Southern Style Offroad Full Length Roof Rack

[BlueEyedDevil]

Sherpa uses a rubber gasket and rubber bonded washers to provide a seal without resorting to silicone or other goop. I just installed mine. It installed...right...like something the OEM would have engineered.

Wish that design feature was more common. Makes all the sense in the world.

 

[mynameistory]

I traded my 4Runner in for a new one, so I'm getting set to re-install the rack on the new truck. Since it's been some time, I wondered if any of you figured out an alternative to the silicone application at the mounting posts? Call me stupid, but I'm actually having one heck of a time getting the old silicone off of the metal posts...I've tried heat, a razer blade, denatured alcohol -- what a pain the a$$. In any case, has anyone figured out a rubber washer, a soft rubber gasket of sorts, a cover or 'boot' type idea -- any protective, waterproof alternative to the silicone? I remember making a royal mess with the stuff last time because I was so paranoid about leaks. If any of you guys have a tested/proven alternative I'd be grateful for the insight.

Ugh, do NOT use silicone sealant for a roof rack installation, it's the worst thing you can do. Not only is it impossible to remove, it will dry out and harden in a few years of sun and exposure, retracting from the joints and allowing moisture to creep in and rust your roof.

I used UV resistant rubber washers and butyl sealant in my install. If the SSO brackets are similar, the parts and procedures I've listed here will work.

EcoTechne Roof Rack Installation (5th Gen)

 

[GX4SEVEND]

Man I sure wish this would have been told to me before I installed mine a year ago. Was not a huge fan of the silicon route but that’s what I was told to do.

I have no plans in removing mine so I should be fine but you never know I guess


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[mynameistory]

Man I sure wish this would have been told to me before I installed mine a year ago. Was not a huge fan of the silicon route but that’s what I was told to do.

I have no plans in removing mine so I should be fine but you never know I guess


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Yeah I really have no idea why all of these companies making racks are parroting each other with that garbage. Maybe because they wouldn't care if your roof starts leaking 5 years after they've made their sale.

"Just slather a bunch of silicone all over, that might work."

I wasn't happy with that, which is why I spent time working on a solution that should last as long as the truck. I believe Sherpa is the only company that makes a legitimate mounting solution out of the box. Good on them.

 

[jonmcginnis]

Thanks to you guys pointing me in the right direction! I feel like you've uncovered the best two options -- both of which are more appropriate.
What do you think? Should I go with these to mount the SSO rack? Those are metal sleeves, so once the rubber compresses with torqueing the OEM bolts down, it *should* create a watertight seal with no silicone...or anything else needed. Opinions? I think I'm giving this a shot!

 

[GA4RNR]

Anyone have any experience with mounting a kayak rack on their SSO? Have a preferred brand for mounting 1-2 kayaks? Thanks

I ended up going with the Yakima JayLow Kayak Carrier. So far, everything looks good.

 

[Louisiana Overland]

I got my last available crossbar and the Rhino Rack awning mounts installed today (1 crossbar was backordered). The 3/4" screws I got with the kit were too long so I currently have them spaced out with washers. It's looks like 1/2 long screws will cover most applications for anchors if using nut inserts, but studs are also an option. I have a set of Chevy small block valve cover studs on the way. I plan to red Loc-tite those in some of the nuts and see how well that holds up. I also have some 2" Jeep/military style tie down loops coming and will mount them at diagonals across the slots on the crossbars. These should work well for cinch strap tie downs. Will post more pictures as I use more options. I also plan to get another 2 crossbars to fill out all locations in the future.

Once I've settled on everything I will be blue Loc-titing all the crossbar screws into the sides, just to keep them from coming loose under vibration. I found a few loose ones today but it is possible I didn't cinch them down during the initial installation. I don't want to over tighten them because they are threading into aluminum, and of course allen heads strip easily.

The Rhino Rack awning mounts look like a winner. I have 1 pair installed and another pair on the way. I have an ARB 2500 to hang and they recommend 3 anchor points. Since they are sold in pairs for a reasonable $55 I expect to use all 4. They can be mounted as high or low mounts so you can vary the height from the ground for your awning base. I'm opting for the lower mount but will use the upper hole positions to keep my 6' self some headroom.

Do you by chance have a part number or link to the rhino brackets you used? Their website is confusing. Im ordering an arb 2500 asap. Thx.

 

[jonmcginnis]

Tory (and anyone who is curious),
Wanted to circle back with a Big Shout Out of "Thanks Tory" for the insight you gave and the link to your install of the EcoTechne rack. It is entirely applicable to the SSO rack.

A couple posts back I posted a photo of the Sherpa mounting hardware used for their Crestone Rack and that I planned to try mounting the SSO rack with it. Hayden at Sherpa was kind enough to sell me a set of those rubber spacer mounts to try (Thanks Hayden!). In my mind I was convinced this would be the Holy Grail of mounting systems and that it would work on this SSO rack. In reality, not so. I should've taken a photo to show everyone, but to SSO's credit, Sherpa's mounts will definitely not work for this rack. Upon torquing down on the OEM bolts, they squished down too much (even started to split one)...and those inner stainless tubes actually actually bent in the holes in the top of the truck further inward...creating a larger opening. I told myself that maybe I tightened them too much?! But no...if I didn't the rack would've actually had play/shift -- which is not stable. Not at all the desired result. Not to mention, this left the rack mounting bracket too low -- sitting atop of the truck's painted edge...so TOTALLY not cool. Great system for the Crestone, I'm sure of it...just NOT for the SSO rack.

