OEM Roof Rack

[lawn_gnome]

Hi all,

I wanted to start out with a thank you to everyone on this forum. Due to some incredibly lucky timing on my part, as well as the information on this forum, I was able to save my transmission a couple months ago. My car suffered a radiator leak and was in the earliest stages of a pink milkshake, well before any symptoms while driving. Thanks to the info on here I had it towed, a new radiator installed, and have had it flushed twice. So far so good. Fingers crossed.

On to the point of this thread...

I have a 98 SR5 that I am looking to add a roof rack to, mostly for transporting a pair of kayaks or skis and snowboards. My 4runner does not have any rails or cross bars, just the black plastic strips along the roof, protruding a quarter inch or so from the roof, with screws running lengthwise along the strips. Am I correct in thinking that any OEM 3rd gen roof rack will easily attach into the existing holes?

There are a couple 3rd gens being parted out near me, and at least 3 of them have the rack, so should be able to get it for a good price, assuming it will fit. I have looked at a couple of other threads on the topic and haven't been able to find a direct answer to the question.

Said threads

Thread 1- OEM roof rack

Thread 2 - Roof Rack Options -no OEM rack

Thanks for all the help. Really appreciate it!

 

[UnderFire]

For carrying that much weight, I'd be looking into a set of aftermarket crossbars, Yakima, Thule or the like, the stock crossbars are flimsy and the shape of them makes it hard to strap things down on.

 

[A.Wilson013]

Hi all,

I wanted to start out with a thank you to everyone on this forum. Due to some incredibly lucky timing on my part, as well as the information on this forum, I was able to save my transmission a couple months ago. My car suffered a radiator leak and was in the earliest stages of a pink milkshake, well before any symptoms while driving. Thanks to the info on here I had it towed, a new radiator installed, and have had it flushed twice. So far so good. Fingers crossed.

On to the point of this thread...

I have a 98 SR5 that I am looking to add a roof rack to, mostly for transporting a pair of kayaks or skis and snowboards. My 4runner does not have any rails or cross bars, just the black plastic strips along the roof, protruding a quarter inch or so from the roof, with screws running lengthwise along the strips. Am I correct in thinking that any OEM 3rd gen roof rack will easily attach into the existing holes?

There are a couple 3rd gens being parted out near me, and at least 3 of them have the rack, so should be able to get it for a good price, assuming it will fit. I have looked at a couple of other threads on the topic and haven't been able to find a direct answer to the question.

Said threads

Thanks for all the help. Really appreciate it!

I am fairly certain it that the OEM rack will bolt right on for you.

For carrying that much weight, I'd be looking into a set of aftermarket crossbars, Yakima, Thule or the like, the stock crossbars are flimsy and the shape of them makes it hard to strap things down on.

I wouldn't be too concerned about the weight, rather the security.

Between my wife and I our board/binding setups cost nearly $3,000 new, so I got a Yakima Fat Cat 6 and thought I was good, until a forum member here pointed out how a thief could EASILY unscrew the OEM crossbars with their fingers and have both the boards and a lovely rack in a few seconds.

So now I have some locking Thule crossbars that I picked up on Craigslist for $100.


tl;dr Buy the rails, but forget the crossbars unless you want your stuff stolen. Buy used, save hundreds.

 

[dmauldin]

I would look for Yakima landing pads, control towers, locks & crossbars on Craigslist. Go to Yakima.com to get a figment list of the parts you need. You'll want at least 54" crossbars to get 2 kayaks laying flat side by side. I've tried kayak mounts that hold them at angles, but I no longer trust them. Upside down and flat is way more sturdy.

 

[wc11]

+1 on the Yakima.
I use it for the canoe

 

[MStudt]

Here's my set-up, and it works great. I've had 3 kayaks on it at once, and I'll also hauled a canoe on it.

 

[tors10]

I know from experience that the factory rails are a direct replacement for the blanks that came on your truck. As others have said, look into aftermarket crossbars. They allow for a lot more options, security, attachment type, and maybe most importance for you width. Also, not sure what kind of yard you're going to, but see if you can pick up a few extra of those endcaps, high probability of breakage.