Show off your roof rack or cargo basket!
- Thread starter TOYOTA 09
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I have a Yakima Load Warrior that I use when going on camping trips. It allows me to carry an extra 8 gallons of gas, and is a platform to put my solar panel when parked for extended periods of time.
I don't see the point of putting the big permanently mounted racks on my 4Runner because I would never be able to properly clean/wax the roof (will kill the paint with time), and I don't want to disrupt the airflow through the moonroof when the rear window is down. When I have the yakima rack mounted, air doesn't flow from the rear window up through the moonroof anymore, and that's one of the coolest things about the 4Runner.
I think a lot of people put racks on their trucks just for looks, and I guess that's okay if you're into that, but I'm not. I see a lot of people with rusted out hi-lift jacks and shovels up there that will probably fail when they are actually used, and I suspect that many people with the full racks never really use them, but hey, if they look cool, that's all that counts.
I use mine for deer, traveling tents, long nice relaxing sunsets, at least 5 times out of the year... Well worth it and besides no one looks on my rook for hazed paint. If you need to wax it if there's a will there's a way...
Edit.... They make great Christmas light decorations for a good two months out of the year.
Edit.... They make great Christmas light decorations for a good two months out of the year.
dsfra
Member
A Simple and Cheap Alternative
When we head out it's usually with the camping trailer in tow, but sometimes we're on a car-camping speed run without the trailer, or we might drop off the trailer before hitting rough roads and living in the 4Runner for days at a time. We yank whatever we need out of the trailer, stick everything in plastic boxes, and haul them around in the back of the F'Runner during the day. Then, when we sleep in the F'Runner at night we just slide the boxes onto the roof rack, keeping everything out of the dirt and mud and away from the critters. The rack is just 6 pieces of aluminum 1.5" x 1.5" angle stock ($8.00 each), powder coated to match the factory roof rack. The angle stock is bolted through the factory rack using countersunk allen drive 1/4" bolts and nylock nuts. I hated to take a drill to it, but at re-sale time I'll pull the angles off and no one will even see the holes unless they're on a ladder or are really tall. Plus the 2 fore-and-aft rails would be easily replaceable if needed - not like drilling through a body panel.
It's worked out quite well for us - simple and cheap and relatively unobtrusive if somewhat crude, and the Boss said that she didn't want a full basket rack cuz they look like a bunch of friggin' shopping carts driving around. We found 6 beefy black Stor-It-All plastic boxes (www.containerstore.com) that meshed together nicely - the 2 short boxes fit between and under the lips of the 4 tall ones. We don't plan to ever drive with the boxes on top - the aerodynamics would be a real mpg killer - but just store them up there at night so there is room inside for us to stretch out on the air mattress. I drilled 5/16" holes in the ends of each piece of angle, and use them for eye-bolts as needed when hauling a sheet or 2 of plywood or sheet rock or whatever home from the local Home Depot - very slowly on surface streets.
The dusty pics are from our rack's inaugural trip in May 2013: 6 days and 5 nights on the White Rim Trail in Canyonlands, after which we had a motel night in Moab and then hitched the trailer back up for the duration. Was glad we didn't have the trailer with us on that one.
When we head out it's usually with the camping trailer in tow, but sometimes we're on a car-camping speed run without the trailer, or we might drop off the trailer before hitting rough roads and living in the 4Runner for days at a time. We yank whatever we need out of the trailer, stick everything in plastic boxes, and haul them around in the back of the F'Runner during the day. Then, when we sleep in the F'Runner at night we just slide the boxes onto the roof rack, keeping everything out of the dirt and mud and away from the critters. The rack is just 6 pieces of aluminum 1.5" x 1.5" angle stock ($8.00 each), powder coated to match the factory roof rack. The angle stock is bolted through the factory rack using countersunk allen drive 1/4" bolts and nylock nuts. I hated to take a drill to it, but at re-sale time I'll pull the angles off and no one will even see the holes unless they're on a ladder or are really tall. Plus the 2 fore-and-aft rails would be easily replaceable if needed - not like drilling through a body panel.
