Roof rack.....need some input
 

I haven't posted in awhile.....sorry for those that were waiting on cruiser coils and BJ spacer lift pics, I have my 2" RB bodylift installed now too.

Well, on to the point of this tread. I'm obviously doing alot of work to my 4Runner and was thinking about fabricating a roof rack. I've heard of cons to doing this such at high center of gravity. Any other cons? Anyone have one that really loves it?

Thanks for any info.

If done right, they are super handy. Mine is a store-bought setup, not custom fabbed, but I love it. Mine is also aluminum, so the center of gravity is not affected much. The weight is certainly an issue... both due to it's affect on the center of gravity and because the truck can only hold so much weight up there - it doesn't do you much good to put a 100lb rack up there if your max load weight is only 150lbs... see what I mean? The only other con that I can think of is that it does have a very noticable affect on gas mileage... I lose about 3mpg with my safari rack, about 2mpg with just by bike carries. As such, I don't generally leave my rack on unless I think I'm going to be using it.

Do know if one of those spoilers on the fron like the Frontier has would help that issue out at all?

Withe the weight and the gas milage, I'm currently looking against it. I'd settle for a 1mpg drop, but 3 is a bit much when you look at the long term.

The spoiler will definitely help with wind noise, but I'm not sure about the gas mileage... I would think it would be about the same either way.

I fabbed (had local shop wled it up since I can't weld) my own rack out of square tube & then had it powder coated. I designed it with "feet" that fit into the existing roofrack channles so that I could get a lower profile. I did not put a front gate on it so as to limit wind resistance and I made the back such that it can fold down so that I could put my pirogue right up in it (i.e., no front & back gate cause back can fold down, but sides stay firm creating a "craddle for the boat) and lastly, a high-lift jack mount. It weighs at 40 pounds and does have some wind noise but not nearly as much as those with a front bar or gate.

email me at matthew.ramsey@usarc-emh2.army.mil and I will send you a pic as I still can't figure out how to post pics on this thing.

Roof rack
 

IMO a roof rack fabricated out of steel is pointless as it is just too dang heavy compared to aluminum. My Surco that is aluminum and measures 45" x 60" x 5" is 22 lbs while an equivalent carbon steel one would weigh in at 95 lbs (I figured it up using the same size tubing as my Surco). You waste all your weight on the rack and severely limit what you can use the rack to carry.

:guitar:

I don't think so. They still cause drag and loss of gas mileage. Next week, I'm taking my 'spoiler' off to see if I recover anything.

I guess if you could fab one at a much smaller angle than the factory/default angles, it may make a difference. However, In order to get a smaller angle, the length of the basket diminishes and the primary intent of having a rack might be lost.

I like my rack but 2 things are an issue: The lose of gas mileage (not the noise) and I ended up using "lock nut" (I forget what the 'glue' is called) to stop the wing nuts from coming loose each day. It's not the permanent lock nut, it's the step down -- can be removed with a wrench. Just a hassle to remove now. I was petrified the rack would come lose driving down the highway. Leaving the rack off until needed isn't an option as I don't have room to store in.

Well, like I said, my fabbed one is right at 40 pounds. do a search for the thread entitled 98 4runners rule! On the second page of the thread is a pic of my anthracite rig with the rack ("loosehead" posted it for me). Really, the thin square tubing is not prohibitively heavy - especailly since I don't have a front gate. IMO, the real difference is the price - it cost me just at $410 to get it fabbed and then powder coated verses whatever the wilderness, surcos, etc cost. That is, I think they are cheaper. I don't seem to take that big of a hit in the milage either but I think that is because my rack has no front gate and has a lower profile than most that are mounted to the facotry cross bars. Just my .2 from a guy who needed a custom rack to carry my highlift & boats like I want too.

Used Surco
 

I found a $100 Surco 45" x 60" locally with no shipping in pristine condition! :hillbill:

40 lbs is still double the weight. I can hold up my Surco with two fingers and move it around easy, but too each his own! :booty:

:guitar:

I wanted a rack for a canoe, but thought why not make a full rack and I can use it for other things too. I'm thinking that the roof rack isn't such a good idea now that I hear all of your comments. I also don't have the stock rails for a rack. Mine just has the gutters where they should be. Not a big deal though really. I'm going to have to really think about this before I make my mind up. I will definately need a way to haul the canoe.

Here is my idea for a roof rack:

E-bay - Two Stainless steel bathroom grab bars.
Two pieces of Construction Strut. (B-Line B-52) aka Unistrut
Some U bolts that are the same dimension as the SS Grab Bar to hold the strut to the grab bar which is mounted to the roof.
With the opening facing up you can insert these nuts to make a flush attachment for custom brackets or a manufactured holder/bracket.

The advantage of the construction strut is that it can be painted. You can build your own type of brackets to bolt to the strut.

I did this with my 87 runner a few years ago with the exception on the SS grab bar. I was able to build my own bike brackets and bolt them to the strut. It worked great at the fraction of the cost of a "system" rack.

Here is a site for the strut
http://www.cooperbline.com/pdf/catal...B52Channel.pdf