Surco or Yakima?
 

was wondering your guys opinions on which rack i should go with. fount a sale on yakima for under 300.

i'm going to be using it to hold my spare(most of the time) so i'm going for looks w/ some good usage.

I prefer Yak racks for there aerodynamics.
Both have plenty of accessories and look good so it really comes down to personal choice.
Although if soaring gas prices bother you, Yakima would be the wiser choice.

i knew both would knock my gas mileage down, just not sure which would be worse.

so the wind fairing on the load warrior is better then the open front of the surco racks?

show us some pics :]

http://www.thefordsource.com/store/c...oad_war_lg.jpg

http://images.autoanything.com/image..._roof_rack.jpg

this is coming from a biased source but i love my yakima stuff, that was on my first 4runner, my car, and the 4runner i have now. although if your just lookin for a basket i would check out costco. they have a coleman basket for $75.

Sloan,

If it were me, I'd definitely go w/ a Yak before I went w/ a Surco. Notice the width of the Yak verses the Surco...the yak is slimmer, thus allowing you to add attachments to both sides of that rack without them hanging over the side of the vehicle. Personally, I like a rack that sits within the width of a vehicle w/o filling up the width of the roof, or worse hanging over the sides. This is not only for aesthetics, but a narrow rack does better for me in tight, heavily wooded trails. (Both the reasons mentioned above are the two main issues I had with my previous Wilderness rack.)

Surcos are cheaper, but IMO are not as well built as the Yak. I've personally owned a Surco (like the one pictured above) and swore I'd never own another one. I had it mounted on my 4Runner for literally one day before taking it back off and returning to the business where I bought it. At hwy speeds, the entire rack rattled enough that I thought it might just come apart. The slats were very weak and anything I put on it with some weight under it made the slats bow.

I've never owned a Yak rack, but a good friend of mine had one for 3rys on his 4Runner and had zero issues/complaints/problems out of it. He eventually sold his 4Runner and let the rack go with it.

IMO, the yak is just an overall better rack. Not only is the wind fairing very useful, but it is a well built & designed rack and overall, has a more updated look to it than that of the surco.

Again, these are just my personal opinions of both, as others rave over the surcos and have had better luck with them than I ever had. However, just thought I'd share my experiences with both.

i spend about a 2 hour drive on highway to see my parents about 3 times a month and 30 minutes every other day to see my g/f so having something reliable at around 70 MPH is very important.

does yakima send the right mounting bracts to the factory rack when you order them, or do they have some kind of universal fitting mechanism?

I haven't held a Yakima, but, I know that my surco is really lightweight, and thats what I liked about it. Plus, it was dirt cheap. It holds my 35" tire, as long with fire wood, and other random crap on it.

My only complaint about the surco are the tall mounting brackets. I need to make/get some made that are about 2" shorter.

Costco Coleman unit. $75 bucks free shipping.
http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product...lang=en-US&s=1

ive seen the costco but i do not have an account there and i think it might be to large of a look for my 2WD Limited Low-Rider year model..

I have the Costco Coleman rack and I must say it is an excellent quality rack for the money. I was frankly not expecting much for $75, but I was wrong. You can certainly buy a much more expensive rack that is built to handle long-term heavy abuse if you need it, but for your intended purposes you will be pleased with the Coleman if you can live with the little bit higher profile.

Also, I don't believe you have to be a Costco member to buy on-line, but they charge a modest surcharge (like 3-5% I think). If you decide you want one and can't make it work without being a member, PM me and I'll see if I can help you out.

-Clark

Edit to Add: I just compared the dimensions of the Coleman rack to the Yakima LoadWarrior Cargo Basket, and they are identical :)

i love my surco, and havent noticed THAT much of a hit in gas mileage. ive had it for a year, and i think it was one of the best accessories ive ever had.

ive used it alot, not so much for wheeling, but moving in and out of dorms, etc.

clark do you have any pictures of it? and did it come with the right ammount of gear to install on the factory racks? i just figured since it was 6 inchs high that it might just look to big for mine.

I don't have any pictures of mine, but there are a few good pictures in this thread: http://www.toyota-4runner.org/showth...5&pagenumber=1

to give you an idea. It does come with the correct mounting brackets to mount to the factory rails. Once mounted, it is very solid.

-Clark

I also have the Costco/Coleman rack. It's great for the money! It feels solid and I already had tons (ok, maybe dozens of lbs) of stuff up there. It works. i haven't had the spare up there yet, but I wouldn't think twice about putting it up there... It comes with a fairing and the Coleman sticker peels off REALLY easy!

It turns out it is really made by Sport Rack, so if you ever need a 22" extension, you can get one from Sport Rack. The extension was being sold recently by Amazon for $55!:great:

cheers

thanks for the info guys, you have sold me on this rack.

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r...e/DSCN1394.jpg

my runner is the same color so it should look great. just out of curisiouty the '02 sports and the '01 limited sit at the same ride height don't they? or are the '02 sports a little higher up?

I don't think you'll be disappointed :)

-Clark

yea i bought my Coleman for $83 shipped and my spare is up there with no problems! for the low price, i couldn't ask for better!

Are attachments available for the Coleman rack for things like a spare tire, hi-lift, shovel, axe, etc? I couldn't find any...