railing...

I want to know what you guys have carried, and if you have pushed it too far: How? What was the damage? Was it repairable? Where you able to redistribute the weight to get it to work okay?

Cheers!

 

[b407driver]

For you guys running the Rola Low Profile to carry stuff, what do you think is the heaviest load that you have carried on it?

...I know that the specs are limited by the OEM numbers of the rack and the 4R railing...

I want to know what you guys have carried, and if you have pushed it too far: How? What was the damage? Was it repairable? Where you able to redistribute the weight to get it to work okay?

Cheers!

Damage to the rack? I can't imagine that; you couldn't bend the tubes (for example) if you tried. That being said, if you were to load a dense 130 pounds right in the center where the joint is, I suppose there is a chance you could get it to move slightly, especially if you dropped the load on it.

I've had at least 100 lbs in it, and will have more for my next White Rim trip in October. I have absolutely no reservations loading this thing up to 150+ offroad. This is a burly rack; when mounted using the low-profile mounts, it's rock solid. I can't speak to the stock mounts, but then again I never would have used them looking at their principle of holding the rack to the crossbars (read: weak).

I know some consider $75 expensive for the mounts, but in the case of this rack, it's what makes it a viable offroad alternative.

 

[b407driver]

Is it only the L bracket/mount that comes bare and needs to be finished? What about the bolt/nut that secured the mount to the rails? I think I read the U bolt is stainless?

Yes, they appear to be some form of stainless, but I'm not sure they are completely rust-resistant. When I removed the rack after being mounted for 2 months, there was a thin line of rust along the contact point with the tube, though when wiped down, you couldn't see anything on the u-bolt. I assume it's some form of galvanic corrosion due to contact with the powder coat of the tube. I since primed/painted the u-bolts satin black, though not sure how it will hold up. Wish I could powder coat the L-bracket and u-bolt, but at this point I just want to use the thing.

 

[007Tacoma]

Damage to the rack? I can't imagine that; you couldn't bend the tubes (for example) if you tried. That being said, if you were to load a dense 130 pounds right in the center where the joint is, I suppose there is a chance you could get it to move slightly, especially if you dropped the load on it.

Well, right now I am sporting a $600 TForce (NFab) Aluminum Rack. It is great for light stuff, but my Yeti Cooler or my 2x RotoPax FuelPax make the cross bars bounce like crazy, and I am not confident it could take a full 150lbs! I am looking to change things up a bit and get a bit more capacity and utilitarian use out of my roof rack without going "full-Gobi". :decision:

 

[SwayzeExpress]

Also curious about what other racks might mount just inside the bars with these low-pro brackets? I don't yet have my T4R as I will be getting it next week. Can someone give inside measurements of rails?
Not crazy about putting something up there likely to rust in my salty environment. Also considering the Rocky Mounts 14er.


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I ordered one of these with an extra extension, they drop the price to 119 2x a year. It is only 39" wide so I think I can get it pretty low too

Cabela's TrailGear 2 Rooftop Carrier : Cabela's

 

[RUNTHAT]

I understand that there are plenty of variables involved, but are you guys able to get your 4R in the garage with rack installed? [MENTION=129991]Ecko_3429[/MENTION]

 

[Ecko_3429]

I understand that there are plenty of variables involved, but are you guys able to get your 4R in the garage with rack installed? [MENTION=129991]Ecko_3429[/MENTION]

Yes not problem at all. Its only approx 6inch over the roof line

 

[RUNTHAT]

Yes not problem at all. Its only approx 6inch over the roof line

Awesome! Thanks for the info.

 

[aelarson]

Has anyone mounted a light bar to this rack? How about an awning? Thanks!

 

[boyguan]

i would love a small basket that sits close to the roof inside the roof rails. sometimes i want to toss a cooler or something into it or some chairs. i almost figure if i want i can buy a few more stock cross bars and just install it.

OR just possible get some flat bar and make my own.