It's worked out quite well for us - simple and cheap and relatively unobtrusive if somewhat crude, and the Boss said that she didn't want a full basket rack cuz they look like a bunch of friggin' shopping carts driving around. We found 6 beefy black Stor-It-All plastic boxes (www.containerstore.com) that meshed together nicely - the 2 short boxes fit between and under the lips of the 4 tall ones. We don't plan to ever drive with the boxes on top - the aerodynamics would be a real mpg killer - but just store them up there at night so there is room inside for us to stretch out on the air mattress. I drilled 5/16" holes in the ends of each piece of angle, and use them for eye-bolts as needed when hauling a sheet or 2 of plywood or sheet rock or whatever home from the local Home Depot - very slowly on surface streets.
The dusty pics are from our rack's inaugural trip in May 2013: 6 days and 5 nights on the White Rim Trail in Canyonlands, after which we had a motel night in Moab and then hitched the trailer back up for the duration. Was glad we didn't have the trailer with us on that one.
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3wbdriver
New member
:hail:
boyfester
New member
What size air mattress fits in the back? I have a Honda Pilot right now and a queen size fits in there snugly.
worst reply ever. are you 5?
Ducmonsta
New member
Care to elaborate why my reply was poor?
I was merely trying to determine what the OP wanted to see specifically. Not just another thread of members pics with racks look like. There are plenty of places you can search to see what an aftermarket roof rack looks like.
Maybe when you reply to this post, I can determine your age.
dsfra
Member
I don't think a queen size would fit in the 4Runner too well, but we've had good luck with the Coleman SUV Quickbed - both in the 4Runner and in the trailer. In the 4Runner, we usually have the rear seat bottoms removed to allow more stretch-out room, and air up the separate chamber for the pillow. If you're short, I think it would work with the rear seat bottoms installed and flipped up and with no air in the pillow section. Available thru Amazon, but on sale for a good price right now from Coleman's website.
Coleman - Portable Air Bed | Adjustable Air Beds | Coleman - SUV QuickBed Airbed
Another thing that has been real nice are these:
Amazon.com : d.light LED Solar Rechargeable #S2 Task Light : Patio, Lawn & Garden
But what really makes camping in the 4Runner viable is the big shelf we have across the back. It's supported by the 2 cargo cover snap-in places in the side panels and by 2 chains hung from the hooks in the headliner. It's high enough so that even with the air mattress our legs and feet just go under the shelf.
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dsfra
Member
After wheels, tires, and lifts, tranny cooler threads have to be one of the more common things around here.
Have a look at e.g.
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/83227-transmission-cooler.html
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/gener...ansmission-temps-observations-revelation.html
A search for "trans cooler" shows 8,910 posts, and "tranny cooler" shows 11,600. Whew. The consensus is that if you tow much of anything, especially up hills and/or in high temps, a tranny cooler is a reasonable addition. The 5th Gen 4Runner comes standard with the usual tranny cooler built into the bottom of the coolant radiator, but if you monitor your ATF temp it soon becomes apparent that this is not adequate. I was seeing temps as high as 220 degrees, even when not towing anything at all, going up long steep grades even with ambient temps down in the 70's.
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boyfester
New member
I have a stock transmission cooler in my Honda Pilot for towing and I've never had a problem towing our 2800lb tent trailer. I also never monitored the temperature so I don't know what temperature it reached. Is the Pilot cooler that much better than the Toyota cooler? Without a gauge, how would you know if you have a problem? Is it tied into the engine temp gauge? Just curious since I haven't towed with our new 4Runner yet.
I used to drive an 02 Taco and used it frequently on off-road 4X4 trips. If I needed extra water or gas, I could just throw a jug in the back and not worry.
Well, I sold the Taco and bought 14 TEP. No matter how hard you try, a gas can inside a SUV will stink and probably leak. So in my quest to carry water and gas outside my new 4X4, I saw a basket made to ride on the stock roof rack. I had one made and could not be happier!
Well, I sold the Taco and bought 14 TEP. No matter how hard you try, a gas can inside a SUV will stink and probably leak. So in my quest to carry water and gas outside my new 4X4, I saw a basket made to ride on the stock roof rack. I had one made and could not be happier!
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Where did you get that?
Love this roof rack. Where did you get it and approx. how much? Thanks, Brad now in SC.
Love this roof rack. Where did you get it and approx. how much? Thanks, Brad now in SC.
cjacob316
New member
I think he said he had it made, if you're looking for something to fit between cross bars that is pre-made, check out the Yakima basket case
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