K9 Roof Rack install 2016 5th Gen

[bartvonwolf]

but I loved that box.

Yup, that is why they are the best. I would go camping in mine completely loaded with anything and everything I wanted to bring, and still had room.

Alright enough talk about Troopers.

Bart

 

[bartvonwolf]

Just kidding. Now I see you have good reasons for picking this rack. The BajaRack Utility Rack with or without the sunroof opening is flat and might have worked ($900 to $950). I'm guessing you don't have the sunroof or you wouldn't be covering it with this rack. Or covering the sunroof doesn't matter to you. Maybe I need to read your posts again?

Mine does have the sun roof. But I can still open it without issue and get plenty of ventilation. I'm not one for the sun beating on my bald head, so having my tent above it really won't bother me. I mostly like it for the extra airflow.

This just has way to many parts for my likes. All those nooks and crannies gather road grime and mud. That's why I like the tubular, welded racks. They seem easier to clean.

Yeah, this is true. But this rack seems pretty well designed. The top is really flat so I don't think it will gather too much moisture or grime, especially once my tent is on and covering that all up. Now, the rails, yes. I need to solve this problem sooner rather than later. I think trimming the rails and shimming the front will do the trick. The rack was a real pain in the crack to get on by myself so I am going to wait until the weekend to fix it. I have a buddy coming by to hang out so I will con him into helping me take it off again with some beer.

Nice old truck BTW. It has lots of ground clearance front and rear. Cars were a lot simpler then. I just sold my 1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee for the same reasons. Parts were getting hard to find.

Yeah, I love old 4x4s. They were built tough and just designed right. No nonsense. I freakin' HATE hatch back 4x4s and I also HATE spare tires being carried under the rear end. Stupid as all hell. Barn doors with a spare on the back is the way to go. There are just so many things that are lost with modern vehicles. Annoys me to no end.

Bart

 

[chmura]

I just got my 2.2m rack in for my 4th gen.

Will be installing it this week. I believe the 4th gen 4Runner has the front mounting point further up than the 5th which helps for installing a full length rack.

 

[krinkle]

I read the original post and skimmed through the rest. I was just considering the purchase of this rack for similar reasons.

I have a few questions, did you buy it from Equipt1?

If so have you tried talking to them. I'm fairly certain the owner of Equipt1 drives the silver 5th gen 4Runner himself and installed this rack. He should have some insight as to how to handle the rail.

Also, I'm failrly certain, the Expedition Overland guys are using this rack on their 5th gen 4Runners. So it can be done, I'm guess you just have to shape to the contour of the 4Runner roof line.

I'd be interested what you hear and how you solve the issue or if you just return and go with an alternate solution.

Best of luck!

 

[bartvonwolf]

So yeah, I talked to Paul from Equipt1. Very nice guy, very helpful. He sent my photos to EzAwn and they recommended just bending the rail to match the contour of the roof. So that is what I did and it turned out OK. It's not perfect by any means, there is still a gap, but I also added some double-sided sticky 3M foam tape to help fill that area in.

The Expeditions Overland guys have the longer rack. So the front part of the rails has more pressure pushing down which helps make it seem more flush. They might have bent theirs a little too.

All in all, like the rack. It's very sturdy and it will work well with my RTT. Once I get the tent up there I will post some more photos, it's just been snowing and messy out so I haven't done it yet.

I do think the design of the 5th gen's roof sucks completely compared to old school rigs. It's just really not meant to have anything but the stock rack up there, which is pathetic unless you just plan on putting a small basket up there or snowboard clamps, etc. The rain channel with the rails installed will definitely catch debris and hold moisture, which I do not like, but whatever, this is really the best we have in the USA right now when it comes to brand new 4x4 SUVs.

Bart

 

[chmura]

So yeah, I talked to Paul from Equipt1. Very nice guy, very helpful. He sent my photos to EzAwn and they recommended just bending the rail to match the contour of the roof. So that is what I did and it turned out OK. It's not perfect by any means, there is still a gap, but I also added some double-sided sticky 3M foam tape to help fill that area in.

The Expeditions Overland guys have the longer rack. So the front part of the rails has more pressure pushing down which helps make it seem more flush. They might have bent theirs a little too.

All in all, like the rack. It's very sturdy and it will work well with my RTT. Once I get the tent up there I will post some more photos, it's just been snowing and messy out so I haven't done it yet.

