WMW Full Length Rack for 4th Gen T4R's!!

[EdmundGTP]

That. Is. AWESOME! I'm tellin you right now, I'm totally stealing that exact setup.

Out of curiosity... where are the wires?

They're currently zip-tied along the back sides, and undersides of the rack. I ran power up the inside of my A pillar and out through a hole in the roof. Just used a step drill and a properly sized grommet, for 2/12 awg CL3 wire. Then I bought 3 of these trailer adapters in 12 Gauge and made a small wiring harness that goes from a plug at the roof, to plugs at each of the lights.

The plugs themselves aren't super weather proof, but they're simple and cheap, and since I wont be taking the lights off frequently I just taped over the connectors to seal them.

I can grab a couple pics of that if it'd help.

 

[EdmundGTP]

Also.. If you re-drill the brackets similar to how I did, then you have to use extra washers to space the brackets out from the light body.

The brackets are a good bit thinner at the point where I re-drilled them, so the mounting screws will have a tendency to find the bottom of their tapped hole, before actually tightening up to the bracket. Not to mention you've just lost the Ridged surface to Ridged surface contact that keeps the bar from wanting to rotate within the brackets.

I went to Ace hardware and bought a bunch of internal star lock washers (7/16" or 3/8" size I think) and stacked two of them along with a regular washer, between the light bar and the bracket. This made sure that the bracket could actually be tightened up to the light. Also made sure that the bracket would tighten up squarely, since one of the original mating surfaces was lost. And the lock washers keep everything in place when torqued down.

I think I have a pic of this as well..

 

[Jester4kicks]

Also.. If you re-drill the brackets similar to how I did, then you have to use extra washers to space the brackets out from the light body.

The brackets are a good bit thinner at the point where I re-drilled them, so the mounting screws will have a tendency to find the bottom of their tapped hole, before actually tightening up to the bracket. Not to mention you've just lost the Ridged surface to Ridged surface contact that keeps the bar from wanting to rotate within the brackets.

I went to Ace hardware and bought a bunch of internal star lock washers (7/16" or 3/8" size I think) and stacked two of them along with a regular washer, between the light bar and the bracket. This made sure that the bracket could actually be tightened up to the light. Also made sure that the bracket would tighten up squarely, since one of the original mating surfaces was lost. And the lock washers keep everything in place when torqued down.

I think I have a pic of this as well..

Hell yeah, the more pics, the better.

Where'd you get the light bars, themselves? I found a set on amazon, but it's looks like they're re-branded (or knock-offs) and the feedback on the seller isn't that hot.

 

[EdmundGTP]

Hell yeah, the more pics, the better.

Where'd you get the light bars, themselves? I found a set on amazon, but it's looks like they're re-branded (or knock-offs) and the feedback on the seller isn't that hot.

Took a gamble and ordered some off ebay. Seller had good feedback and the price was right. The "good" cheap LED bars are manufactured by Hanma, and you can find them for sale at various places (amazon, ebay, etc) by searching for the hanma part numbers. HML-B272 is the part number for these.

I'll get some pics tomorrow.

One thing I don't like about the setup at the moment, is that there is a good amount of glare that comes off the windshield when the lights are on. My initial idea is to make a sheet metal shield that fits below each LED bar to essentially shade the windshield from direct light from the bars. I'll have to do some experimenting.

 

[4Runrrun'n]

well done EdmundGTP. nice fitment. shields shouldnt be too hard to make or fit. thanks for showing us the end product. giv'n me ideas...

Thank you

 

[Bob J]

As Josh says, the vertical spacing between the two front bars is really not much more than 3". This is what 2 13.5" Dual Row LED Light bars look like mounted in the openings. Also note that I drilled the mounting brackets so that they mount 1" lower than they would normally. This allowed them to tuck more neatly between the bars of the rack.

That really looks great.... Awesome install! :thumb:

How is the wind noise and do you get any vibration?

 

[EdmundGTP]

Wind noise I don't notice any at all until I pull back my sunroof shade, and a bit more if I open the sunroof (which is almost never). I also have some pretty noisy tires right now so that helps mask any possible noises from the rack and lights.

