City_Rider
Adventurer
Here is a fun mini restoration project. This all BRASS license plate frame came off my '96 Tacoma and will find a home on the new Tacoma once I get it cleaned up and looking nice...
Classy! Get that shined up and lookin' purdy!
Boonie's Black Bomber Build
- Thread starter Boonie Buster
- Start date
Classy! Get that shined up and lookin' purdy!
Boonie Buster
Observer
We are in the Woodinville area. Close to Red Hook.:coffeedrink:
The picture was taken on the Stevens Canyon Rd just SE of the Paradise Inn within the MT Rainier NP.
java
Expedition Leader
Cool ill keep an eye out for you, I'm in Kenmore, and make a trip to red hook about monthly for a fresh keg!
Boonie Buster
Observer
I checked out your 4runner build and it looks great! I'll keep an eye out for you as well!
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Boonie Buster
Observer
Thanks, I really wanted something easy to store things and easy to remove for passengers and cleaning. It has worked out well now, going on 1 full year!
Stay Tuned:
Two mods have been done, one super cheap, one not so cheap. Just need to get the truck into the daylight again....
Boonie Buster
Observer
So I finally had a chance to go through some pictures and share my Prinsu Design Roof Rack install.
I was really impressed with the design and quality of this rack, it’s one of the only rack setups that I have seen that is able to provide a seamless look and transition from cab to canopy.
Here are some pictures or what you get when your gigantic package arrives.
All of the bars and side plates. These were all nicely wrapped and arrived damage free.
The Various Bags O’ Bolts…
Spacers, nutserts, and bolts.
A Big Pile of Rack Bolts.
One of the things I changed was the rack attachment bolts and nuts for the canopy tracks. I found what I felt was a stronger option from Thule that fits the Yakima tracks that are installed on the Snugtop canopy. The nut is almost twice as thick and has a more positive lock up in the rack slot due to the angled cut.
Since no two canopies seem to be the same, I had to do some adjusting of the mounting feet to fit the profile of my canopy. In order to keep the powder coat pretty I used a shop towel and a large adjustable wrench to persuade the feet into place. The center tabs had to be bent up more than the outer tabs to follow the curve of the canopy.
Once I had the Cap Rack installed it was time to install the Access Rack on the cab of the truck. This took me a lot longer to do as I was taking my sweet time to do it right and not have any leaks in the future. After assembling the rack I started test fitting based on measurements given from Prinsu. Once I found the sweet spot I worked on leveling the rack to match the Cap Rack. This took some shimming with washers to determine the right height, from the front of the rack to the back there was a 1/2” difference in height. So I went on the hunt for spacers to match what was in the kit. I found some very similar with a thicker wall but the same outside diameter. As a result of getting taller spacers, I also had to get longer bolts as well. These were an easy find at the local hardware store.
The front spacers are 1” tall, the center is 1 1/4” and the rear is 1 1/2” tall.
When it came time to drill the holes in the cab, I bought a three pack of stepped drill bits form Harbor Freight. These actually worked really well. One thing to be VERY careful of on the access cab is the side curtain airbags. I actually pulled the headliner down and drilled one step on the drill bit at a time, inspecting the hole with a piece of plastic hose to feel for any obstructions. There are 6 holes to be drilled per side. The two most rearward holes are the ones to be the most careful on. USE CAUTION when drilling these holes as they are VERY close to the side curtain airbags!
Once the holes were drilled, the nutserts were installed and glued in place with a sealant to help with waterproofing
Next it was time to install the rack. I used a 3/4” O.D. leather hole punch for cutting the holes in the weather stripping. This made for a nice clean look and a nice seal around the spacers. I put a bit of sealant on the bottom of the spacers to help keep moisture away from the bolt holes. The same sealant was used on the bolt threads as well when installing them. I also added thin rubber fender washers on top of the spacers just under the rack feet.
Call me paranoid, but the PNW sometimes gets rain… And then it was time to bolt it all down like a cylinder head on a NHRA dragster. In the end I was really pleased with how it turned out. It’s been a great rack so far and has been used to haul the RTT, lumber, doors, noisy children, etc.
Here is the finished product:
Front View:
Whole Setup:
I was really impressed with the design and quality of this rack, it’s one of the only rack setups that I have seen that is able to provide a seamless look and transition from cab to canopy.
