The LFD Off Road Thread

[tjnptel1]

What type of film protection are you using? Does it come precut? I just installed my LFD bars and wind fairing 3 days ago, I left the rubber strip out as there was enough gap to prevent touch and debris accumulation but now the wind fairing makes a very slight contact with one side of the ridges of the roof causing to rub against the paint. I’m thinking about just using 3 bars for now as I’ll be mounting a couple of ROAM cases.

i layed this down first.. and then put the fairing on top

Amazon.com

 

[Besnor]

I will go check mine tomorrow. although I just washed/waxed including the roof and I didn't see anything unusual. I do have some chipped off areas from loading my boxes on the roof (and dropping a wrench on them...) but nothing is flaking off or peeling in chunks

what you're experiencing doesn't seem right. I would expect more than 1 year of use out of the powdercoat for the cost of those bars. chipping from loading and putting stuff up there is expected. Even the areas on mine that have chipped are exposed steel and no rust. can you post pictures

I bought mine in winter of 2022

Hey thanks for your answer! Yeah I would not be worried about regular use chips and scratches, but the way it is starting to come off is getting me worried. Attached a pic of one side, will try to take a few more when I get back on up there.

LFD stating that it is "not uncommon to see painted metal behave this way when left when left outdoor"... anyway I argued with them and it looks like they will replace them. Communication has been super difficult as they often do not reply to me via online chat and when they do reply it takes hours. I had UPS show up at my door un-announced twice and getting no feedback from LFD on what I am actually supposed to do...

Also haven't found a phone number to contact them. Everybody raving at how good their customer support is but unfortunately I am not having the same experience

 

[Humble Leader]

Hey thanks for your answer! Yeah I would not be worried about regular use chips and scratches, but the way it is starting to come off is getting me worried. Attached a pic of one side, will try to take a few more when I get back on up there.

LFD stating that it is "not uncommon to see painted metal behave this way when left when left outdoor"... anyway I argued with them and it looks like they will replace them. Communication has been super difficult as they often do not reply to me via online chat and when they do reply it takes hours. I had UPS show up at my door un-announced twice and getting no feedback from LFD on what I am actually supposed to do...

Also haven't found a phone number to contact them. Everybody raving at how good their customer support is but unfortunately I am not having the same experience

oh that's good youre getting a replacement. In general May is a busy time for these types of shops. people getting out of winter and starting spring builds/upgrades and preparing for the outdoors. that is definitely peeling paint so good for LFD for stepping up. I would expect they want you to send the old bars back and then they will send you new ones

 

[91foxbody]

Mine have done something similar. It's not great, but it is what it is. Powder coating is cheap, brittle, and thin. Any rock or metal strikes will cause it to delaminate, and without a galvanic primer underneath (zinc primer or HDG), it's going to leave the metal unprotected. If mine got super bad I'd pull the sections and repaint them, but I'm sure I'll want a new rack before I see sufficient metal loss due to corrosion.

Moral of the story: powder coating is a shitty choice for steel used off road, but it's what we've got.

 

[Besnor]

oh that's good youre getting a replacement. In general May is a busy time for these types of shops. people getting out of winter and starting spring builds/upgrades and preparing for the outdoors. that is definitely peeling paint so good for LFD for stepping up. I would expect they want you to send the old bars back and then they will send you new ones

Yeah that make sense, they are probably just super busy. I was finally able to speak to a super nice gentlemen on the phone and they are trying to work out some paperwork issues with UPS and hopefully everything will get sorted out.

They said I will just have to put the old bars back in the box and ship them back once I received the new one. Looks like it will be a happy ending after all.

 

[TRUSTYAXE]

Minimalist Rack

Has anyone installed the minimalist rack? I'm considering one so I can mount an awning. Any real world experience/pics would be greatly appreciated.

 

[johnnygraphic]

Has anyone installed the minimalist rack? I'm considering one so I can mount an awning. Any real world experience/pics would be greatly appreciated.

What do you mean re: “minimalist” rack? They sell either single crossbars that mount to the factory roof rails or a full set of 4 which includes the front fairing. (They also sell full length and 7/8 length roof racks including side rails, but I don’t think you’re talking about either of those).

Any of the above would allow mounting an awning.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[johnnygraphic]

Oh, also check out Moon Shade. Pretty unique style of awning and mounting which doesn’t require a permanently mounted fixture hanging off the side of your truck. Looks pretty light too.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[TRUSTYAXE]

Oh, also check out Moon Shade. Pretty unique style of awning and mounting which doesn’t require a permanently mounted fixture hanging off the side of your truck. Looks pretty light too.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm talking about this,

Minimalist Overland Rack – LFD Off Road

Yes I actually have the King Camp version of the Moon shade you mentioned. Its a bit of a PITA.

 

[johnnygraphic]

I'm talking about this,

Minimalist Overland Rack – LFD Off Road

Yes I actually have the King Camp version of the Moon shade you mentioned. Its a bit of a PITA.

