Ironman 4x4 steel roof rack basket

[4skrunner]

I just pulled the trigger on this, and I have yet to see anyone running this rack besides Ironman on their own 5th gen. It’s very similar to the baskets made by ARB which also don’t seem too popular for our vehicle.

Is anyone here running one and have photos to share or any insight on your experience with them? I’ve always been more attracted to the basket style of the bajarack, gobi, ARB, etc.

I plan on updating this thread once I get the rack in.

 

[comtn4x4]

I just pulled the trigger on this, and I have yet to see anyone running this rack besides Ironman on their own 5th gen. It’s very similar to the baskets made by ARB which also don’t seem too popular for our vehicle.

Is anyone here running one and have photos to share or any insight on your experience with them? I’ve always been more attracted to the basket style of the bajarack, gobi, ARB, etc.





I plan on updating this thread once I get the rack in.

I haven't run the IronMan version however, it seems to be a knock off of the ARB basket. I ran that for about 5 years before switching to a Gobi. Absolutely bulletproof if it's the same. I bought it used and sold it for the same as I bought it for. Only downsides are it's really heavy and because it's shorter, the basket front bar is right at the middle of the sun roof (If you have one) and it made the sunroof completely unusable due to noise and how it deflected the air.

 

[4skrunner]

I haven't run the IronMan version however, it seems to be a knock off of the ARB basket. I ran that for about 5 years before switching to a Gobi. Absolutely bulletproof if it's the same. I bought it used and sold it for the same as I bought it for. Only downsides are it's really heavy and because it's shorter, the basket front bar is right at the middle of the sun roof (If you have one) and it made the sunroof completely unusable due to noise and how it deflected the air.

Yup it seems to be practically identical to the ARB units. Not sure if Ironman is producing a knockoff or bought rights to produce them? Some of the Ironman front bumpers are exactly the same as ARBs as well. Not sure what’s going on there. But yep I’m hoping its quality is as good as the ARB. Also the length won’t be an issue as I don’t have a sunroof.


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[4skrunner]

Also I did receive the hardware already. Came in a 13 lb box with double the required brackets and a bag with like 100 nuts and bolts. Pretty sure the bracket kit has extra pieces for other vehicle fitment but kind of seems like a waste on their end. I don’t mind the extra pieces though….


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[comtn4x4]

Also I did receive the hardware already. Came in a 13 lb box with double the required brackets and a bag with like 100 nuts and bolts. Pretty sure the bracket kit has extra pieces for other vehicle fitment but kind of seems like a waste on their end. I don’t mind the extra pieces though….


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It does take quite a few bolts to mount the bracket to the basket, but you're probably right some sort of universal fit kit.

ARB manufactures in China as does IronMan, maybe they let the licensing run out or it's enough different they can avoid a suit.

 

[4skrunner]

Just got the rack in. It was extremely well packaged and looks great so far. I’ll mount it this evening and will update with some more pics.

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[4skrunner]

Finished installing it. The install video that Ironman has on YouTube really isn’t that great and I figured out a better way to mount it than what they show. I put the upper bracket Inside the inner bracket as opposed to outside like they show. This allows you to lower the mount to its lowest position and have the lowest clearance from the roof to the rack. In the video the guy also mentions you need to have the brackets at full extension in order for the rack to clear the roof antenna. Which isn’t true. At the lowest setting it clears fine. Another thing the recommend is using 4 bolts for each rear bracket to the rack and two for each front bracket. Well I was able to get 4 in the front to line up with no issues. So I got it lower and with more mounting bolts in than Ironman shows.

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[4skrunner]

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[4skrunner]

And here is what they show in the video. Upper bracket outside the lower bracket. If you slide the upper bracket all the way down it’ll hit the roof gutter before it maxes out. If you flip the bracket to the inside then you can lower it all the way with no issues.

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[comtn4x4]

And here is what they show in the video. Upper bracket outside the lower bracket. If you slide the upper bracket all the way down it’ll hit the roof gutter before it maxes out. If you flip the bracket to the inside then you can lower it all the way with no issues.

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I think the other difference there is that the lower bracket would act as a stop for the upper bracket/basket. Probably unnecessary so long as bolts stay torqued. That mounting bracket is completely different than the ARB is.

 

[4skrunner]

I think the other difference there is that the lower bracket would act as a stop for the upper bracket/basket. Probably unnecessary so long as bolts stay torqued. That mounting bracket is completely different than the ARB is.

It’s hard to tell from the pic and even harder to explain. But the way they mount it, if the upper portion were to slide down, the upper portion would hit the roof gutter before it bottomed out, damaging the roof. I tried that initially but when I put it all the way down it sat on the roof. If I flipped the upper bracket to the inside then this wasn’t an issue. It sat inside the rail and nothing fouled. Which allowed me to bottom all the brackets out safely at their lowest position. It’s tough to explain without visuals but they just didn’t think it out enough.


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[4skrunner]

Cut up the spare brackets to mount my universal rotopax mount. Put the bracket underneath the rack and ran a couple bolts through and sandwiched the mesh screen. Works well! I guess that’s the one downside of this rack, if you want to hard mount things you have to get creative as the floor is just mesh. Not too difficult though.


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[4skrunner]

This rack also comes with a spare tire bracket which threads into a nut in the rear middle of the rack. I had no plans to mount a spare tire but i found a use for this spot! Got these 2 traild 6 gallon water tanks for free on offerup. Works perfectly with the spare tire bracket. I already installed a schrader valve and hose spigot on one of them. It’ll serve as a solar shower when I’m out at camp or to rinse off after a surf sesh. I’ll probably only ever use one but if I go on a multi day trip I may bring the 2nd.

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[4skrunner]

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