Here are some pictures or what you get when your gigantic package arrives.
All of the bars and side plates. These were all nicely wrapped and arrived damage free.
The Various Bags O’ Bolts…
Spacers, nutserts, and bolts.
A Big Pile of Rack Bolts.
One of the things I changed was the rack attachment bolts and nuts for the canopy tracks. I found what I felt was a stronger option from Thule that fits the Yakima tracks that are installed on the Snugtop canopy. The nut is almost twice as thick and has a more positive lock up in the rack slot due to the angled cut.
Since no two canopies seem to be the same, I had to do some adjusting of the mounting feet to fit the profile of my canopy. In order to keep the powder coat pretty I used a shop towel and a large adjustable wrench to persuade the feet into place. The center tabs had to be bent up more than the outer tabs to follow the curve of the canopy.
Once I had the Cap Rack installed it was time to install the Access Rack on the cab of the truck. This took me a lot longer to do as I was taking my sweet time to do it right and not have any leaks in the future. After assembling the rack I started test fitting based on measurements given from Prinsu. Once I found the sweet spot I worked on leveling the rack to match the Cap Rack. This took some shimming with washers to determine the right height, from the front of the rack to the back there was a 1/2” difference in height. So I went on the hunt for spacers to match what was in the kit. I found some very similar with a thicker wall but the same outside diameter. As a result of getting taller spacers, I also had to get longer bolts as well. These were an easy find at the local hardware store.
The front spacers are 1” tall, the center is 1 1/4” and the rear is 1 1/2” tall.
When it came time to drill the holes in the cab, I bought a three pack of stepped drill bits form Harbor Freight. These actually worked really well. One thing to be VERY careful of on the access cab is the side curtain airbags. I actually pulled the headliner down and drilled one step on the drill bit at a time, inspecting the hole with a piece of plastic hose to feel for any obstructions. There are 6 holes to be drilled per side. The two most rearward holes are the ones to be the most careful on. USE CAUTION when drilling these holes as they are VERY close to the side curtain airbags!
Once the holes were drilled, the nutserts were installed and glued in place with a sealant to help with waterproofing
Next it was time to install the rack. I used a 3/4” O.D. leather hole punch for cutting the holes in the weather stripping. This made for a nice clean look and a nice seal around the spacers. I put a bit of sealant on the bottom of the spacers to help keep moisture away from the bolt holes. The same sealant was used on the bolt threads as well when installing them. I also added thin rubber fender washers on top of the spacers just under the rack feet.
Call me paranoid, but the PNW sometimes gets rain… And then it was time to bolt it all down like a cylinder head on a NHRA dragster. In the end I was really pleased with how it turned out. It’s been a great rack so far and has been used to haul the RTT, lumber, doors, noisy children, etc.
Here is the finished product:
Front View:
Whole Setup:
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BentBomber
www.bomberproducts.com
Just bought the exact same truck. Subbed.
Boonie Buster
Observer
Thanks! I will get a side shot as soon as I can. I notice a fair amount of noise. It definitely has a whistle compared to my '02 GTI factory rack. That's due to the open slots in the cross bars and some to do with the emblem cutout. I did an experiment this summer to isolate where the noise was coming from by covering the suspect areas with clear packing tape and driving with it for a few days in varying conditions. If the emblem is covered it improved the whistle and with the first crossbar completely taped up (top and bottom mainly) it reduced a lot of noise. I'm VERY picky when it comes to rattles and noises. Some I live with, some drive me crazy. But this is tolerable. I will probably find some rubber hose and press it into the slots to take up the space......some day...
zscott
Adventurer
Just found this build. The racks look great. TSLOTs actually started making a cover for the little slots that I am going to start carrying for people to experiment with. They come in many different colors too. http://www.amazon.com/80-20-Black-E...F8&qid=1450803366&sr=8-2&keywords=80/20+cover
Adding some of those to the front crossbar does a lot for noise.
Great Pictures!
Boonie Buster
Observer
Thanks for a great setup Zach! I'll go check out those covers.
Boonie Buster
Observer
We went out to Tahuya state Park to do some exploring.
Here are some side shots of the rack setup.
Here are some side shots of the rack setup.
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