greg mgm

My 91 4Runner didn't come with a factory roof rack, and I'm looking into what's available. Having an easily removable rack would be nice. 2 possibilities are Yakama and Thule. I've seen both brands which consists of towers and crossbars, and then you connect a removable rack or basket. Both brands have good quality stuff.
Questions- Has anyone here installed either of these racks? What is used for hardware: anchors or screws? Is there enough of a space/ gap in the roof so the hardware won't poke through the headliner? (That'd be a bummer!) What rack are you guys using? If you have pics...post 'em. Thanks in advance!

Mattabilly

You've got a couple options, both Yakima and Thule have easily removable options. I have a 3 bar setup that uses Q Towers over the doors and another that uses the factory. I mark where the Q Towers go on the rig and they go on and off in 2 minutes.

Both companies also do permanent mounts as well. I've only installed the Thule in sheet metal, everything is done from the outside, no need to pull the headliner. Check out the link in my sig for more ideas.

TC4RNR

i love the permanent tracks, IMHO, it's better than the clamp-on's. i have the Yakima control tower+landing pad setup, it has gone trough some raining days here this winter, no leaks at all.


track installation is pretty staight forward, i got very detailed instructions(vehicle specific) from Yakima, no sweet. i didn't take out the headliners, you can do the whole thing with your doors locked.

greg mgm

Well, I'm very glad I posted the question! That Backcountryracks site is pretty cool...too bad I live a l o n g way from them. I definitely like the permanent mounted track...Either way, popping the basket on and off to use on my other car would be nice. Drilling for the tracks doesn't worry me, as long as I measure and measure again Thanks a lot for the info...and the photos. Awesome set up with the lights! (Where's my credit card???)

Mattabilly

95% of the time I run a hybrid of a clampon over the rear doors and a bar in the factory track (you can kind of see it in my avatar.) My 4Runner has really short factory tracks so this is why I chose this setup. I like keeping everything over the rear third of the rig since it's quiter at highway speeds.

The part that takes me th longest on any track setup is measuring multiple times!

ewong

wow - the tracks look nice.

Almost makes me wanna put em on my Gen1....