Roof Rack Breakage. What to do now?

[xonetruthcrewx]

So my stock roof rack folded under the pressure. Mostly the corner where the hi-lift is mounted. I guess thats what happens when you jump your rig though huh? Haha.

Question is this. Do i go on eBay and pick up some more stock racks and try to not jump the rig anymore. It was an accident though so i dont really see it happening again. But who knows, things happen. Maybe someone wants to sell me their stock racks?

The other option would be to go with a set of Yakima racks. They are definitely a lot stronger than the stock rack. They are straight beefy and will take the abuse for sure. Only thing i dont like about them is that they mount over the doors which is much more forward than the stock racks. Would anyone happen to have some pics of a Yakima system on their rig?

Heres a couple pics of what happened to my rack. There is about 1-1.5" vertical movement in this corner. Two of the other corners have movement, but not as bad.

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f392/xonetruthcrewx/IMG_0005-3.jpg

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f392/xonetruthcrewx/IMG_0004-3.jpg

[slosurfer]

Not a yakima but a thule. I think the newer thule and yakima systems are lower, mine is older and the towers are pretty tall.

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e113/slosurfer27/Death%20Valley%2007/IMG_5395.jpg

The one nice thing about having it forward, when the back is full of camping gear, food, and heavy icechest, then you add stuff to the basket. The basket is centered over the two axles thus sharing the weight. If the basket is in the rear, everything is over the rear axle, you get more sag from your springs and possibly lose some of your articulation room and get the prerunner lift look.

Example: If the basket was in the rear here, I would have major butt sag causing a funky ride and not handle bumps very well. The way it was handled great for over 6,000 miles.

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e113/slosurfer27/Silverton-Ouray/summervacation06/IMG_3494.jpg

[AxleIke]

Dang man, you beat on your stuff!!!

I vote for Yakima. Expensive, but i've beat on mine pretty good and it's held up. On the 97, it has held 500 lb cargos on trails in Moab.

[xonetruthcrewx]

Cool. I'm glad you could hook me up with that info. What i really want though is to have rails that run the length of the truck so that i can then add the mounts and crossbars and have the front to back adjustability. Like my Audi had. That would be the best. Hmmmmm. Someone has to make a conversion for that.

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f392/xonetruthcrewx/IMG_0003-1.jpg

[xonetruthcrewx]

Dang man, you beat on your stuff!!!

I vote for Yakima. Expensive, but i've beat on mine pretty good and it's held up. On the 97, it has held 500 lb cargos on trails in Moab.


Yeah. Haha. Its a purpose built rig for sure and i dont pussy foot around. Good thing about the Yakima option is that i have the hookup. Cost for whatever i want. Its really nice. Mark up on Yakima gear is pretty damn high. Maybe i will do that. We'll see. Then i have to figure out what to do about the holes on the roof for the factory rack. That should be no more that a 2 minute project though. Probably just some screws/bolts to plug them up.

[Robinhood4x4]

I broke mine a while back and I just found people on the forums who were selling theirs. I think I only paid $20 or so.

[calrockx]

good ol yak rack

http://calrockx.com/etc/pics/forums/ultimateyota/roof_rack/roofrack1.jpg

http://calrockx.com/etc/pics/forums/ultimateyota/roof_rack/roofrack2.jpg

[xonetruthcrewx]

Dude, Charles. Thats exactly what i want. I didnt see that option on the yakima site. I definitely need the specs on the towers. What model are they. 48" bars? Thats sick. The runners do look slightly different than mine though. Difference between 01' and 02'? Hmmmm. Maybe not. I dont know.

[d0ubledown]

go surco or confer. those things are stout, and made to take a beating. excellent provisions for shovel/hilift mounting...etc etc.

[Cebby]

Dude, Charles. Thats exactly what i want. I didnt see that option on the yakima site. I definitely need the specs on the towers. What model are they. 48" bars? Thats sick. The runners do look slightly different than mine though. Difference between 01' and 02'? Hmmmm. Maybe not. I dont know.


I have the exact same setup with Thule towers and rectangular load bars. They both make them.

[TroysToy]

I vote for the Yak...I love mine. The round bars don't seperate like my old Thule ones. I also have my stock rack if you want it.

[calrockx]

It's the Q-Towers I believe, with 48" crossbars. Click the "Fit My Car" link and go from there, they'll come up.

I got the taller towers than the regular Control Towers for more clearance. As it is right now, a snowboard facing bindings down will barely clear/rub a little.

[xonetruthcrewx]

Right On. Its the Control Towers with Landing Pads. Thats the setup i am going with. No need for the extra clearance for snowboards. I have a Skybox 16s cargo box that i rock for snowboarding. Its so much nicer than having the boards out in the open. Thanks guys.

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f392/xonetruthcrewx/IMG_0011.jpg

[Rock Slide]

go surco or confer. those things are stout, and made to take a beating. excellent provisions for shovel/hilift mounting...etc etc.


IMO, Surcos are not that stout. The one I owned moved alot while mounted (you could literaly hear the pieces of the rack rattling together while driving down the road). It was also very light weight. Usually that is a good thing, but when ever I loaded it up, it appeared like it was going to break any second. It also sat very high atop the roof and caused a great amount of wind drag. I sold mine a month after ownership. Others might have had better luck with surcos, but my experience was horrible. I learned real quick, if you buy cheap, you buy twice.

