There is a guy that lives by me that is building custom made safari racks. He has designed and made some for Range Rovers, and is wanting to make some for Toyotas.
I am taking my 88' up there next week, and I am going to arrange for 2nd and 3rd 4runners after that. Also land cruisers and FJ40's.
I was wanting to get some input on what people want in a safari rack. What attachments and add ons people want.
I walso want to know what sizes are good. I know he designes his to be able to be expanded.

Tell me what you guys think is important in a toyota rack.

Thanks
Kent

 

Looks like I'll have competition

 

Axe/Shovel brackets
Hi-Lift brackets
Spare Tire mount
Aux Light mouts
Jerry Can mounts
CB antenna mount
Elastic web/tie down thingies (probably not his area of expertise)
Strong, stable floor panels/bars/supports

 

What he said

 

further roof rack suggestions:

4" tall sides
Option to have six or eight mounting clamps (versus standard four)
Tabs/mounts for roof rack awnings
Figure out a slick way to mount a full length rack on a 3rd gen 4runner with sunroof.
Keep it light weight but strong.
Flat front for better aerodynamics and ability to have a folding roof top tent (like hannibal racks):



And keep the price under $300.

 

SSM reciprocating mounts (surface to surface missile) for dumba$$ drivers that cut me off.

Dual Phalanx mounts...because people suck and I need an easy way to cut down a large number of trees quickly. They also help if a cruise missile is homing in on my rig.

And keep it under $3,000,000

 

missels.....??????

dont be ridicioulous









a few gatling guns would be more practical

 

uh, what happens if you slam on the breaks with something up there? just kidding.

 

that's what the side-mounted Patriot Missiles are for, oh, chalk up another 1.5 million on the price.

 

I know for a 2nd gen. 4runner the size is 45" x 60"

so you going to be selling these to the public?

 

Yes, these will be to the public.
This guy has been making really nice custm racks for range rovers, And I just called him about doing one for my 88'. All the rackes I could find were generic racks, and I wanted one to fit my truck just right, with good mounting points. I talked to the guy for a while and said if he could make some custom fit racks for toyotas, ther might be a good market for them.
So I said that I would try to find out what people want in a rack and tell him. I am goint to try and get him lined up with each model of 4runner, some land cruisers and an FJ40. I have seen some of his work, and it is impressive.

Here is one he did for the Range Rover

pic


Please let me know what you think, and what you want for 4runners

 

I just took in my 88' 4runner for a fitting for the new roof rack. it is going to be awesome!
I is designing two types of racks for the 1st gen. One will be a basic square rack that will cover the entire fiberglass cover. He is making special mounting brackets to allow it to carry much more than all of the others.
the other rack will be one that goes all the way to the front. It has protected mounts for lights, and yes, you will be able to remove the sunroof. The full rack is what I am getting.
He is also setting the racks up to accepting a camp tent on top of the rack.
I have an appointment to take in a 2nd gen runner for him to design a top for it, then a 3rd gen, then Land Cruisers. All of them are going to be setup for access to the sunroof if you want.

He already has the brackets for the lights, hi-lift, spare, etc. Even a ladder that can stores on the back, but can move anywhere on the truck for easy loading.
He is also working on sliders.



Check out the racks he makes for Range Rovers Ruff Rider racks

 

Nice racks, but his prices are running around $850+. Now that is for a Rover, any quoted price on your Toy yet?

 

hey...nice racks

 

THe Toyota racks will be a little cheaper. The full rack will be around $700, but it has alot of extras that most racks don't have. The sqare rack that goes over the fiberglass will be a lot less.
These were just guestamates. He said that the more parts that can be transferred from the Range Rover rack to the Toyota rack, the cheaper t will be.
When you consider that the Yakima Road Warrior is almost $500 for the full rack, (with extension)..Yakima Racks and you still have to make a way to attach it to your top (unless you have a Yakima rack system). These custom racks are not that expensive. Especially when you consider that you will be able to hold about three times as much on these racks!
I will keep you informed on the progress of my rack.

 

I'll probably just pick up a garvin wilderness rack one day.

 

Any follow-up on how these custom racks turned out? I am interested in one for a '03 4Runner.

 

Hey where is this guy located,i already have a rack but might want to go look at his stuff. Oh ya i would look for a spare tire mount and light mounts.

 

He said nice racks........

hehee snort snort.....

 

well, let me tell you about this guys racks.
They were prolly the best engineered racks I've seen coustom made. They were absolutly awesome. but the guy was a flake! I could never get him to finish anything. and I was out about $400 in time and money on this guy. I really tried to get him to put his custom racks out, but he would never finish it.
He was so busy screwing around, he got about 10 racks behind for Range Rover, ended up refunding money to buyers and went broke.
Sorry can't help you guys, but I am still looking for a rack for my 88' runner!

Good luck
Kent