Roof rack crossbars:factory vs aftermarket

[BCZECH]

Look into Rago Fabrication
Their products are awesome, and i love my roof panels.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[4RCrusing]

Make your own is one option, took this idea from another member.

 

[bigguy02]

Make your own is one option, took this idea from another member.

I considered this option, but couldn’t figure out the brackets to attach to the roof rails. I know if I tried to cut them my self they would look like hell, so I went with the LFD. Also, they now have a nice looking full rack option that I might upgrade to at some point. I hope to get a Rola basket to put up there soon.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[sf4rnr]

I'm one of the guys behind LFD.

We do have someone running an antenna setup on one of our crossbars, but I didn't hear if he had to make any modifications. We actually have a aluminum mounting plate accessory (not up on the website either yet) to bolt between two crossbars for things like Rotopax, etc.

We don't have the aluminum crossbars up on our website yet, we've been trying to stockpile those for the 3/4 and 7/8 racks, but they are available. If you're only going to use the factory side rails, you won't see a big advantage going with aluminum over steel. The real advantage comes when adding the complete racks, with the extra crossbars you do start to get significant weight savings.

You probably could run an RTT fine on aluminum, but we do recommend steel for those, just because of the extra strength.

Let me know if anyone has more questions!

I think these might just be a solution for me. I actually like my Yakima basket. It has served me very well. But when loaded, not above max weight, the stock crossbars flex (its not basket flex). The corner of the rack will tap the end covers (which you can hear while wheeling). You see my temp fix with the padding but would like a better solution.

Question one - does this flex less than the stock bars?

Question two - what is the distance between the roof and the rail (can I fit the Yakima attachment below it to attach the basket)?

 

[jafrush]

Yep, the steel especially is very rigid, you won't see any flex unless you stand on it.

They have more clearance than the factory crossbars, so shouldn't be an issue.

I think these might just be a solution for me. I actually like my Yakima basket. It has served me very well. But when loaded, not above max weight, the stock crossbars flex (its not basket flex). The corner of the rack will tap the end covers (which you can hear while wheeling). You see my temp fix with the padding but would like a better solution.

Question one - does this flex less than the stock bars?

Question two - what is the distance between the roof and the rail (can I fit the Yakima attachment below it to attach the basket)?

 

[sf4rnr]

Yep, the steel especially is very rigid, you won't see any flex unless you stand on it.

They have more clearance than the factory crossbars, so shouldn't be an issue.

Sweet, just ordered. thanks

 

[Nick B]

Was there a change when the 2014 Trail came out ? I noticed all of these aftermarket rails are only for 2014 and up .
My 2010 Trail is left out in the cold .

 

[STX4Runner]

Was there a change when the 2014 Trail came out ? I noticed all of these aftermarket rails are only for 2014 and up .
My 2010 Trail is left out in the cold .

Mine too. The 2010 - 2013 trails had unique racks. The rails are not parallel and get closer together towards the back of the roof. You can't make fixed length crossbars for them the can be positioned anywhere along the rails. And trails were very rare from 2010 - 2013. Something like <5% of total 4Runners during this time were trails. Now its like 8% - 10% are trails, and that's based on a much higher total number of 4Runners.

 

[jafrush]

Was there a change when the 2014 Trail came out ? I noticed all of these aftermarket rails are only for 2014 and up .
My 2010 Trail is left out in the cold .

We've got a set of prototype crossbars for the older trails out for testing now

 

[HighTechAddict]

We've got a set of prototype crossbars for the older trails out for testing now

Very interested to hear more about this. Also, if you need any more testers PM me...

 

[jafrush]

Very interested to hear more about this. Also, if you need any more testers PM me...

Basically the same as our current crossbars, but with adjustment built in for the varying width rails.

 

[HighTechAddict]

So are the rails adjustable in some way or is it more that they are different widths, and specified for front, middle, rear of the rack?

 

[jafrush]

So are the rails adjustable in some way or is it more that they are different widths, and specified for front, middle, rear of the rack?

Adjustable, we wanted to keep the flexibility of putting Crossbars wherever you wanted.

 

[sf4rnr]

Yep, the steel especially is very rigid, you won't see any flex unless you stand on it.

They have more clearance than the factory crossbars, so shouldn't be an issue.

Rock solid. Thanks for the fast shipping

 

[RainGoat]

Just got mine in the mail and installed today. No experience with them yet, haven’t even driven it yet, but I really like the look. Hope to get my kayak up there or something soon. I got 2 steel ones and 2 aluminum ones.

Can you compare & contrast the two? Thanks!

 

[RainGoat]

Mine too. The 2010 - 2013 trails had unique racks. The rails are not parallel and get closer together towards the back of the roof. You can't make fixed length crossbars for them the can be positioned anywhere along the rails. And trails were very rare from 2010 - 2013. Something like <5% of total 4Runners during this time were trails. Now its like 8% - 10% are trails, and that's based on a much higher total number of 4Runners.

Super usefull info. Thanks!!

 

[thinkxingu]

Just a note that LFD has a 20% Black Friday deal for another couple days. Looking forward to getting my new crossbars!

Sent from my Moto G (5S) Plus using Tapatalk

 

[grantmeaccess]

I tried using the factory bars, and found that the curve and location being so close to the roof made them almost unusable. Too difficult to secure items to the rack.

I put on a Yakima rack system using Timberline mounts and Core bars (60"). Nice and flat; good load capacity and easy to lash anything from kayaks to a 4'x8' sheet of plywood on.

-H-

With this setup, does the rear spoiler clear your kayaks sticking off the end? I just got a 4Runner; I used to just strap my kayaks flat on crossbars on my pickup cab, but now I'm wondering if I need a J-mount to let the rear hatch fully open. Thoughts?

 

[Hltoppr]

With this setup, does the rear spoiler clear your kayaks sticking off the end? I just got a 4Runner; I used to just strap my kayaks flat on crossbars on my pickup cab, but now I'm wondering if I need a J-mount to let the rear hatch fully open. Thoughts?

Not quite with 13’ and 17’ kayaks sticking over the back and flat on the bars. It might clear if I went to a vertical rack, with the curve of the hulls....

-H-

 

[Florunner78]

Another vote for the LFD crossbars. Never had the factory crossbars, but switched from the Yakima Corebars. Nothing wrong with the Yakima stuff, but with my lift/tires and the added height of the Yakima towers it made the bars too high to use for heavy stuff (kayak, bikes, cargo box).

LFDs are rock solid, look way better on the truck and the folks at LFD are great to work with.