So I’ve paid for a Baja standard rack with sunroof cutout and mesh floor. I’ve been thinking about this and am confused how you would attach anything to the mesh floor such as a tent. Isn’t he mesh floor too flimsy for heavy attachments? Baja does sell cross bars but they don’t seem to run horizontally from one end of the rack to the other and are meant to attach to the floor itself. Is it better to get the Baja rack with bars for the purpose of a tent???
Mesh or cross bar roof rack
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A10MileHusker
New member
Kind of depends on what rack you go with.
If you are going with the regular basket Baja Rack you can have the mesh floor and the cross bars will go on top of that. Then you can attach your RTT to the cross bars.
If you get the flat rack you can still get the mesh bottom but get the Tent Plates to help attach the tent to the rack.
I would highly suggest the mesh floor. I had a baja rack with standard cross bars and I hated it. It was hard to walk on and I hated leaning on it to tie things down.
I have a gobi rack now with a mesh floor and absolutely love it.
But I also dont have a RTT so I can't comment on how it is with that attached.
If you are going with the regular basket Baja Rack you can have the mesh floor and the cross bars will go on top of that. Then you can attach your RTT to the cross bars.
If you get the flat rack you can still get the mesh bottom but get the Tent Plates to help attach the tent to the rack.
I would highly suggest the mesh floor. I had a baja rack with standard cross bars and I hated it. It was hard to walk on and I hated leaning on it to tie things down.
I have a gobi rack now with a mesh floor and absolutely love it.
But I also dont have a RTT so I can't comment on how it is with that attached.
I’m getting the basket type Bajarack with sunroof cutout. From what I see, the ones with crossbars have more bares in a horizontal fashion. With the mesh floor there are a lot less bars and the mesh sits on top of those bars. I don’t see how it can be stable by attaching to the mesh. Also people say it’s not as stable. Hard to get a clear answer. I called tepui and they weren’t sure how their tenet would attach securily to the mesh. Other than standing in the rack what are the benefits of the mesh over the bars?
Check out the pics.
Products | United States | Bajarack
Products | United States | Bajarack
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lukeskywalker
New member
I have the flat utility mesh rack. I like it a lot. You have to be clever on how you mount things in the MIDDLE of the rack. But anything on the sides is easy.
There are tons of mounts you can buy. Bolts + wingnuts are your best friends. Bungie cords attach easily to the mesh points.
There are tons of mounts you can buy. Bolts + wingnuts are your best friends. Bungie cords attach easily to the mesh points.
nglayton
Senior Member
I'm not sure if I understand the question. If you didn't have mesh, what would you have? Like a solid floor? The weight would be terrible.
I don't have a Baja rack.....but on my Gobi rack the mesh is pretty solid. I can stand on it without it flexing. It also has lots of holes for mounting anything to it that I will ever need.
I don't have a Baja rack.....but on my Gobi rack the mesh is pretty solid. I can stand on it without it flexing. It also has lots of holes for mounting anything to it that I will ever need.
A10MileHusker
New member
I think I understand what you are saying.
The other option would be to add some of these cross bars that baja rack offers. Products | United States | Bajarack These seem to be baja rack's answer to adding a RTT. I would contact Baja Rack vs Tupei and see what they have to say.
I had the same issue with my baja rack but with standard Yakima Ski Racks. I had to buy an accessory to make them work with the rack.
Gobi rack comes with adjustable cross bars allowing you to make them as wide or narrow to allow RTT applications along with other accessories.
No, Baja Rack has cross bars as a floor instead of mesh. Like you see here:
mtnbiker49
New member
Powder coated mesh will start chipping and rusting after about 3-4 years if you live where roads are salted.
Baja assured me that both versions are built well and durable. I’m just wondering what benefit he mesh has over the bars other than standing in here?
no doubt it is good quality, the problem is all of those tight corners where the mesh is welded, it will definitely start to rust there at some point.
Do you guys think if I had a choice it would be better to get the rack woh the bars over the mesh?
DesertCanyons
New member
I have the Baja Rack flat utility rack with cross bars instead of the mesh. The bars occur at about 4" on center across the width of the rack. I like the bars and don't find myself standing up there very often. I will stand up there occasionally and I don't see the bars as being a problem.
The mesh looked like a rust catcher to me. I painted my powder coated rack with Rustoleum paint before I installed it. Later, when I had it repaired because I backed into an overhead pipe, I had to paint it again because the welder scratched up the edges by sliding it around his shop. That was easy. It takes two people to get the rack up on top.
I like the flat rack for loading long gear, lumber and canoes on top. I've had 7 sheets of plywood on top and another time I put 10 or 12 pieces of 16 foot long 2x lumber. You can't load long lumber nearly as easily with a basket style rack. It's easy to tie stuff down from any point by looping around any of the bars. I often tie down a couple of shovels, boxes, firewood and propane tanks when I go camping using several pieces of rope.
Now that I lifted the truck I'm really glad I got the flat rack. Otherwise the rack wouldn't clear my garage door. A basket style would definitely not clear.
The mesh looked like a rust catcher to me. I painted my powder coated rack with Rustoleum paint before I installed it. Later, when I had it repaired because I backed into an overhead pipe, I had to paint it again because the welder scratched up the edges by sliding it around his shop. That was easy. It takes two people to get the rack up on top.
I like the flat rack for loading long gear, lumber and canoes on top. I've had 7 sheets of plywood on top and another time I put 10 or 12 pieces of 16 foot long 2x lumber. You can't load long lumber nearly as easily with a basket style rack. It's easy to tie stuff down from any point by looping around any of the bars. I often tie down a couple of shovels, boxes, firewood and propane tanks when I go camping using several pieces of rope.
Now that I lifted the truck I'm really glad I got the flat rack. Otherwise the rack wouldn't clear my garage door. A basket style would definitely not clear.
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3wbdriver
New member
I got tired of waiting for my adapters from Baja Rack, so I made this. 2" square tube attached to the tent, then anchored to the side rails of the rack with 3" U-bolts. It ran like this for several thousand miles without problems before I changed to a different rack. None of the weight of the tent will rest on the mesh floor. You can even make four 2' long 1 1/2" wooden hangar dowels to use like stretcher handles for lifting the RTT on and off the rack. They can be stored in the 2" tubing by the addition of rubber caps. One 10' length of 2" square tubing is around $20 and I had them cut it into 49" lengths. In hindsight 50" would have been better to accommodate the rubber caps.
Attachments
I think the bigger question here is why have the sunroof cutout, I ordered a baja flat rack with the cutout and to be honest its a huge waste of possible space. If you're a RTT dude then you're essentially saying **** the remaining 1/4 of your rack space you paid for.
My wife uses the cutout to sometimes take pictures, whatever.
Yes they offer an insert but thats an additional cost to an avoidable problem
Just my 2 cents:dancin:
You’ve just made this decision more complicated. Well my runner has a sunroom and I like to be able to access for now. RTT will be an option down the road. For now I just need extra storage when the family and I are road tripping in and around Montana. I ended up pulling the trigger on the rack without the mesh. Didn’t like all the weld points and didn’t like the fact that the attachments are made for the standard rack with the bars as you can see the mounting plates have divets that are meant to sort of wrap around the 4” spaces bars. Baja said those plates can fit under the mesh if they are bolted down but it just doesn’t seem to be built for that purpose.
Check out the pic. Http://www.bajarack.com/store/Crossbars-Medium-p105224196
Check out the pic. Http://www.bajarack.com/store/Crossbars-Medium-p105224196
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