What do you guys think

[OnlyNaTaco]

This is my 02 taco 4x4.

-sway away coilovers
-Nitto terra grapplers 285/70/16
-icom race radio
-garmin 60CS
-custom built roof rack which is removable w/3 Hella 4000's
ARB bumber w/2 Hella 4000's

 

[robert]

Nice looking truck

Trim the wire tieseepwall:

 

[Tucson T4R]

Nice looking truck

Trim the wire tieseepwall:

Or at least Photochop the ties out. :jump:


:hehe:

 

[Willman]

Great looking rig! Like the rack!

And,....Welcome to the ExPo!!!

:ylsmoke:

 

[Willman]

Or at least Photochop the ties out. :jump:


:hehe:

Somebody got some spare time on their hands!!!

lol!!!!!

:xxrotflma

 

[mountainpete]

Nice truck - cool rack design too.

Since everyone is jumping on the ties: replace them with UV resistant black ones and cut the ends

 

[Tucson T4R]

Somebody got some spare time on their hands!!!

lol!!!!!

Sorry, I couldn't resist. :beer: Welcome to the forum. Your truck does look good. :iagree:

 

[teotwaki]

Nice design on the rack. Those Hellas are big ol' bug killers :rally_guys:

 

[Gear]

Nice rack:clapsmile , how well does the air foil work. Does it cut out the wind noise. I would like to hear about your experiences with it. Have you tried any other designs.

Thanks

 

[OnlyNaTaco]

Well, heres the whole scoop on that light rack and the visor with the zip ties:

I wanted to make a rack that can hold some lights and also serves as an extra storgae space for long trips, but can be removable when not needed since this is my daily driver.

So i fabbed up the rack and attached it via 4 yakima mounts which are commonly used for all their systems. Everything worked out great, although i overlooked one crucial detail....

I forgot about the glare facotr that the lights have, the way my rack is designed i was getting a lot of glare from the 3 lights even though they are pencil beams, so i had to add that visor underneath them, where i also over looked a crucial detail...

I used fairly thin sheet metal, and bolted it to the 3 studs of the lights, at street driving it was fine, but at about 75-80, at starts flapping uncontrolably, and scared the **** out of me the first time it happened, which was on the way to san felipe so i had to engage the good ol zip ties.

As to the wind factor, yes with the lights and stuff in the rack, the wind drag is def a problem, grades that i did in 5th gear before i put it on, had to be done in 4th. But im sure all these other rigs have similar problems especially with those tents up top.

But the 3 pencils up top and the 2 euros on the bumper are a great combo and work really well on the trail at night. When i go on short trips i usually dont bring it with me, so the flexibiltiy of being able to take it off works out fine.

 

[OnlyNaTaco]

If i was to make another rack, I would def chnage up the design:

1 .The yakima mounts force the rack to sit about 4 in above the roof which cause it to pick up a lot of wind drag, since one of my criteria was to have it be removable i dont know if there are other mounting systems that would let sit lower

2. the glare from the lights is also a problem, to fix that i would push the rack forward some so the lights sit more over the windshield and change the light mounts so they sit lower, closer to the roof, whcih would help with the wind factor.

Other then that, the yakima mounts worked out great, they are strong, i didnt have to take off my roof liner to install them, and i like how i can take off the rack whenever i dont use it.

 

[devinsixtyseven]

I like the rack design.

Have you considered giving it "feet", like the foot plates for cage tie-ins on unibody vehicles? You'd have to go through the roof with the bolts, don't know if you're willing to do that, but if it's sealed (RTV) on both sides, and you choose the right bolt length with washer/lock washer outside, all you'll have on the inside is a nut and a washer, and you can always cover/protect the nut in case something or someone goes flying. Result would be the bottom of the rack is the limit of how low it can mount.

-Sean

 

[Martinjmpr]

I like it. Looks very aggressive. Have to ask, though, with that big empty bed, why do you need a rack? Are you planning on putting a shell or something on it?

How do those Yakima mounts attach? I expected to see a strap going to the door gutter or to the rear window. I have a 'traditional' Yakima rack I bought for my old Montero (which had external rain gutters.) Fortunately, my bargain-special Leer topper already has the fake gutters on it so I can use it this Summer to haul a canoe. :088:

Did you have to modify your electrical system or put in a bigger alternator to get juice to those big lights? I'll bet with all those things lit up you can be seen from space! :Wow1:

 

[OnlyNaTaco]

your right the rack is a bit over kill, i mostly wanted a way to mount the lights, so i just made the rack since it wasnt too much more work, i rarely put anything up there just a gas can sometimes.

Since i dont have rain gutters or anything i got the static landing pads that just bolt to the roof. I used rivet nuts that way i didnt have to take off the head liner.

Yea i should beef up my alternator with all those lights but for now i rely on the toyota quality of the stock system.

 

[Martinjmpr]

your right the rack is a bit over kill, i mostly wanted a way to mount the lights, so i just made the rack since it wasnt too much more work, i rarely put anything up there just a gas can sometimes.

Since i dont have rain gutters or anything i got the static landing pads that just bolt to the roof. I used rivet nuts that way i didnt have to take off the head liner.

Yea i should beef up my alternator with all those lights but for now i rely on the toyota quality of the stock system.

So it's bolted through the sheetmetal? Does it leak at all? And when you take the rack off, what is left behind - just the bolt heads?