MeefZah
New member
Oh, I meant two kayaks SIDE BY SIDE without extra accessories on factory cross-bars...
Just to clarify I was referring to one kayak on the factory crossbars, not on the basket.
Is there any function to a roof rack without cross bars?
- Thread starter whiteblazer01
- Start date
Just to clarify I was referring to one kayak on the factory crossbars, not on the basket.
DesertCanyons
New member
Factory Cross Bars
When you have cross bars and want to load boxes of gear or firewood on top for camping, you have to put it directly on the metal roof and then tie it down to the side and cross rails. If you go of road with that gear on top it will eventually work loose and slide around. That scratches your roof. I've done it and it isn't pretty.
That's why I replaced the side rails with a Baja Rack Utility Flat Rack soon after I bought the car. Now I load firewood, propane fuel cans, shovels and boxes of gear on the Baja Rack and tie it down from any of the many cross rails (not mesh).
I've had lumber and plywood up there many times with no trouble.
When you have cross bars and want to load boxes of gear or firewood on top for camping, you have to put it directly on the metal roof and then tie it down to the side and cross rails. If you go of road with that gear on top it will eventually work loose and slide around. That scratches your roof. I've done it and it isn't pretty.
That's why I replaced the side rails with a Baja Rack Utility Flat Rack soon after I bought the car. Now I load firewood, propane fuel cans, shovels and boxes of gear on the Baja Rack and tie it down from any of the many cross rails (not mesh).
I've had lumber and plywood up there many times with no trouble.
Soupbean
Member
Roof rack
Washing the roof is much easier without the rails... Did the "roof rack delete" about two years ago. Like the cleaner look, and washing-waxing is much easier.
Washing the roof is much easier without the rails... Did the "roof rack delete" about two years ago. Like the cleaner look, and washing-waxing is much easier.
DesertCanyons
New member
Factory roof rails
I went up to Idyllwild, CA last weekend with my chainsaw to work on clearing dead and dying trees around a friends cabin. The saw was in a box that contained the mess but I did not want a can of gas inside the car. It smells bad and is a hazard in case of an accident. I put the gas and chain oil in a crate and tied the crate down to my Baja Rack, Flat Utility Rack (no mesh) using the side and cross rails. It was super easy. If I had the factory rails the crate would have been sitting directly on the metal roof.
Same goes for firewood, which is bulky and often dirty so you don't want it inside the vehicle. The shovel you should be carrying for any off-roading goes up there too.
I went up to Idyllwild, CA last weekend with my chainsaw to work on clearing dead and dying trees around a friends cabin. The saw was in a box that contained the mess but I did not want a can of gas inside the car. It smells bad and is a hazard in case of an accident. I put the gas and chain oil in a crate and tied the crate down to my Baja Rack, Flat Utility Rack (no mesh) using the side and cross rails. It was super easy. If I had the factory rails the crate would have been sitting directly on the metal roof.
Same goes for firewood, which is bulky and often dirty so you don't want it inside the vehicle. The shovel you should be carrying for any off-roading goes up there too.
007Tacoma
New member
I saw these on Instagram. How do they do with wind noise?
e60ral
Banned
i don't notice any additional wind noise from the bars, but obviously when you start mounting stuff to them it will just depend on what you put up there
(disclaimer: I'm running KO2 tires, although they are generally regarded as being pretty quiet for an AT tire)
With the hi-lift on top there is a slight increase in wind noise, but not nearly to the point where it is distracting or annoying
some might also be interested in knowing that i have been through numerous car washes with no issues, so these appear to be carwash safe (at least with nothing mounted)
jafrush
New member
I'm Jacob with LFD Off Road. [MENTION=113833]e60ral[/MENTION] has been running one of our prototype sets helping us evaluate them. We just released the first version production units, and the first sets are actually shipping tomorrow.
The Crossbars are now using T nuts to secure to the rails instead of the squares we used in the prototypes. Still need to pop off the rear covers to slide them in, but they come off pretty easy. We're also looking at ways to make future versions install without removing the rear caps.
Let me know if there's any other questions, and check us out on facebook, https://www.facebook.com/LFDOffRoad/. We're still working on getting our webpage up.
The Crossbars are now using T nuts to secure to the rails instead of the squares we used in the prototypes. Still need to pop off the rear covers to slide them in, but they come off pretty easy. We're also looking at ways to make future versions install without removing the rear caps.
Let me know if there's any other questions, and check us out on facebook, https://www.facebook.com/LFDOffRoad/. We're still working on getting our webpage up.
007Tacoma
New member
Jacob, any chance you guys have tested these with an RTT?
Here in 2 weeks, I am looking at getting a set of these and mounting a Roam Adventure Company Vagabond V2 (+ annex) to my 4Runner. I will probably go with a set of 3 just to be certain there is some weight distribution.
I am very confident that this setup will both work well and be the closest I can get to the 4Runner to keep as low a profile and center of gravity as possible. I was just curious if you guys had already tried it.
Cheers!
Attachments
jafrush
New member
As far as I know, no one's put a RTT on them yet. It should work fine, if not we'll either take them back or work with you on making modifications so they do work
We've talked about making a QD tent mount, but haven't gotten to looking at that yet. Been busy working on the other things...
007Tacoma
New member
As far as I know, no one's put a RTT on them yet. It should work fine, if not we'll either take them back or work with you on making modifications so they do work
We've talked about making a QD tent mount, but haven't gotten to looking at that yet. Been busy working on the other things...
VERY NICE!!!
I will let you guys know once I can order them from @apexoverland and let you know how the process goes.
One other question, from pictures it looks like these sit just above the height of the OEM rail feet (or the covers of them to be exact). Is that correct? If so, these would actually be perfect for a RTT setup...
DavidR1
New member
As far as I know, no one's put a RTT on them yet. It should work fine, if not we'll either take them back or work with you on making modifications so they do work
We've talked about making a QD tent mount, but haven't gotten to looking at that yet. Been busy working on the other things...
This product looks great, really looking forward to the QD RTT option.
Can you share some close-up photos of how these connect to the factory rails? Also, knowing the height over the factory bars would be nice as well as how many holes are drilled into the rails.
jafrush
New member
These are prototype 7/8 roof racks... full replacement rack that uses the same Ruggedized Crossbars for people who already own them.
The Ruggedized Crossbars sit about 1" above the factory rails to have enough clearance for the rails as well as access underneath for bolting.
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jafrush
New member
The Ruggedized Crossbars just slide in to the factory rails the same way as the factory crossbars do.
Just measured, the top of the Crossbar is about 1" over the top of the factory rail.
Closest picture I have on hand at the moment. More are on our Facebook page, though they're down a ways on the page now.
23 holes, with dedicated Maxtrax Pin holes on each side.
007Tacoma
New member
Thanks for the feedback. We are prepping to order a bunch of stuff for our 4Runner. I sent you guys a message to your Facebook account.
Cheers!