 

[b407driver]

Hi-Lift mount brackets on Rola rack

Well, right now I am sporting a $600 TForce (NFab) Aluminum Rack. It is great for light stuff, but my Yeti Cooler or my 2x RotoPax FuelPax make the cross bars bounce like crazy, and I am not confident it could take a full 150lbs! I am looking to change things up a bit and get a bit more capacity and utilitarian use out of my roof rack without going "full-Gobi". :decision:

That doesn't sound great.

For my second White Rim run I was carrying 8-gal fuel in Rotopax, 4-gal water in Rotopax, a Hi-Lift, WaterPort (3.5-gal), MaxTrax, and a Rola bag on top of it all (believe it or not) with probably 75-lbs of gear.

Rock freaking solid. And I drove the whole trip like I stole it, trying to see how fast I could get through the lap, even if we did spend 3 nights out there. Fun $hite.

EDIT: One quick note about getting the Hi-Lift branded mounts attached to the Rola rack. The spacing of the 'crossbars' that the mounts need to be attached to dictates that there was a grand total of TWO options that would work for me. One had the foot of the jack too far forward (which I didn't want), so it took about an hour to find a combination to fit the hole spacing of the Hi-Lift on the other side of the vehicle. The main problem is that the 'loose' manufacturing tolerances of the Rola dictate that even very small variances in bar spacing/angles resulted in not lining up with a set of holes that theoretically should line up based upon the average repeated bar spacing. If you try to do this, your mileage will vary, so what works for one rack may not work for another, and it may take awhile to find mounting bracket locations that work (for example, mine has one less bar in between brackets than BigDaddyK's does). It is, however, rock solid, no complaints with the setup now that I've found the magic combo.

 

[007Tacoma]

That doesn't sound great.

I ended up selling the TForce Rack, and I am now sporting a Rhino Rack Flat Mesh Tray. Going to be putting that through the paces next weekend...

 

[Chanman33]

Rola Vibration

Hey guys,

Just installed the rack and the mounts from 4x about a week ago and I am very happy with the look. The wind noise is pretty negligible but the real issue I have is a harmonic vibration from about 25 to 35 mph. Slower and faster than that it stops. I was just wondering if anyone had experienced this and what you would recommend to stop it if so?

Thanks!

 

[b407driver]

Hey guys,

Just installed the rack and the mounts from 4x about a week ago and I am very happy with the look. The wind noise is pretty negligible but the real issue I have is a harmonic vibration from about 25 to 35 mph. Slower and faster than that it stops. I was just wondering if anyone had experienced this and what you would recommend to stop it if so?

Thanks!

Mine was from about 55-65 mph. Initially, I broke up the harmonic my using one of those cheapo black rubber straps with hooks on the end; threaded it in/out of the bars along the center, was nearly invisible, got rid of the vibration.

I installed Rotopax fuel mount plates on the rack, and it now will not produce the harmonic vibration under any circumstances. Either way, a fairly effective--albiet possibly inelegant--solution.

 

[Porrick]

I'm a new guy, so I'm just seeing this thread. I don't need the full length rack, so I was trying to convince myself that it wasn't nuts to spend $700 on the short Baja for my new-to-me 2011 LE. Then I saw pics of someone's Rolla in another thread and decide to pick one up to see if I'd really use it. Turns out, I really like it -- solid (even on stock cross bars), cheap, and holds stuff. Oh, and looks pretty decent too. Guess I will pick up the low mounts now and be done with it. Here's two questions though:

1) Anyone mounted an awning on the non-extended version? If so, I'd love to see a pic with mounting detail.

2) Anyone mount a baja or other ladder to ease access? Again, pics would be appreciated....

Thanks!!

 

[b407driver]

Just got back from my third White Rim trip in the last 10 months, and loaded the Rola up a bit differently than last time. Instead of the big ol' Rola bag, I used a light-ish plastic box I found on Amazon that fits perfectly in the back of the rack. Hauled light stuff, just need to figure out a better way to mount it so that I don't have to remove the straps to access it.

Still rock-solid. It was Jeep Safari Week in Moab, and I ran into three rigs sporting identical BILSTEIN paint jobs. Bunch of nice guys, got to pick their brains and they were thoroughly checking out the Rola with all that gear on it. They yanked hard, and were surprised it didn't budge.

Probably the best $130+$80 I ever spent on my truck.