Thanks for the warning on the Moon Shade. I was kinda wondering why I haven’t seen it anywhere.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[salsanacho]

Anyone having issues with their Stainless Steel Crossbars ? Bought 2 summer 2022, barely used them and the powder coat is starting to peel off in big chunks.

I am pretty disappointed. Contacted LFD and they just stated the warranty is 30 days on Powder Coat and offered a discount on buying new ones...

Mine is the same way, all the edges started degrading. They took them back and repowder coated them, but this new batch is having the same issue. I'm going to just Rustoleum them and hope that holds.

 

[SendInTheCavalry]

I saw this pic and was wondering if anyone can tell me what these tie down loops on this rack are properly called and where I can get them..preferably in stainless. Thanks for any help.

Sorry for being late to the party. I just got a set of LFD crossbars and found this tread looking for ideas. Just a FYI, if you’re going to use lifting eyes I don’t think they are rated to sideload like in the picture. Grated the tension from a basic Home Depot ratchet tie down probably isn’t enough to do anything… but still, it isn’t the best practice.

 

[austriker]

Has anyone had issues with rust? I live in the (rainy) Pacific Northwest and don't park my 4runner in the garage. Trying to decide if I should go with the steel or stainless cross beams.

 

[Humble Leader]

Has anyone had issues with rust? I live in the (rainy) Pacific Northwest and don't park my 4runner in the garage. Trying to decide if I should go with the steel or stainless cross beams.

100% go with stainless. I had my LFD cross bars for over 2 years up in canada. road salt, snow, rain, ice. they did not rust. the paint did chip in some spots since I did actually use the bars and that's bound to happen. but no rust.

I no longer have the cross bars because they didn't work for my set up anymore - they were great bars and no complaints at all with them

 

[austriker]

100% go with stainless. I had my LFD cross bars for over 2 years up in canada. road salt, snow, rain, ice. they did not rust. the paint did chip in some spots since I did actually use the bars and that's bound to happen. but no rust.

I no longer have the cross bars because they didn't work for my set up anymore - they were great bars and no complaints at all with them

Okay! I was thinking that would be the safer route. But after pricing 3 of the stainless beams and adding a fairing, it's getting into the realm of cost where id consider a full roof rack ($550 vs like $1000 for a Sherpa crestone sport) which is a lot more capable.

 

[Humble Leader]

Okay! I was thinking that would be the safer route. But after pricing 3 of the stainless beams and adding a fairing, it's getting into the realm of cost where id consider a full roof rack ($550 vs like $1000 for a Sherpa crestone sport) which is a lot more capable.

that is a dilemma I faced as well... I just didn't want to potentially introduce water intrusion if I didn't have to by switching to a new rack so I opted for the cross bars which served me well since I ran two boxes on the roof. I decided to change them out and go back to thule because of how attachments like bike racks fit nicely with them and didn't need the roof boxes anymore

 

[jedddelucia]

Advice for LFD cross bars

Hello,

I am planning to purchase LFD rack crossbars for my 2013 4runner with stock rails. I have 3 questions:

I live in the Bay area of California, in the east bay, over the hills form the bay, so I am not Coastal and I live in a generally dry climate, but not dessert. Not a lot of fog or salt air, but wintertime brings fog and some rain and I have dew/moisture each morning all year. I park outside. Is the carbon steel sufficient, or do I need to spend for Aluminum or Stainless (I'd like to avoid). What is everyone's experience with the Carbon Steel versions? does the powder coat tend to chip and cause spots of rust, or is it pretty good for a light duty user?

Is there a strong advantage to using the Aluminum bars due to the extrusions and T-bolt track? is having a track worth the additional cost, or are the slotted holes on the steel sufficient for most accessories?

Does anyone mix and match, creating a rack with some aluminum and some of the steel in the wide and standard width? do the heights align?

Thanks all for feedback.

 

[Humble Leader]

Hello,

I am planning to purchase LFD rack crossbars for my 2013 4runner with stock rails. I have 3 questions:

I live in the Bay area of California, in the east bay, over the hills form the bay, so I am not Coastal and I live in a generally dry climate, but not dessert. Not a lot of fog or salt air, but wintertime brings fog and some rain and I have dew/moisture each morning all year. I park outside. Is the carbon steel sufficient, or do I need to spend for Aluminum or Stainless (I'd like to avoid). What is everyone's experience with the Carbon Steel versions? does the powder coat tend to chip and cause spots of rust, or is it pretty good for a light duty user?

Is there a strong advantage to using the Aluminum bars due to the extrusions and T-bolt track? is having a track worth the additional cost, or are the slotted holes on the steel sufficient for most accessories?

Does anyone mix and match, creating a rack with some aluminum and some of the steel in the wide and standard width? do the heights align?

Thanks all for feedback.

IMO get the aluminum or SS. the reason being is I had SS and it did chip/scratch in some spots. it never rusted though. putting stuff up on the rack or using wrenches to tighten bolts down youre going to knick the powdercoat off, its inevitable

the t tracks would have made my life MUCH easier for mounting. but I ended up being OK with the slots in the SS bars that I had. there was no T track when I bought mine