So I got the butyl tape and the silicone rubber washers from McMaster's. It was a little tricky getting the metal spacers to stay on until I could set the rack on them, but in the end...WOW. Heavy rain coming my way tomorrow and I feel totally confident. Probably way too much type here and probably no one cares LOL. For anyone considering the SSO rack and don't wanna mess with the silicone...THIS IS THE WAY. Thanks again Tory for sharing. Cheers!

 

[mynameistory]

Tory (and anyone who is curious),
Wanted to circle back with a Big Shout Out of "Thanks Tory" for the insight you gave and the link to your install of the EcoTechne rack. It is entirely applicable to the SSO rack.

A couple posts back I posted a photo of the Sherpa mounting hardware used for their Crestone Rack and that I planned to try mounting the SSO rack with it. Hayden at Sherpa was kind enough to sell me a set of those rubber spacer mounts to try (Thanks Hayden!). In my mind I was convinced this would be the Holy Grail of mounting systems and that it would work on this SSO rack. In reality, not so. I should've taken a photo to show everyone, but to SSO's credit, Sherpa's mounts will definitely not work for this rack. Upon torquing down on the OEM bolts, they squished down too much (even started to split one)...and those inner stainless tubes actually actually bent in the holes in the top of the truck further inward...creating a larger opening. I told myself that maybe I tightened them too much?! But no...if I didn't the rack would've actually had play/shift -- which is not stable. Not at all the desired result. Not to mention, this left the rack mounting bracket too low -- sitting atop of the truck's painted edge...so TOTALLY not cool. Great system for the Crestone, I'm sure of it...just NOT for the SSO rack.

So I got the butyl tape and the silicone rubber washers from McMaster's. It was a little tricky getting the metal spacers to stay on until I could set the rack on them, but in the end...WOW. Heavy rain coming my way tomorrow and I feel totally confident. Probably way too much type here and probably no one cares LOL. For anyone considering the SSO rack and don't wanna mess with the silicone...THIS IS THE WAY. Thanks again Tory for sharing. Cheers!

I hope that solution works out for you! I can see the design differences in the Ecotechne and SSO racks based on their crossbar design. Whereas the Ecotechne has small mounting feet that fit flat inside the channel, the SSO has larger adjustable feet that must raise above it on spacers. This is because the crossbars for the SSO rack are a fixed length that must fit precisely between the siderails, so the mounting feet have to be adjustable to take up the slack. The crossbars on the Ecotechne rack attach differently, with slots in order to take up the slack by the smaller, fixed mounting feet.

Personally I feel that the adjustable mounting feet design, with spacers and extra hardware represent more complexity and risk in a critical sealing area. The spacers seem tall and awkward to me, especially standing on their own without tying into each other until the feet are torqued. I think a machined block with two holes (similar in shape to that Sherpa rubber block) would allow more rigidity and sealing surface, and still allow for adjustable width.

Anyway, good luck with your application and I hope it seals well! Is there a rubber washer on the top of that bolt stack for sealing the threads?

 

[jonmcginnis]

You bring up a very valid point. There is that small vulnerability...at that adjustable slide mounting bracket. I never thought about this until yesterday. SSO doesn't address this. I never had it leak in 2 years on my other 4runner. But I think it could certainly drink a small amount of water at those 4 spots -- not to mention, snow & ice?! I think I will definitely torque those back out and put another of those same washers on the top, before the mounting bracket goes on top. That should do the trick. Good point, indeed. Much appreciate all the insight.

Update: So I literally just went back out there and undid those bolts, placed another of the same silicone washers on top of each of the aluminum spacers. I also put a little bit of the butyl tape around the bolts -- like a lock-tight concept. It's as good as it's going to get now! Hopefully I haven't taken those OEM bolts in/out so many times to create a problem. But it *should* be good and weather-proof. Only issue to address now is some of the little rust points showing up all over the rack (threaded grommets mainly) :Cry:.

 

[mynameistory]

You bring up a very valid point. There is that small vulnerability...at that adjustable slide mounting bracket. I never thought about this until yesterday. SSO doesn't address this. I never had it leak in 2 years on my other 4runner. But I think it could certainly drink a small amount of water at those 4 spots -- not to mention, snow & ice?! I think I will definitely torque those back out and put another of those same washers on the top, before the mounting bracket goes on top. That should do the trick. Good point, indeed. Much appreciate all the insight.

Update: So I literally just went back out there and undid those bolts, placed another of the same silicone washers on top of each of the aluminum spacers. I also put a little bit of the butyl tape around the bolts -- like a lock-tight concept. It's as good as it's going to get now! Hopefully I haven't taken those OEM bolts in/out so many times to create a problem. But it *should* be good and weather-proof. Only issue to address now is some of the little rust points showing up all over the rack (threaded grommets mainly) :Cry:.

