Roof Rack options / help

[brockeverly]

We took our first trip with my inlaws up north this weekend and found that the luggage crowds us really quick. I had been meaning to look at some rack options, and really was drawn to the Gobi Stealth rack prior. I would really rather see the stock rails up there though due to the chrome going with the overall look of my truck (see photo below).

Here are my options I am weighing:

Rocky Road rack on the stock rails, Inno wind fairing, and a Yakima Megawarrior basket taken on and off as needed. (approx $600, allowable weight - limited only by the roof itself)

Gobi Stealth with ladder (approx $1300 - allowable weight - 600#)

Baja Rack standard rack (approx $650 - allowable weight - 300#)

Baja Rack utility rack (approx $850 - allowable weight - 300#)

I am not sure I want a full length rack as I have a sunroof and do not want to lose a place to escape the vehicle in an accident so it would be wasted space going full length without an insert.

I will be mainly using it to carry luggage, on occasion I may carry fuel for my generator if I do not have room to haul it on the tongue of my camper. I would like to eventually add a cb with an antenna that will fold down on the rack, and probably some LED lights. Cost is not as important as the look/utility to me, I would rather spend more and be happier in the long run than less and have to do the work again later. I am personally drawn to the RR rack with a Yakima basket because I can easily take the basket off and still have the aesthetics of a stock t4r. What do you guys think?

 

[chemtw]

Go with the Yakima Rack or a short Utility Rack setup. I have the Gobi stealth. The quality is awesome, and I believe the money is there. However, the the wind noise is a little much for me, even with the sun shade closed, and I am thinking of going back to the stock set up. If Gobi made a stealth short rack setup, i'd be all over it! I'm a big fan of the Yakima setup, as that is what I used for years prior to buying the 4runner. Hope that helps!

 

[Antman]

I can't hear any wind noise from my Gobi Stealth when the sunshade is closed....

Wait, maybe it's all those years of Iron Maiden? :guitar3:

 

[FactoryRide]

Go with the Yakima Rack or a short Utility Rack setup. I have the Gobi stealth. The quality is awesome, and I believe the money is there. However, the the wind noise is a little much for me, even with the sun shade closed, and I am thinking of going back to the stock set up. If Gobi made a stealth short rack setup, i'd be all over it! I'm a big fan of the Yakima setup, as that is what I used for years prior to buying the 4runner. Hope that helps!

If you decide to get ride of the GOBI let me know, I may be willing to take it off your hands.

 

[adio3x]

You can still use your moonroof with the gobi. Its not blocked off, they make an insert piece that can unlatch whenever you want.

 

[brockeverly]

You can still use your moonroof with the gobi. Its not blocked off, they make an insert piece that can unlatch whenever you want.

I know, my issue is that I would never want it blocked, making it pointless to have a full length rack. I love the Gobi, especially the ladder, I just don't know that I would like the "rough" look of it on my truck. My truck is a mall crawler all but a weekend or two a month, so I like it looking pretty but still functional. I have really came to liking the chrome accents, and with the Gobi I lose that

 

[Intruder]

I just replaced my Yakima Load Warrior with a Baja Utility Rack. My two main reasons for going this way were height and weight issues. Because I park underground I got tired of always having to put the Yakima on before a trip then removing it when I got home (often late at night). Since I was putting it onto the factory cross bars the weight limit was also bad for me since 20 gallons of gas and my Hi-Lift pretty much maxed me out. There was also pretty significant wind noise with the Yakima.

The Baja Utility Rack is actually a bit shorter than the factory side rails, so the height isn't an issue at all. There's a cut out in the rack for the sunroof, so there's no issue there. I haven't noticed any added wind noise at all even with the sunroof open. The build quality is outstanding, and the customer service I've received from Baja Rack has been phenomenal. The aesthetics of the Baja might be a bit different for you than it is for my silver TE.

Here are some pics of the Baja if it helps any...

Cut out around the XM antenna:

Cut out for the sun roof:

And a shot of the Yakima for comparison...

 

[DEKA3]

And a shot of the Yakima for comparison...

How can you go through all that mud and still be spotless, especially in silver?
Did you Rain-X your entire rig or something? lol

 

[brockeverly]

Do you recall what the height was of the Yakima from the roof to the topmost point on the rack? I would be using the Rocky Road rack so weight is no issue, but height could be. I would have no issue taking things off the rack before pulling in my garage, but I do not want to have to pull the basket off before pulling in as well.