I do think the design of the 5th gen's roof sucks completely compared to old school rigs. It's just really not meant to have anything but the stock rack up there, which is pathetic unless you just plan on putting a small basket up there or snowboard clamps, etc. The rain channel with the rails installed will definitely catch debris and hold moisture, which I do not like, but whatever, this is really the best we have in the USA right now when it comes to brand new 4x4 SUVs.

Bart

Yes Paul May is a very nice guy. Customer service with him is excellent.

Two days ago I installed a 2.2m K9 rack ontop my 4th gen 4runner. Yours is a 5th gen but the concept is all the same. I had some issues with the rails myself but after some work the rails look excellent now.

What I found out was if you tighten the bolts that go through the rails to tight the rails will bend down and create a bow shape since the rail is made out of aluminum. There was 3/8" spacers included to install the rails. I put two additional bolt washers ontop of the each of the spacers so when I tighten down the rail it wont bend the rails down. This helped alot.

I also bent the front of the rail more. I put the rail on 3 2x4 of wood and had my friend stood on the rail and I stood on the rail that was hanging off making sure I bend the rail but do not damage it or kink it.

The entire roof rack is aluminum, I think having the rails made out of steel would be better since its easy to bend the rails by just tightening the bolts that go through them.

I have not taken pictures yet but the rack is awesome. The rails look good and the install had some hiccups but after some thought I made everything work as it should. Let me know if you want me to post pictures or not.

 

[Belcher]

I have the same Rack on my 4runner and mounted it myself...little bit of advice for you.

Mine is a 2014 with the same style factory roof rails as you. Toyota made the change in roof rail style with the body style change from 2013 to 14. Nothing major but the holes were moved slightly that are used to mount the track. I had to call Paul May and he told me that I received to old style rails that had not been redrilled for the new positioning of the 14 and newer. I had to do this small amount of drilling myself in the rails to get things to work out.

My rack front legs of the rack sit all the way forward on the rails now...when I mean all the way forward I mean an 1/8" past the front of the rails now...much more like the ones on the XOverland pictures above.

So to keep the front of the rail down, you adjust the legs of the rack starting in the middle of the rack with a little downward pressure and increase that "height" as you move to the front. So in other words the back legs will be all the way down and the front legs will be almost all the way extended. What you end up with is a nearly level rack, even though the roof has a slight curve in it...which I think is awesome...especially for a RTT.

Give Paul May a call....give him a little time to get back with you if you don't reach him...he does a lot of exploring.....but he will call you back I'm sure of it.

If I can I will snap some camera phone pictures at lunch and post them for you.
Chris

 

[krinkle]

Cool, sounds good. I spoke to Paul as well, if I go K9 I'll be getting the 2.2 so hopefully it won't have the issue you did based on his install advice.

 

[Loadedpocketz]

So, I notice most guys are getting the K9 if they're running an RTT. I'm not. I plan on putting a small load up there - maybe a tool box, some RotoPax canisters, and a shovel. Also at times a Kayak or two.

Is the still the best option or would I be better off with a basket style rack like a Gobi Stealth? Rust is also a concern since I live in the Midwest but at least with the Gobi, I haven't read that rust is an issue unless you ding it up pretty good. Baja racks are another story.

 

[Belcher]

If that was all I intended on putting up there...I would seriously give the Frontrunner Outfitters rack a look. Its all aluminum like the K9's but it is a mid length setup, but should be plenty long for what you are looking to do. They make really solid products and tons of accessories to mount to the rack...corners, eyelets, can holders, etc...

Chris

 

[Loadedpocketz]

If that was all I intended on putting up there...I would seriously give the Frontrunner Outfitters rack a look. Its all aluminum like the K9's but it is a mid length setup, but should be plenty long for what you are looking to do. They make really solid products and tons of accessories to mount to the rack...corners, eyelets, can holders, etc...



Chris

Chris,

I want to thank you for the Frontrunner recommendation. I didn't know about that one and I think the mid sized rack that runs right up to the sunroof would be perfect for my needs. Less expensive also! I owe you a couple of beers brother!

Regards,
Blaine

 

[Belcher]

I think you will be very please with that rack...they make really nice parts.

Chris

 

[Irishcav17]

Yes Paul May is a very nice guy. Customer service with him is excellent.

Two days ago I installed a 2.2m K9 rack ontop my 4th gen 4runner. Yours is a 5th gen but the concept is all the same. I had some issues with the rails myself but after some work the rails look excellent now.

