What's the factory roof rack good for?
- Thread starter Buba1
- Start date
85GT-79FJ40
New member
I have an early trail edition so the rack is different. But I have hauled kayaks on J bars on both the stock crossbars and my thule aero bars no problem. And I've hauled a ridiculous amount of lumber on it. Never had an issue.
Buba1
New member
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This is exactly what I wanted to see for transporting kayaks. Do you happen to have a link for the attachments for kayaks you are using?
laserdemon
New member
To attach your LFD cross bars.
[Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/n0yHsan.jpg)
I love them. I might replace the rails at some point, but these work just fine for my Runner.
[Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/n0yHsan.jpg)
I love them. I might replace the rails at some point, but these work just fine for my Runner.
Redsoxx1918
New member
They are Malone J racks. You can google them. They're a pretty popular, good quality J rack. They attach right to the factory cross bars. I keep them attached to the crossbars and just pop the crossbars off and store them in the garage until I need them. I like that the crossbars are so easy to remove and reattach or move around. It is high though. I have to throw a little step ladder in the back for loading and unloading.
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U
USStrongman
Guest
Not true. Since most of these full length racks have "leg" or "feet" in the forward position, it has another point of contact and thus, an increase in static and dynamic load.
I travel with my wife (135lbs) daughter (165lbs) Great Dane Bull Mastiff (182lbs) American Bully (75lbs) and German Spitz (22lbs). Now add me at 310lbs and that's a lot of weight and room taken up by the interior. We carry our cooler and a reusable grocery bag with dog and human treats. I've run roofracks on my last two rigs and am in the process of sorting which roof rack I will want next.
I carry on a roof rack, when we go to our off grid cabin in NM...
Ax
Shovel
Chainsaw
Recovery Gear bag
My dry bag
Wifes Dry bag
Dgtrs dry bag
Kitchen gear
2.5G Rotopax fuel and water
Dogs gear bin
8' ROAM canopy
Grocery bin
Bin with camping essentials
For me, a roof rack is essential. I need the square footage of a full rack, not for the weight of an RTT.
Last edited:
El Gavilan
Junior Member
From the non-drill models, I've seen the forward legs kind of just hover. While loaded, they might "rest" on the vehicle they don't provide the same support as the rear bolted-in mounts. But all this is irrelevant since you are limited by the load capacity of the roof structure. Toyota's ratings are conservative, probably to avoid lawsuits, but I wouldn't assume 2-300 extra lbs won't make a difference.
Sounds like a full-length rack is something is working out for you.
The LFD cross bars are nice.
HEAVY construction. Stainless. Quality install hardware provided. Good price.
Subtle design too . . . doesn't look like you went shopping at BRovErLanDerS-R-US on the way home from the Toyota dealership.
Have had mine packed to the gills camping in the Mojave and doing some high-speed yahoo shit on the trails. Solid.
Jason
97BlackAckCL
Elite Member
They TRD roof racks are ugly and junk, I think they made too many for the FJ's and just have been slapping them on TRD's because they had them. The stock roof racks are aluminum and can't hold much weight and the stock crossbars are useless
Humble Leader
Senior Member
The TRD racks remind me more of a basket than a rack. I think it was baha that sold a basket insert for them so you could at least put things in the basket. I never understood the cross bar system and the two levels (upper and lower) that the TRD had. 4runners should have come with an optional platform (similar to LFD, but aluminum). I know aluminum is not as strong but most people that put serious weight up there just upgrade to an expensive rack anyway + aluminum is nice for anywhere that uses road salt
AggieOE
New member
I mounted our rooftop tent (110-lbs) to the side rails. I used the cross rails that came with the tent and not the OEM ones since I think that's the weak point. I like it as a low-pro option!
Took it from Houston to Big Bend to LA to Yosemite to Death Valley and back without a single issue. Lots of 80+ mph driving and off-roading.
Took it from Houston to Big Bend to LA to Yosemite to Death Valley and back without a single issue. Lots of 80+ mph driving and off-roading.
Crikeymike
Senior Member
I mounted our rooftop tent (110-lbs) to the side rails. I used the cross rails that came with the tent and not the OEM ones since I think that's the weak point. I like it as a low-pro option!
Took it from Houston to Big Bend to LA to Yosemite to Death Valley and back without a single issue. Lots of 80+ mph driving and off-roading.
Nice and low, that's the best way to mount those!! Looks good.
SurfToy
Member
Good to know as I've got a RTT in the garage waiting for adventures. Hard to tell from the pics, do you know if he has it mounted to the rails or the crossbars?
Just asked him and he said they were on the crossbars, but he also said it was a smaller tent and he had to upgrade the rack when he bought a bigger tent
Brick Sprickly
New member
Here's my setup for a single sea kayak. I put some formed foam on the adjustable crossbars and since only the bow is touching the front of the rack, there's a 3 mil rubber pad cemented onto the contact point to prevent rubbing off the powder coat.
IMHO, I never had any love for the factory rack. There's simply not enough real estate by comparison to other options. Sure, there's a drop-in model from Baja but that shrinks the basket area even more. That being said, I'm sure you could still tie a hammock to it without issue.
IMHO, I never had any love for the factory rack. There's simply not enough real estate by comparison to other options. Sure, there's a drop-in model from Baja but that shrinks the basket area even more. That being said, I'm sure you could still tie a hammock to it without issue.