 

[DEKA3]

Brock,

Dont know if you have seen this post yet.
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/62791-te-roof-rack-2.html

Even though you dont have a TE, still think you can get an idea of whats out there.

Or, even this:

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/general-discussions/58344-show-us-your-rack.html

 

[brockeverly]

Brock,

Dont know if you have seen this post yet.
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/62791-te-roof-rack-2.html

Even though you dont have a TE, still think you can get an idea of whats out there.

Or, even this:

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/general-discussions/58344-show-us-your-rack.html

Yessir, I even posted in it LOL

The Megawarrior on the last page is what swayed me in my decision to just do the Gobi.

Had not looked at that second link you added, looking now.

 

[DEKA3]

The Megawarrior on the last page is what swayed me in my decision to just do the Gobi.

Didnt mean to sound like the Search Police. As for your quote above....OUCH! I believe that was my truck that swayed you AWAY from the Megawarrior. What a shot to the scrotum, bro!:moping: J/K, LOL

 

[brockeverly]

Didnt mean to sound like the Search Police. As for your quote above....OUCH! I believe that was my truck that swayed you AWAY from the Megawarrior. What a shot to the scrotum, bro!:moping:

LOL no I mean it swayed me to do the Megawarrior, not away from it. It fits my needs better than the Gobi and IMO looks better for my setup.

 

[DEKA3]

LOL no I mean it swayed me to do the Megawarrior, not away from it. It fits my needs better than the Gobi and IMO looks better for my setup.

I rarely store things up top, so the Megawarrior was the best/cheapest fit for me. If however you plan on using the roof as much as some others on this forum, then I would recommend the Gobi stealth. Beautiful piece of work. It just didnt suit me for my needs. If you need measurements, or detailed pics of my setup, let me know.

 

[brockeverly]

I rarely store things up top, so the Megawarrior was the best/cheapest fit for me. If however you plan on using the roof as much as some others on this forum, then I would recommend the Gobi stealth. Beautiful piece of work. It just didnt suit me for my needs. If you need measurements, or detailed pics of my setup, let me know.

Measurements from the actual roof to the top of the rack would be awesome if you could.

 

[DEKA3]

Measurements from the actual roof to the top of the rack would be awesome if you could.

No problem. Give me some time

 

[Intruder]

How can you go through all that mud and still be spotless, especially in silver?
Did you Rain-X your entire rig or something? lol

Doesn't everyone? That was actually the only spot like that on the entire trail since it was halloween weekend and most of the mud and water was frozen over already. The first guy who went through in a Land Cruiser broke through the ice that was covering the puddle. You can see chunks of the ice floating around in there.

Do you recall what the height was of the Yakima from the roof to the topmost point on the rack? I would be using the Rocky Road rack so weight is no issue, but height could be. I would have no issue taking things off the rack before pulling in my garage, but I do not want to have to pull the basket off before pulling in as well.

No idea actually. Since I knew there was no way I'd fit in my underground parking with it on I never measured it. I'm not positive, but I think the Rocky Road is still limited by the weight capacity of the factory side rails. Not sure what that limit is though.

 

[DEKA3]

I think the Rocky Road is still limited by the weight capacity of the factory side rails. Not sure what that limit is though.

I'm pretty sure my stock rack said the limit was 130#.

 

[Intruder]

I'm pretty sure my stock rack said the limit was 130#.

I think that's the crossbars. The side rails should have a higher limit.

 

[brockeverly]

I'm pretty sure my stock rack said the limit was 130#.

The stock cross bars have a limit, I have not found a limit on the rails themselves. If you look on Rocky Roads site they have a photo of someones TE from here fully loaded up with a few hundred pounds worth of stuff. There is no posted limit to their crossbars, they say "The Rocky Road Adventure rack can hold several times that stock weight rating. The only weak point in the system is your roof. The rack itself? It would hold a thousand lbs easy. So don't limit your world-class 4x4 to carrying sleeping bags and a fishing pole on the roof. Throw whatever the heck you want up top with out overbuilt rack system and take it to the ends of the world knowing our lifetime guarantee against bending or denting means you have the strongest rack on the planet!"