Hi Guys,
Do you know a way to reinforce the hard top of a Toyota 4Runner? I'd like to install a roof tent for 2 persons on it.
The photo attached shows an interesting option, but I don't know how the owner bolted the hard top to the cabin. I
Do you have other ideas?

 

I really have no idea, RAD4Runner might know, he mounted a roof rack to his hard top. Taking the weight of a RTT with people added in might just be too much for the fiberglass. The pic you show is probably the best way to do handle it, looks like the feet of that rack are sandwiched between the fiberglass top and the bed side, with one of the hard top mounting bolts going thru the foot of the rack.

If you had sliders and a metal rear bumper, you could probably have a rack made that went down the side of the bed further to attach to a slider, and then at the back, have it attach to a rear bumper. It would be ugly.

 

That forward brace isn't in the cab mount, from here it looks to be just in front of where the cap bolts down. Should be able to fit an 1/8th inch plate in from the looks of it..

Will try again later to attach pictures my phone's acting up.

If you look at your pinch trim in the corner of that window, the cap mount starts just aft of the corner piece. There is a four inch gap in front of there, a good spot for a plate.

To go under the cap you'd have to grind down the caps flange, it's 1/4 inch to leave the 1/8 gap for cap seal.


Hard to say where you could do internal bracing, lots of this is double layer/wall.

 

I did something like this years ago .

I just used double tape on the bottom of the cap but where the steel bolted fast

Angle that bolted down through the bed lip

I attached the cap where the Rack mounted as well

If your having a Good bit of weight not a major problem to add another upright in the middle

 

Thank you for your answers.
I have a Can-back, I didn't expect to use it a lot, but after a few short trips with it, we love it. It's strong enough to hold a roof tent and a couple on it, it has 4 supports in every corner of the frame (first photo), and we can install the roof rack bars on them.
I don't like this option because it's noisy for long trips, and I think exaust gases enter into the cabin when we drive it in the highway (when the can-back's closed). Besides that it has a big vulnerability, thieves can open it easly and steal our stuff or even the truck if they want. I saw a guy who install some metal mesh/net in his 4Runner (second photo), that's an interesting option to keep thieves away. The problem's I don't know how to solve the first 2 issues, and the reason I prefer to install the roof tent in the hard top.
I'm going to take some photos of the hard top, I have it in the garage table right now.

 

I've also seen someone here in San Diego mount his as in original post. Robust but need to figure out how to seal gap between truck bed and shell lips, as well as cabin and shell where the mounting bolt holes would not line up anymore.
This is would be the strongest. Ugly but the "cage" formed could mean extra accident protection - an exo-cage
I've seen a version just short of this; Legs of rack are mounted to side of the truck bed. It was done tastefully. This could be a good compromise.

But don't ask me about a rooftop tent - LOL!

 

Some people need walls even if it's nylon fabric, atleast the bear can't see me (wet my pants)..

I never did post those pictures sorry.

It's doable without using the cab side mounts, like I said the section of the topper the bolts ho thru is 1/8 or so proud of the rest of the topper (mount point is touching metal, the rest of the topper floats on the seal).

Could also do similar to the swing out tire carrier reinforcement. Transfer the "cage" load to the frame side. Spreading plate at frame rail, tube spans to interior bedside, another spreader plate, bedside sheet metal with holes over bolt down point, a spreader plate mates with this and you have whatever contraption attached to the plate.

...
Thanks chef, his roof rack install poped into my head.

An interior cage is the way to go if that classic 80's look is important, and it is.

We know there are several layers in some spots but that doesn't prevent us from using bigger holes, rubber grommets, and longer anti-crush tubes to pick up interior hoops ran to the top of the bed rails.
​​​
Load limits then become the bedsides which can be braced to the frame or avoided altogether.

​​​​​​​If none of that makes sense, picture two rods coming off the rollbar vertically thru the roof..

 

LOL!

That's how the Jeep Wrangler's roof rack mounts to the internal roll-bar; through the removable roof.

 

With a better view I wouldn't use just the natural gap, you would need to remove some of the topper material to get that 1/8"...

 

Some photos in case other member needs them for something similar I'm looking for:

 

The hard top gap in a flat surface, but not when it's mounted in the truck:

 

This is an interesting option also. I can add two bars from the roll bar to the top cabin bolt mounting point also. Mmmmm... I like it.

 

You can build whatever support you need to hold what you want

 

The sky is the limit, I know, thank you for your words of encouragement. I created this thread to see what other members did to reinforce their hard tops and learn from them, avoid their mistakes and get some ideas. I plan to do it during winter, so I have time to research and find the best option.

 

I found the source of the first photo I posted in this thread:
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/classi...ml#post2826069

 

.....

 

Hi guys!
I wanted to update this thread in case other members're looking for ideas to reinforce their 4R hard top for a roof tent.
The owner of the 4R you can see in my first comment in this thread, posted some pics of the way his roof rack was installed, you can see more details here:
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/classi...ml#post3135551

 

how much weight are you able to support w/ the can-back up top?

 

I saw that info in the Can-back website. The weight the soft top can hold and beside that you can install support bars to make it stronger, they sell them as accssesories.

 

Hi guys!
I wanted to update this thread.

The member @okienomads posted this roof rack he's built:
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f199.../#post52411119