Conferr is no longer in business :( (check out their site) : http://www.conferr.com/. I onced a conferr too and loved it! These racks IMO are very stout. The only draw back I found was that they did not make the front of the rack slanted to reduce drag. They did have a lot of mounting options and a very tight fit to the roof. You might be able to find these used or on ebay for sale.

Another rack option is the Defender rack. I've never owned one, but I have been told by friends that have owned them, that these racks are poorly made. One guy had his for only 3 months before selling it b/c it broke with a load of only a 100lbs on it. Other guys complain that their racks begun to rust in spots after limited use.

I weighed all my options before I decided to purchase this rack: a Wilderness rack. This rack is very stout. The front is angled to reduce drag and the entire rack mounts low to the roof. It also does not have a lot of exta side cladding (this helps reduce the weight issue and wind issues associated with the Conferr racks). It also comes with a variety of mounitng brackets to mount lights, tires, and a multitude of tools to. I have been very pleased with how it has held up and the amount of junk I have been able to carry on it.


xonetruthcrewx, glad you were able to find the rack to fit your needs. I considered the Yaks and Thules too, I just found the Wilderness rack met my needs more. Good luck with yours :thumbup:



A few pictures of mine:

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i60/Fastluck/4RunnerRackLights/CIMG0242.jpg


http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i60/Fastluck/4RunnerRackLights/CIMG0238.jpg


http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i60/Fastluck/4RunnerRackLights/CIMG0240.jpg


http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i60/Fastluck/The%20Cut/4Runnin2.jpg

[xonetruthcrewx]

Well, upon removal of the racks i found that they are not broken. Just loose. The side mount and the cross bar is held together by 2 T-15 torx screws. In the one corner, the two screws were super lose. The other three corners were also loose, just not as bad. I tightened all the screws up and things seem pretty solid. However, some of the screws are beginning to strip out. So, i am going to drill out the screw holes and put some bolts through them. That should make things a bit better. If this dosent work out, i will then buy the Yakima setup. Trying to not spend money when i really dont have to ya know. Decided that i need to focus on paying off my existing bills so i can buy another Audi. I miss that damn car a lot. Werd!

[neliconcept]

go Yakima, i weigh 150 pounds and i was standing on top of my load warrior the other day trying to place my bike (freakin hard as hell on a viper rack with my 4runner as tall as it is) and the load warrior itself barely flexed, so its a stout system.

[xonetruthcrewx]

Well, im 180 and i was on top of my load warrior a while back. The stock setup did just fine. I am going to try and modify the stock system in hopes of making it a little beefier. Kinda dont want to spend the money either. We'll see how it goes.

[neliconcept]

stock crossbars took over 100 pounds? thats what they are rated for if i remember? nice!
well if you break em, at least you can get new crossbars later, just use em till they snap in half i guess lol

[xonetruthcrewx]

The stock rack is rated for 165lbs. But i think thats being a little on the conservative side. Like i said, i'm 180 and then theres the weight of the basket, hi-lift and the shovel. Probably a bit over 200lbs total. With the bolts that are going to replace the small screws, i think the rack will be pretty stout. Like you said, i will use them until i completely break them. Hopefully that dosent happen though. Haha.

Heres a pics of the stock roof rack buffness. Haha.

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f392/xonetruthcrewx/IMG_0043copy.jpg

[Bob98SR5]

colin,

look in the for sale section. one of the members is selling his stock roof racks. personally, if you require more weight bearing, go with the yakima or thule system. if you look on ebay, search "thule 416". those are the old style, 1 piece towers vs the more expensive, two piece style. recycle the stock rail nuts (dont use hte thule ones---they suck). you'll have a very solid, stable rack system.

the other alternative is what slosurfer mentioned. it will carry more weight, but i guarantee you, your friends and passengers will eventually hit themselves in the head when they get into your truck. my grandma almost knocked herself out when she pulled herself in. terrible and scary moment!

bob

[slosurfer]

bob, what was your grandma hitting her head on?

[Bob98SR5]

the end of the support tubes. i had set up my roof rack w/ differnet thule feet above the passenger compartments like you.

[slosurfer]

I see what you are saying, I have shorties on there so they don't stick out. I have thought about getting longer ones so I can add something to the side of the basket, but maybe I will stick with the shorties.

[neliconcept]

im running 58" bars, and ive been drunk and had ppl drive my truck back (me getting in the back) yet to hit my bars, but then again my truck is taller then most ppl anyways.

I have stock crossbars if you want em onetruth, but check ebay, crossbars (q or control towers) seem to be going for a relatively good price.

[xonetruthcrewx]

So here is the new buffness. I used some M4x20 bolts. The racks should hold up much better now that there are bolts holding the mount and bars together. The little screws that were holding them together originally were beginning to strip out. If this fails, i will then go the Yakima route. Right On.

How it was
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f392/xonetruthcrewx/IMG_0001-4.jpg

How it is now
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f392/xonetruthcrewx/IMG_0006-2.jpg

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f392/xonetruthcrewx/IMG_0005-4.jpg

[surf4runner]

The stock rack is rated for 165lbs. But i think thats being a little on the conservative side.
TTT
how accurate is the 165#?
is this more for the rails or the frame?

asking as i now have my old basket off my p/u that will mount in the stock rack side rails and i want to know if it will handle 200lbs or more.

also need to know if i could use the stock hardware for mount the basket to the rails.
the large finger bolts that hold the 2 L-crosssbars.
if i can does anyone have any available for sale? need 8 total to mount it.