I think Sherpa came up with a more elegant solution. While they have fixed length crossbars like others, their mounting feet attach to the bottom of the channels. This means that their mounts are solid and non-adjustable, and the under-side of the channels are used to adjust final width. This is a very smart design.

 

[silverslug]

I have a set of mounting pins for 2 MaxTrax and trying to figure out the best way to mount them to my SSO roof rack. Does anybody have thoughts (and/or pictures) of how best to mount them? Thanks!

 

[choochoo]

I have a set of mounting pins for 2 MaxTrax and trying to figure out the best way to mount them to my SSO roof rack. Does anybody have thoughts (and/or pictures) of how best to mount them? Thanks!

I have a writeup if what I ended up doing on my website/blog MaxTrax MKII and Custom Roof Mounts — Sheldon Chu Photography using aluminum flat bar.

Sherpa Equipment Co sells a mount that should work with the SSO’s 10-series crossbars as well; think it’s $90 though.


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[silverslug]

Thanks, choochoo! I saw your blog post on how you set yours up. Looks great, but I was hoping to avoid the fabrication work involved with a DIY set up like that ;-)

I have also looked at the Sherpa option, but just wasn't sure if the holes would line up exactly with the SSO cross rail slots. For the $60 plus shipping, that option seems like it would save me a bunch of time. Thanks for the tips!

I have a writeup if what I ended up doing on my website/blog MaxTrax MKII and Custom Roof Mounts — Sheldon Chu Photography using aluminum flat bar.

Sherpa Equipment Co sells a mount that should work with the SSO’s 10-series crossbars as well; think it’s $90 though.


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[choochoo]

Thanks, choochoo! I saw your blog post on how you set yours up. Looks great, but I was hoping to avoid the fabrication work involved with a DIY set up like that ;-)

I have also looked at the Sherpa option, but just wasn't sure if the holes would line up exactly with the SSO cross rail slots. For the $60 plus shipping, that option seems like it would save me a bunch of time. Thanks for the tips!

Yeah, to each their own. A few years ago the only pre-fabricated options available were >$120 which I thought ludicrous. Thanks for clarifying price on Sherpa.

If you get the Sherpa option, would you mind testing the fit to see if the MaxTrax will mount perpendicular to the crossbars (current setup is parallel as in photos). I’m hoping to free up some rack space by mounting them in between my two gun cases, but am unsure if the crossbar spacing will accommodate.


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[silverslug]

Will do, choochoo. I ordered the Sherpa mounts today. When they come in I'll try laying them out both directions on the SSO and take some pictures and post here showing if and how they would mount in either direction. I'm actually surprised nobody has started a thread yet on "What you have on your aftermarket roof rack and how you mounted everything".

 

[choochoo]

Sorry to revive an old thread, but to anyone looking to install scene lights... I recently installed these Sylvania flush mount LEDs. They fit perfectly into the existing holes drilled into the rack, and are so much cheaper than most other options out there.

 

[silverslug]

Hey choochoo. The mounts arrived over the weekend. I just got them installed yesterday. Good news and bad news here:

Good News - Works great for a crosswise configuration. The Sherpa Traction Board Mounts and included hardware all work fine IF you mount them crosswise on a single SSO 3” wide extrusion (should also work on a 2” cross rail). It took a bit of fiddling and adjustment though. First, I had to attach the MT mounting pins to the Sherpa mount. Then, I attached everything to the cross rail, leaving everything a bit loose so I could fit the Maxtrax onto the pins. After adjusting everything, I could then tighten all the hardware. It took me about 90 minutes to figure all this out and complete the installation.

Bad News - I don’t see any way to make them work for a lengthwise configuration. The distance between the mounting holes on Maxtrax is ~ 35”. Since the SSO cross rails are fixed, there’s just no way I could find to get that exact distance. I gave up on that idea after looking at everything several attempts (reversing the direction of the Sherpas, etc.)

Yeah, to each their own. A few years ago the only pre-fabricated options available were >$120 which I thought ludicrous. Thanks for clarifying price on Sherpa.

If you get the Sherpa option, would you mind testing the fit to see if the MaxTrax will mount perpendicular to the crossbars (current setup is parallel as in photos). I’m hoping to free up some rack space by mounting them in between my two gun cases, but am unsure if the crossbar spacing will accommodate.


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[Alpinst]

Wind Noise

Getting ready to pull the trigger and have a question for those experienced driving with this rack in cross-winds. I drive from LA up the 395 into the Eastern Sierra ~20 times a year. That drive across the desert is always cross-loaded with moderate to heavy winds, always! Given how perferated the SSO side rails are I have concern that will induce a lot of wind noise on this already tedious drive. What are other people's experience with the SSO rack in heavy cross winds?

Thanks

 

[gsla72]

You’ll notice a bit more at speed. I’ve spent a fair amount of time driving across New Mexico and west Texas with this rack on. It really only becomes noticeable around 70-80mph.

Overall it’s not that bad and it seems to be really intermittent depending on wind direction and gust. The sound I get is more of a light humming almost.

I usually just turn up the radio a bit more.