New Roof Rack for Tacomas and FJCs

[zscott]

I have the front runner with a howling moon 1.6 stargazer on top.. pretty awesome combo. Plus the front runner has 600lb capacity using 6 mounting points. I considered the Baja but after seeing dented roofs I skipped that.

Nice setup. Hadn't heard of the stargazers before, but they look great. Is this on the Tacoma or do you have a FJ as well? I love the front runner racks. Very cool stuff. This rack uses 6 mounting points (on each side) as well on the FJ. The Tacoma only has five mounting holes on each side to work with but the rack is much smaller so it is pretty stable.

 

[SWITAWI]

FJ Rack is finally here. I helped a local guy install the first one today. More to come on the development and production of this model.

Looks pretty good, I'm guessing the platform itself is about 84"Lx55"W? And the cross bars are even with the top of the side rails, or just a hair below them?

Wondering about the strength of that rearmost foot, though. Almost looks like if you accidentally pulled down heavily on that corner the foot would give.

Still, looking forward to actual specs, pricing, and more closeup pictures of the joints and mounting points. Looks good.

And with the piece-by-piece assembly it would be very easy to make the side rails a different color than the 'standard' black.

 

[java]

Really wish you had a 4th Gen 4runner to play with.

 

[zscott]

Really wish you had a 4th Gen 4runner to play with.

Wish I did too. Maybe this summer.

 

[zscott]

Looks pretty good, I'm guessing the platform itself is about 84"Lx55"W? And the cross bars are even with the top of the side rails, or just a hair below them?

Wondering about the strength of that rearmost foot, though. Almost looks like if you accidentally pulled down heavily on that corner the foot would give.

Still, looking forward to actual specs, pricing, and more closeup pictures of the joints and mounting points. Looks good.

And with the piece-by-piece assembly it would be very easy to make the side rails a different color than the 'standard' black.

On the model shown in the pictures the cross bars the actual platform is about 50" x 74" and the bars sit just a hair lower than the side rails. The length will probably be slightly longer on the production models but not much. I used a rear most foot on the bracket for this one because I took measurements once on the truck and then left to build the rack. Coming back I was worried that if I had all sections welded on, I would have fitment issues.

The bracket allowed me to have a little wiggle room and honestly it is quite strong. I am using a thick 3/16" steel for the rails and the rear bracket which is thicker than the mounting brackets I have seen on other racks. The final version will have the rear mounting platform as a solid part of the rails like the front and middle. However, the client and I both agreed that it is plenty strong as is.

Based on my experience with my personal rack on my Tacoma that uses the same type of mounting system. I would be more afraid of the welded nuts in the roof (They seem fairly weak) failing before the components of the rack itself. The mounting holes on the FJ area bit larger M8 vs. M6 so you have a little more strength. The only part of the rack I am still working on are the spacers that the mounting feet sit on to keep them off the roof. Right now I am using round spacers, 1 for each bolt. People have expressed concerns about this and although I haven't seen a need for more strength on the Tacoma, I am looking into recessing the aluminum spacers into a ABS block that will fit into the channels of the roof and help distribute the weight more.

 

[jteerlink]

The bars are 3/8 inch below the rails. I have a piece of 1/2" particle board sitting on the unfinished rack in this pic and it is slightly higher. Disregard my makeshift tie downs.

I too am not concerned about the spacers. However, I recently swapped out the metal spacers that came with the kit with poly bushings only because I wanted to reduce the deck height off the roof and I happen to have the bushings with the correct height from another project. We'll see how this goes and I will be watching to see what Zack come up with as well.