Vibrations? None.

This is a pic of the hardware I added for the re-drilled brackets. 2 internal star washers on either side of a split/lock washer.

Here's a pic of how the wiring is currently routed. I'll probably move it and re-secure it with some beefier zip ties or some other form of cable clamp. The arrows point to where I used the trailer plugs.

 

[BrandonL]

EdmundGTP

Can you post some full pictures of your rack? It looks like yours is the same as Fedrlbikers? I like the idea of the full width, mines silver and I want to see the larger width on a lighter vehicle.

What's your opinion on the width? Would you order it the exact same if you had to do it again?

Thanks!

 

[EdmundGTP]

EdmundGTP

Can you post some full pictures of your rack? It looks like yours is the same as Fedrlbikers? I like the idea of the full width, mines silver and I want to see the larger width on a lighter vehicle.

What's your opinion on the width? Would you order it the exact same if you had to do it again?

Without a doubt, yes. I'd certainly do it again. It's a BIG rack, but the way Josh designed it, it fits the vehicle very well and looks like it belongs there.

Here's a few more pics.

 

[Bob J]

Wind noise I don't notice any at all until I pull back my sunroof shade, and a bit more if I open the sunroof (which is almost never). I also have some pretty noisy tires right now so that helps mask any possible noises from the rack and lights.

Vibrations? None.

This is a pic of the hardware I added for the re-drilled brackets. 2 internal star washers on either side of a split/lock washer.

Here's a pic of how the wiring is currently routed. I'll probably move it and re-secure it with some beefier zip ties or some other form of cable clamp. The arrows point to where I used the trailer plugs.

Perfect! Much appreciate your impressions and the install details! Very clean!

 

[EdmundGTP]

no problemooo

 

[BuckRunner]

Roof rack

This rack looks awesome. Maybe this can be a good x-mas gift to myself! Definately looks like a great deal for this rack!

Also thinking about the full size for sheets of plywood and drywall. Doesnt look too big at all.

 

[Whitson Metalworks]

I'll likely do a Christmas special again this year, just keep tabs on the forum!

 

[TheTuckerTaxi]

I'll likely do a Christmas special again this year, just keep tabs on the forum!

Yes!! I'm very interested. Have you thought about doing a hi-lift or shovel mount?

How much is shipping to 90025?

 

[Whitson Metalworks]

Yes!! I'm very interested. Have you thought about doing a hi-lift or shovel mount?

How much is shipping to 90025?

to put it bluntly, shipping sucks to California lol. I do get great cross country rates but its usually 190 or so to get one from coast to coast. BUT, if you had another interested member I can ship TWO racks for around 260.

never thought of a high-lift or shovel mount simply due to the fact of the expanded metal flooring being so rigid and accepting of all kinds of clamps or hold-downs to mount or secure anything. I use one inch tube so any aftermarket accessories sized for 1" tube should work just fine.

 

[momo.75]

Just got a few build pics of my rack.....I can't wait! Thanks Josh!

 

[ktom3001]

On my third gen, a simple plexi fairing cut the wind noise 100%. Without the fairing the wind noise was more like loud tire noise and was something I got used to in a week. I also have a sunroof but its sealed shut so might as well not be there...

Does the fairing have to extend all the way down to the roof for maximum wind noise reduction and minimum mileage loss? I've see a few where it only covers the profile of the rack.

 

[Whitson Metalworks]

Does the fairing have to extend all the way down to the roof for maximum wind noise reduction and minimum mileage loss? I've see a few where it only covers the profile of the rack.

you got me there. i think it will cut more noise if it covers the space between the rack and the roof. myself and others never noticed any MPG loss with the rack one way or the other.

 

[ktom3001]

you got me there. i think it will cut more noise if it covers the space between the rack and the roof. myself and others never noticed any MPG loss with the rack one way or the other.

That's good news, I'll PM you about payment.
Anyone in Sonoma county want to buy a rack as well and combine shipping?

 

[Whitson Metalworks]

That's good news, I'll PM you about payment.
Anyone in Sonoma county want to buy a rack as well and combine shipping?

doubling up on shipping is the way to go for the west coast folks!