What I found out was if you tighten the bolts that go through the rails to tight the rails will bend down and create a bow shape since the rail is made out of aluminum. There was 3/8" spacers included to install the rails. I put two additional bolt washers ontop of the each of the spacers so when I tighten down the rail it wont bend the rails down. This helped alot.

I also bent the front of the rail more. I put the rail on 3 2x4 of wood and had my friend stood on the rail and I stood on the rail that was hanging off making sure I bend the rail but do not damage it or kink it.

The entire roof rack is aluminum, I think having the rails made out of steel would be better since its easy to bend the rails by just tightening the bolts that go through them.

I have not taken pictures yet but the rack is awesome. The rails look good and the install had some hiccups but after some thought I made everything work as it should. Let me know if you want me to post pictures or not.

I have a 5th gen and also just received my k9 2.2 rack. I plan on installing it next week. I read with installing other racks that people have used a sealer mounting it to the truck. Has anyone done this with the k9? Hopefully the install goes as smoothly as it should.

 

[greatape]

K9 Rack install

I am just starting my build on a 5th Gen TDRP and recently installed the 2.2 K9 rack. With Paul's advice at Equipt1 and proper prep, my install went perfect. I guess the main key is to get the tracks level and I did use addtl spacers and then mounting the rack I used the cantilever method and it sits flat and I am really happy with it; Now on to this next project...

 

[Irishcav17]

Has anyone tried mounting a CVT awning to their K9 rack??


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[weeeee]

Has anyone tried mounting a CVT awning to their K9 rack??


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I have an ARB mounted to my 2.2m rack. The brackets didn't exactly work well so I had to drill out some holes in the K9 bracket to get it to fit.

 

[Irishcav17]

I have an ARB mounted to my 2.2m rack. The brackets didn't exactly work well so I had to drill out some holes in the K9 bracket to get it to fit.

What K9 bracket did you use? The side mount one? Do you have pics?

 

[weeeee]

What K9 bracket did you use? The side mount one? Do you have pics?

Now that I remember, it's actually a little more involved than just drilling some holes. Unfortunately due to the hole mounting locations on the K9 bracket, it interferes with the holes on the ARB awning. Long story short, if you mount the awning directly to the bracket, you'll end up only being able to screw in the top holes, because the bottom holes will interfere with where the bracket mounts to the rack. This wasn't acceptable to me because I wanted a really solid solution.

I ended up fabbing an aluminum bracket and attaching it to the K9 bracket, and drilling an additional access hole for the K9 bracket. The result was a really rock solid mount. In hindsight I spent about 4 hours fiddling with this solution when I could've just used some L brackets and attached them to the bottom of the rack :banana:

In the first photo, the new bolts attach the bracket I fabbed to the K9 bracket. They are recessed so they don't interfere with the awning.

Second photo shows the backside of the mount. I had to drill a hole through both brackets to use the bottom rail hole for the ARB awning.

Again, in hindsight you can just omit all of this and fab up a L bracket to attach to the bottom of the mount. I'll likely be doing something similar later on.

 

[Irishcav17]

Now that I remember, it's actually a little more involved than just drilling some holes. Unfortunately due to the hole mounting locations on the K9 bracket, it interferes with the holes on the ARB awning. Long story short, if you mount the awning directly to the bracket, you'll end up only being able to screw in the top holes, because the bottom holes will interfere with where the bracket mounts to the rack. This wasn't acceptable to me because I wanted a really solid solution.



I ended up fabbing an aluminum bracket and attaching it to the K9 bracket, and drilling an additional access hole for the K9 bracket. The result was a really rock solid mount. In hindsight I spent about 4 hours fiddling with this solution when I could've just used some L brackets and attached them to the bottom of the rack :banana:



In the first photo, the new bolts attach the bracket I fabbed to the K9 bracket. They are recessed so they don't interfere with the awning.

Second photo shows the backside of the mount. I had to drill a hole through both brackets to use the bottom rail hole for the ARB awning.

Again, in hindsight you can just omit all of this and fab up a L bracket to attach to the bottom of the mount. I'll likely be doing something similar later on.

Thanks for the help. I did manage to just mount the awning to the bottom of the side mount with 3 screws in each. Hopefully that makes it stable enough. Was a huge pain to get on. Not sure I can get it off now haha. Have yet to open the awning but hopefully this weekend. I'll probably have to look into different mounting options for future. I don't have enough tools to fab anything yet. Ha

 

[JasonKoko]

Just did my install today, working on a write up with pictures. Went pretty smoothly.

Super happy with the build quality.