Roof Rack Reasoning + Post Your Pics
- Thread starter MrSeth
- Start date
I'm in the process of building a prinsu-style rack. We need to be able to put some gear on the roof for camping with a family of 5. For our trip to the mountains this winter the cargo area was completely full. It will also be a more convenient and stable way of carrying surfboards, especially during the winter when the big guns come out.
heck yah...dust off the gun for the winter swells, yeww. i charge hurricane and storm/ground swells in RI. double overhead point ruggles point newport on youtube during Irene check out sometime.
Heres a pic of the rack my girl and I built for her 5th gen. Its mostly unistrut welded together with some mounts and front rivnuts for support for the solar panel. The rear mounts use the factory hard points. The nice thing about uni strut is that there are a billion already manufactured, heavy duty, rust proof attachments for it that cost nothing and are vastly stronger than any commercially available roof rack you can buy.
Attachments
hstexan
New member
Like someone else posted earlier, I too originally wanted a Gobi. Cost and wait times put that on hold and truthfully it was convenience that made me go the way I did. Lone Star Jamboree was only about 20 minutes from my house and CBI/Prinsu was there offering discounts and I could take it home that day. Prinsu had always been in the back of my mind anyway, but those benefits pushed it over the top so I bit the bullet. Since then I've really fallen in love with the design and appreciate the fact I can go to the hardware store and buy pretty much whatever I need to be able to use it in whatever manner I want--no need to custom order any parts from the manufacturer to make things work. That said, if I were to do it all over again I think I'd go with a Front Runner. It's a very similar style, slightly higher cost, but I believe the design lends itself to increased strength. I get a bit of sag on my Prinsu in the middle, even when it's unloaded.
Currently I only have it loaded with an awning on the side and I put my spare up there on trips where I need to use the hatch for cargo space (since it won't fit underneath anymore). A big benefit for me is if I go shooting with buddies I can strap a Pelican case or two up top and still have room to easily fit 4 or 5 people--if I couldn't put them up top, they're long enough I'd have to lay one side of the seats down. Sometimes some totes and coolers ride up top as well. My RTT is supposed to show up next week so that will end up on top as well.
Currently I only have it loaded with an awning on the side and I put my spare up there on trips where I need to use the hatch for cargo space (since it won't fit underneath anymore). A big benefit for me is if I go shooting with buddies I can strap a Pelican case or two up top and still have room to easily fit 4 or 5 people--if I couldn't put them up top, they're long enough I'd have to lay one side of the seats down. Sometimes some totes and coolers ride up top as well. My RTT is supposed to show up next week so that will end up on top as well.
When you mention sag in the middle, are you talking about the crossbars? Have they always sagged or have they bent/curved from holding weight?
hstexan
New member
No I mean the side rails bow from the front to back and sag right in the middle. It’s fairly noticeable on mine and way more obvious on 5th gens. I’ll see if I’ve got a side shot that shows it
That's really interesting. I suppose it would help to load heavier items over the mounting brackets rather than the middle, and in the case of a rtt maybe having adjustable mounting feet like they do for the front of 5th gens. I just measured the deflection on the one I am building by setting it up on jack stands. With all my weight in the middle I could get it to deflect about 1/4", but no deflection without weight.
Flemster
Member
Next time [MENTION=303600]RockyMtn_Runner[/MENTION] has his truck up at the Sherpa Equipment Co. shop in Foco you should swing by and check it out.
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/140899154@N02/47953788431/in/dateposted/" title="FLEM3689"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/47953788431_9dfaa715dd_b.jpg" width="1024" height="576" alt="FLEM3689"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/140899154@N02/47953788431/in/dateposted/" title="FLEM3689"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/47953788431_9dfaa715dd_b.jpg" width="1024" height="576" alt="FLEM3689"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Yakima "Skinny Warrior" on Yakima crossbars. Firewood and a Spectre MFC in the basket, ARB awning on one side, and fly rod tubes down the middle.
If I could snap my fingers and make the stuff that lives on the roof fit in the glove compartment, I'd do it, the "looks" of having accessories on the roof does nothing for me at all.
If I could snap my fingers and make the stuff that lives on the roof fit in the glove compartment, I'd do it, the "looks" of having accessories on the roof does nothing for me at all.
goodwillhinton
New member
Just got a 2008 Limited 4WD that came with a Kuat Vagabond. I'm a city guy and likely won't do a lot of offroading. I've been thinking a lot about whether I'm going to keep the rack on or not. I'm leaning toward keeping it. Mountain bike, cooler, canopy tent, even Christmas tree. I like the idea of keeping all the messy stuff out of the interior of the vehicle.
RBLACAUSA
Member
I'm slowly shopping racks, but don't have a big need for one right now. I have a Thule bullet and that's great for bulky light stuff when the whole family comes along, like sleeping bags, pads, tents, chairs. Works great, but if I ever go where there's lots of overhanging thick brush it will be mucho problemo.
I don't need to put a tire or anything heavy up there, unless i go anywhere that I feel the need for a 2nd spare. Probably unlikely that'll happen.
What I would like is an alum. rack that I could attach a couple gas cans to when needed, and maybe a milk crate or two for fire wood or similar things that I don't want to keep in side once I'm on the trail or close to it.
