OEM Rack Max Capacity?
- Thread starter JJMAC
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TOYSTRY
New member
150lbs I believe.
Titanpat57
Senior Member
Yep....150 evenly distributed
Titanpat57
Senior Member
Yes. The rating would be for the crossbars themselves. They are made from a very thin tubular aluminum. Their strength is derived from the fact that they are bowed upward, in essence making them " pre stressed". As the weight pushes down it increases the tension pushing out and allows very little movement down. Say for intance you are carrying 2x4's home from Lowes that are 12' long.....it would be important to make sure the weight was balanced between the bars for optimum safety. Too much weight in the front or rear could result in failure.
As far as the rails that connect to the roof, it seems the TE's would be winner in load capacity department. Although I personally have never had my rack off, they appear to be some sort of cast aluminum. I believe the SR5's and Limited's actually have plastic feet that connect the rails to the roof, or at least that's the way they appear in the pictures.
The roof construction itself is designed to carry the vehicle, without collapse, in the event of a rollover.
As far as the rails that connect to the roof, it seems the TE's would be winner in load capacity department. Although I personally have never had my rack off, they appear to be some sort of cast aluminum. I believe the SR5's and Limited's actually have plastic feet that connect the rails to the roof, or at least that's the way they appear in the pictures.
The roof construction itself is designed to carry the vehicle, without collapse, in the event of a rollover.
Ryan_S
New member
I believe the working load on the roof is still only around 300 lbs. The BajaRack I have has a weight capacity of 300 lbs even though Sergio said teh rack can hold much more.
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/67697-new-5th-gen-baja-rack.html
@OP: You could probably increase the capacity, or at least feel better about it, by getting some Yakima or Thule bars and towers to replace the factory cross bars. The Yakima bars are significantly more substantial than the OE crossbars.
SR5 and Limited have metal skeletons with plastic caps on each end.
Interestingly enough, I went to the Yakima web site and built a rack. The fit notes stated that the max load was 150 pounds using Yakima crossbars and a Mega Warrior rack. Seems they may just pick up Toyota's recommended capacity instead of figuring out what the maximum may actually be. More likely to protect against any potential liability in case of rack failure.
[Edit]: Just checked Thule's web site, as well. They just caveat that you should not exceed the manufacturer's recommended load weight.
[Edit]: Just checked Thule's web site, as well. They just caveat that you should not exceed the manufacturer's recommended load weight.
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Titanpat57
Senior Member
Thank you, I stand corrected.
I think the weak link here are the cross rails, and not the rails themselves. I think if you used mutiple bars (3,4,5), you could defintely carry more, but ....
Do so at your own risk!
