What did you do to/in your 5th Gen today?!
- Thread starter DEKA3
- Start date
ChurchofTrails
New member
I just replaced my roof rack this weekend, and I would say the mounts would not be the greatest ground. The two bolts seem to be connected to a single plate that moves around like it is attached to some sort of insulation, possibly rubber. The point being, they are not directly connected to the sheet metal (painted or not) as far as I can tell.
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007Tacoma
New member
Started mocking up a CB antenna bracket off the roof bar tie-down bolt. Then installed a TRD skid plate and front shackle. Not a bad afternoon.
So, where did you run the antenna wire through to the radio? Did you end up drilling a hole?
dreti
New member
I run an 18' cable through the trunk door jam, down the gutter and crossing the seal near the bottom, then along the edge of my trunk liner, under the back seats and rear floor mats by the transmission tunnel and under the front seats to connect to my Midland 75-822 car charger adapter. You can barely tell the cable is there and no drilling required.
In answer to the grounding question, I'll probably run some 10 gauge from what will be a stainless steel bracket to somewhere on the trunk. Probably not perfect, but will hopefully work well enough for what will be fairly short distance trail communications.
I'll be using a 2' Firestik FS2 and secure the bracket with a thumb screw. The antenna will be able to pivot down between the bars for parking garages and car wash etc. Will post pics when the project is finished and report on well it works!
MeefZah
New member
That would be better than nothing, but I believe the roof may be somewhat electrically insulated from the rest of the chassis. Your best bet would be to run wiring along the roof rack towards the hatch and then ground the wiring inside/under the hatch as a lot of other people have done, using a new self tapping screw drilled into the sheet metal.
You could always try to ground it to the roof rack bolts, and see what your SWR is. If it's low enough, then that would be adequate.
ToyoDriver
New member
ADK Explorer
New member
Agreed ! Time to get out the skiis and snowshoes. lol
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FLY_FISHING
Member
Went for my last bike ride for the season a few days ago (its now snowing in Toronto).
what bike rack is that?
007Tacoma
New member
sovat4r
New member
Its hard to carry skis and boards every weekend with the tent up top
The mountain biking season (and no, I don't have a fatbike to ride with in the snow). Bike is being put away, and snowboards are being prepped.
And as far as I'm concerned, there is no "outdoors" season, and I live in Toronto (Canada).
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FLY_FISHING
Member
can you fold it back and open the hatch with the bikes mounted?
007Tacoma
New member
Sorry. Not my bike rack. I just happened to know which one it was. That being said, I believe you can open the hatch with the bike rack and bikes folded down. Everyone I know that has one loves it. However, I have never seen any of them actually use it in person. :wow:
CowboyTaco
New member
I saw another user state that they had to cut the grill so that it wouldn't make contact with the bracket. Melissa Rago commented that they can walk people through installation so that contact with the grill does not happen. Did you try to contact them at all?
I'm about to attempt this and have my wife be the second set of hands. Since it is her 4R, I don't want any rubbing the grill issues. I may call Rago Fab before attempting to make sure that I get it right the first time.
ColoradoToyota
New member
I did not although I do recall seeing that thread as well. I would say it's worth doing. Mine rubs enough to certainly apply pressure to the grill and it appears to be digging in a little bit - when I have a few daylight hours in the coming weeks I will open it all back up and see if i can't figure it out, but I spent a good 30 minutes mounting and remounting (remounted probably 3 times on each side) to try and get everything set as far back as possible to no avail.
Let me know if you're able to install cleanly and I'll be motivated to revisit it!
Yes.
Shred_Head
New member
Prinsu Rack & CBI Ditch Light Brackets
Had a few hour break in the rain this weekend so I was able to install my CBI ditch light brackets and also semi-install my Prinsu Rack.
Still need to drill holes in the roof for the front foot mounts :cry2:... I did not want to do that since there was still rain in the forecast.
I'm hoping to finish up the final roof drilling and install the rest of cross bars this week sometime.
Here's some progress photos so far:
Had a few hour break in the rain this weekend so I was able to install my CBI ditch light brackets and also semi-install my Prinsu Rack.
Still need to drill holes in the roof for the front foot mounts :cry2:... I did not want to do that since there was still rain in the forecast.
I'm hoping to finish up the final roof drilling and install the rest of cross bars this week sometime.
Here's some progress photos so far:
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