Quick retarded question, my 4runner didn't come with a roof rack when I bought it, but it has the places for mounts along the sides, so what are my options? Get the original factory roof racks? yakima? load warrior? or would I need the factor ones to get the rest?

Gracias.

 

I wouldn't trust the OEM rack to hold much. The aftermarket racks tend to be better made and more versitile. Check out Yakima and Thule . Once you know what set-up you need you can usually find them for 20% off of retail at ski & bike shops, lots of on-line stores and, of course, e-bay.

 

do you mean that your roof has the factory rack "rails" running from front to back along the sides but just not the crossbars ??

 

Hmm..I have a similar question. Mine does not have rails even, just black plastic strips that appear to be attached where the roof-rack rails would be, only they aren't rails. Does that even make sense to anyone? What is the OEM rack rated for anyway? Anyone know?


1998 4Runner SR5 4X4 5-spd
just the elbow removal for now...but more soon!

 

OEM rack is rated for 100lbs...

 

I'm the same with cannon, I only have the strips, no bars up top whatsoever.

 

I went from this....



to this....



I bought a used factory rack off of ebay. I got everything for $50 which included the tracks and the factory crossbars. I got that instead of just tracks on the outside chance I may need the factory crossbars at a later point, which i doubt I ever will. You can also get the part# for the tracks and I thinkt hey are like $25 each from online toyota parts retailers. The install is very easy, took me about 20 minutes. Basically you take the strips off. Clean up the area, I had quite a bit of dirt. Get some silicon and squeeze a little in all the holes to make it water tight. Put the tracks on and screw down the torx screws. And install the feet and X-bars if you are using a Yakima rack or the factory crossbars if you want to use that. You can look at my site for info about the Yakima equipment I have.

 

I did something very similar to what Nolan did. I started off with just the strips like he did. Then I added OEM rails, Thule feet and loadbars. I also got a safari basket, mountain bike carriers, a kayak carrier, and a second set of load bars. I've had my safari basket pretty full before. If you can lift it over your head, Thule bars will hold it without any problems.

I've got a pretty detailed writeup of what I did on my site, including some part numbers, prices, and pictures.

 

awesome, thanks to both of you. You guys gave me exactly what I needed.

 

If you are interested, I have a OEM roof rack from my 2nd generation 4runner for sale. Not sure if it fits the mounting holes on a 3rd generation, but it would be easy to check. The rack has
the side tracks and cross members (large and small). Basically everything you need + some except for 14 - 5mm mounting screws (probably < $5 at your local hardware store). Here is a pic:



And here it is (er was) on my 4runner:



BTW, if you are interested, I took it off to replace it with my homebrew roof rack:



PM or e-mail me if you are interested in the OEM rack. Selling price: $60 obo + shipping.

 

Rob-

If I was in your position, I would get a gutter-mount Yakima. I have a Thule, and the accessories/parts are more expensive anywhere you go, even ebay.

 

Hmm...interesting, I'll have to look into the guttermount, it mounts in the gutter part of your roof on the sides I'm guessing?

If anybody could chime in on whether szf2's 2nd gen roof rack would fit on my 3rd gen, then we might have a deal.

edit: Christian I plan on putting a snowboard up there, so should I get the factory racks like szf2's, or should I just buy the oem rails, and then get the yakima stuff?

 

Yeah, when I say "gutter-mount" it has a flat foot and a clamp that mounts to each side. If you get the factory rails put on, then go with a Yakima or Thule, you will have to buy a foot pack kit.

Again, I would go with a Yakima gutter-mount. Ebay has a bunch of Yaks and Thule's, so check that out. Thule has a really good website that gives you all the options you need for your 96.

Keep doing research and narrow it down based on cost and quality.