This is my first post on the Yotatech. I did a search but didn't turn up anything. I am looking for a good roof rack basket for my 98 Limited. I looked at the Thule, Yakima, and a few others and I can't find one like I want. I want one thats not too shallow. Any recommendations? I'd love to see pictures on a 4Runner and info on where to buy. Thanks in advance.
Michael

 

ok... tell us a bit about what you're looking for.

I've got a surco that I like for light duty use. Check out my site for more pics...

 

Hi jacksonpt. Thats nice! I like that one alot. Your 4Runner looks alot like mine. Well, without all the mods it looks like mine. Mine is just stock for now but I really want to put a 3" lift under it! Atleast they look like the same color. I had a 96 and enjoyed it. I just recently got the 98 and I love it! Thanks for sharing! I'm looking for something to throw my camping gear in and maybe even a fishing rod or two. Its mostly going to be for looks but it will get some use. Nothing heavy duty though. What size would you recommend? I have the sunroof so I don't want to go over that.
michael

 

Save yourself a TON of money and build your own. total cost was about $100 bucks including beer





more pics at www.mudrunner.ca under mods, roof rack

I just used square bar, cut all the joints at a 45 and welded em together. You can buy gutter or gutterless mounts for a couple bucks if you dont want to mount it the way I did (Just built one for a friend's Van)

 

I personally wasn't crazy about the price on the thule and surco's, so I went a different route...

Proline Safari Rack for $138 shipped

And, it comes w/ the mounts to attach to the factory roof rails. It's perfect for light-duty and you can't beat the price.

 

4Hummer, I am actually thinking about trying to build my own. A guy down the street built one for his Suburban and it looks pretty nice. I just rode over and checked it out. $100 including beer is a great price! Thanks!

Are there any sites that tell about making different racks? I would like one similar to your design. I'm thinking about using conduit instead of square tubing although the square looks great on yours.
michael

 

I like the Yakima Load Warrior rack.
There are 1st gens, 2nd gens, and 3rd gens on the forum here that have them.

Here is mine, and some of the mods I have done to it.
https://www.yotatech.com/~corey/tech...mods/corey.htm
http://www.pnw4runners.com/runs/41203/5.jpg

 

Andy, can you post some shots of the mounts? That looks like something I may investigate further. do you plan on throwing a spare up there too, or will it hold one, load capacity-wise? I didn't see anything on the site about the capacity and figured it'd be in the manual for yours.

 

My Surco was $160 shipped. I chose to mount it to thule bars for some extra strength. I'm pretty happy with it, there are a zillion attachments for it (hi-lift, lights, etc.) and it's pretty light since it's all aluminum.

 

gotta link? this just may be a christmas present.

 

I got mine from this place. I had a discount coupon code thing, so I got it for a little less than what they are going for now. Their service is only OK, but something like this isn't the type of purchase you generally need a lot of product support with, so...

 

I'm assuming you got the 45x50 right? hehe, I just may know somebody that doesn't want their thule rack anymore also and I might be able to grab it free.

 

Yes - 45x50. You can get a way with longer if you want... but you'll need extra supports.

 

thanks. longer isn't an option, as long as it fits a spare and holds lights and a hilift it's good for me. longer kinda looks silly in my opinion.

 

Then the 45x50 should be fine. I'd suggest looking into having hi-lift mounts fabbed for the Surco. I've tried 2 different ones - the mounts from hi-lift, and the ones from surco. Both have their advantages, but neither are all that great.

 

They're basically modified u-bolts w/ "finger-nuts" (big plastic wing nuts) and clamp down on the OEM rails. The limit on the basket is like 250# - which is way more than the OEM rails or even the roof can handle.

 

Finally,a nice simple shot from the side. You always post pics of the rear or some angle or the pics are kinda dark and it's hard to compare to other Runners so yes,I can see it looks nice even not in a pose.

 

That was back in about late April/early May. Since then, it's received a new front suspension, a 1" RB BL, a M8000, a SC, a Rear ARB Locker w/ ARB compressor, some LX450 wheels, and some 285 MTR's.

 

Ok,now I need an updated shot and compare the two. I love the front end the best. Painted bumper looks "tight,yo!!".

 

Here's some crappy ones in the parking lot a few minutes ago...