EDIT: I just remembered that I came across this last year. Might have to look in to it again. Could be a cost-effective solution for my needs. LFD Off Road - Online Store
I don't need to put a tire or anything heavy up there, unless i go anywhere that I feel the need for a 2nd spare. Probably unlikely that'll happen.
What I would like is an alum. rack that I could attach a couple gas cans to when needed, and maybe a milk crate or two for fire wood or similar things that I don't want to keep in side once I'm on the trail or close to it.
EDIT: I just remembered that I came across this last year. Might have to look in to it again. Could be a cost-effective solution for my needs. LFD Off Road - Online Store
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ExtremeLED
New member
Hey Seth,
Have you seen our Scene Lights? (Ha, seen our scene.) These are perfect for camping light and easily mount to almost any roof rack or ditch mount. The come in 3" 20W versions or 5" 40W versions. Let us know what you think!
Have you seen our Scene Lights? (Ha, seen our scene.) These are perfect for camping light and easily mount to almost any roof rack or ditch mount. The come in 3" 20W versions or 5" 40W versions. Let us know what you think!
hstexan
New member
Sorry for taking so long for this, but I finally found a picture that demonstrates the bend somewhat well. This picture is from about a week after I put my rack on and maybe 24 hours after my buddy put his on his 5th gen. The only thing I had on my rack up to this point was the box with my friends rack in it. Having now had my RTT riding up top for 2-3 weeks I'm getting a Front Runner. My tent is pretty much only sitting on the crossbars at each end of the tent and there is a gap from the rack sag on all the other crossbars. This gives me a super awesome rattle when I go over bumps and the bars flex enough that it bounces off the other 5 crossbars under the tent.
My needs for a roof rack are most likely much different, however, on my past gen 3 T4R (RIP) I had a setup for my family's bicycles. Haven't had the chance to set up my 4th gen that I got a week ago, but I imagine I'll be doing that when I get back from vacation. Having the bikes up top makes things a lot easier compared to having a hitch mounted bike carrier.
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Sent from my Pixel 3a XL using Tapatalk
Whytey
New member
Sorry for taking so long for this, but I finally found a picture that demonstrates the bend somewhat well. This picture is from about a week after I put my rack on and maybe 24 hours after my buddy put his on his 5th gen. The only thing I had on my rack up to this point was the box with my friends rack in it. Having now had my RTT riding up top for 2-3 weeks I'm getting a Front Runner. My tent is pretty much only sitting on the crossbars at each end of the tent and there is a gap from the rack sag on all the other crossbars. This gives me a super awesome rattle when I go over bumps and the bars flex enough that it bounces off the other 5 crossbars under the tent.
Since I've had my RTT I have had rattles and noises on my Prinsu rack. It drives me nuts and I couldnt figure it out for the longest time. I thought it was perhaps the ladder on the tent. Using a motorcycle strap I've tightened that down when it's stored but the noise continues. After camping last night I kept looking around for possible causes of the noise and sure enough it's the exact same as yours. Where the tent is tightening down there is solid contact. But the 5 or so crossbars between those points all have a very small gap. When I compress the side rail of the Prinsu and the bottom of the tent I can't get them to contact. I am 95% sure this is the sound I am hearing. Glad to finally figure it out but I need to do something as the sound kills me.
I've been thinking of attaching some padding on the RTT rails or wedging them between the rails and RTT once it's installed. Depending on the material I use once it's wedged in there I can't imagine it will work its way out.
I love my Prinsu rack for everything else so not wanting to get a different rack.
Anybody have any ideas for material to pad the gap?
I guess and other option could be to remove those crossbars. Would look kind of dumb without the tent on but they obviously aren't providing much support.
hstexan
New member
I think the ladder rattles too, just not quite as loud--the crossbar rattle is very loud, but the design Treeline uses for the ladder with the slot/channel method lends itself to looser tolerances which means the two sections can bounce inside that channel into each other. I'm kind of regretting throwing away all of that packing foam from the tent because I bet wedging a piece between the two ladder sections would solve the ladder rattle. Heck if I still had one of those larger pieces I could have set it between the tent and crossbars. Honestly the tent is only one part of why I'm changing racks--I really have grown fond of the Front Runner design and how many add-on accessories they make for it. I'm planning on keeping the 4R until it dies so I may as well switch out and get exactly what I want. I didn't learn my lesson from my other hobbies that "buy once, cry once" saves me money in the long term and now I'm paying for it.
I personally wouldn't remove all the bars bc I feel like during fluctuation it still provides some support, but most fabric stores have a section for thin pads or foam toppers. I bet you could go get thin foam and the weight of the tent would keep it wedged under there.
Thanks for the info. I am adding an extra bracket to the middle of the side rails on the rack I'm building in case I get that same flex.
Tahoe_Natl_Forest
New member
Do any of you know of a 'half' roof rack that would cover just one side? I have looked through the sticky and on various sites, but they all offer full coverage. I have thule racks for my kayak which takes up about 1.5 of the stock rack. I do have a thule luggage compartment which works fine for family trips, but when i want to get out to a remote lake or something, would prefer to use something where i can strap stuff down. Plus, I'd like it to stay up there all the time so I don't have to put on the compartment each time I'm going out or just need more flexibility in my rack. Thoughts, ideas?
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