 

[lqdchkn]

Can't wait to see what he comes up with for a drop in basket

 

[lugueto]

There are a few venezuelan manufacturers doing a very similar design. That sort of roof rack has been trending among 4x4 owners that dont carry anything other than a RTT, and there's always the people who buy it just for looks, as they have a better appearance than regular roof racks. The one hiccup is load bearing. Since it doesnt have a platform, loads can be tedious to carry, maybe even dangerous, depending on the load itself. I think its ideal for bike racks, ski racks and tents, because they only need two cross beams. But I dont think it will ever be a substitute for a full platform roof rack, if you need to carry gas, cases, or other similar cargo

 

[jteerlink]

Nope, its not a full platform rack. I moved away from that style because of the same limitations you mentioned that this design is really good for (RTT). However, if I ever needed a full platform his kits come with t-nuts that slide into the channels that accept 1/4" #20 bolts to bolt down a large piece of expanded metal or whatever I need to make it a platform. But the last thing I need is to transform this thing into a giant wing! As soon as I get my jerry can bracket on, you'll get an idea of what this thing is capable of.

 

[zscott]

There are a few venezuelan manufacturers doing a very similar design. That sort of roof rack has been trending among 4x4 owners that dont carry anything other than a RTT, and there's always the people who buy it just for looks, as they have a better appearance than regular roof racks. The one hiccup is load bearing. Since it doesnt have a platform, loads can be tedious to carry, maybe even dangerous, depending on the load itself. I think its ideal for bike racks, ski racks and tents, because they only need two cross beams. But I dont think it will ever be a substitute for a full platform roof rack, if you need to carry gas, cases, or other similar cargo

The best part is if you add enough crossbars, it can be a full platform, or you could have a full platform in the front or rear and a partial on the other half.

 

[Ryanmb21]

Man, these are nice. Make one for my 4runner.

 

[SWITAWI]

Instead of just those round spacers carrying the load maybe there should be a solid bar as the spacer. It would need to have holes in the same places, but could be the same length as the platform's foot and place the load along the roof channel. Then the load would be dispersed over a larger area at each foot.

I still like what I see here. :lurk:

 

[lugueto]

While you can add more crossbars for more stable load carrying, it will still have a wide gap between the beams, it wont compare to a platform. It will also add a bunch of weight, which defeats the purpose of the design. This off course depends on the material its made out of, the ones ive seen were really heavy (for a "light" design). I think, on those, both main beams weigh more than my complete aluminum rack.

Dont get me wrong, I do think this rack is useful and has its uses, I'm just doing a little "devil's advocate" work here.

I forgot to mention the adjustability of the racks i've seen. You can move the crossbeams to whichever position you need, also you can buy small platforms meant to carry jerry cans and small containers similar to what jteerlink is getting.

 

[zscott]

I appreciate the devil's advocacy as it makes the thread informative and useful. I am now a little confused though on how a full platform rack is going to be stronger and lighter than multiple crossbars arranged close together such as this rack or the new front runner slimline kits.

If you have a platform that is made of a expanded steel mesh or thin material, it is only going to be really strong on the areas directly on top of the main beams. Just like floor of a house. The beams on the sides support the joists, the joists support the flooring. Sections of the flooring directly on top of the joist are strong, but the further you move from the joist, the weaker it gets because the flooring is generally a thinner material. So the middle point between the two joists is the weakest point.

I would assume these racks have a similar structure (Although I haven't seen them) This method using 6 "joists" with flooring or platform on top would be lighter than a floor made of 18 joists all back to back, but it certainly wouldn't be stronger, unless I am off my rocker. Now if you even out the scenario and you have a rack with 6 joists and flooring vs. 6 joists only, then yes the flooring helps reinforce the the joists and distributes the load capacity and it is stronger, but it will also be heavier because you are adding the flooring.

I think a compromise between the two to have even strength and weight would be to have 6 main "joists" or crossbars, and fill in the gaps with a lighter, secondary "joist" or crossbar. Then you effectively create a full platform while reducing the weakness of the points between the heavy joists.



Now with that whole ramble done, I think that when all is said and done a roof rack shouldn't be used for super heavy items anyway. Some items it makes sense, like a RTT or lighter cargo items, but when I see a vehicle with a RTT, 4 jerry cans, 2 huge pelican cases, a hi-lift, and a spare tire all crammed up there I get worried. The behavior of the vehicle can change so much with that much weight that it can be dangerous.

 

[jteerlink]

Found your Youtube channel, nice work!
http://youtu.be/kVkiNvA3nBo