PrInSu Design Studio Roof Racks BS Thread

y'all making me want to pull trigger on the rack already... But I still need to save coin....

Zach @zscott any word on the skids?

 

I have them in the box. Was going to ship today but my paypal account wasn't allowing me to access the shipping label creator all day yesterday. They will be headed out tomorrow.

 

damn, round trip? mines 4 miles one way

 

I haven't noticed a drop in my mileage at all. With all my modifications (big tires, heavy bumpers, shell, racks, weight in the bed, lift, etc. I still can get 18 MPG on the highway with good driving habits.

With the rack off it didn't change, and when I add the roof top tent and gear on the roof I maybe lose 1 MPG if that, I still am getting between 17 and 18.

 

Trade offs... Gas, or miles... thats why we drive toyotas, makes the decision easy

 

I didn't even realize that they had 4 door 4cyl tacomas until just searching now. Based on that search it sounds like that truck is a pretty under-powered machine as is. I can't say what type of effect it will have on that truck.

 

I'm putting one on my base Tacoma - already weighed down by front and rear armor .. i saw a negligible hit in fuel economy partially offset by mildly larger diameter (but skinny) tires that brings RPM's down at highway speeds.

The rack is going to be for overflow loading when it's actually needed. Empty.. i wouldn't expect it to have any significant fuel economy impact, when compared with the other changes made, for my daily 50 mile commute.

 

If thats the case I don't see you having problems. It definitely isn't a drag issue, just the way the air flows over different parts of the rack that cause noise. Like I mentioned in a post not to long ago, the wind noise is very subjective and will vary greatly depending on where you drive, how you drive, and what you carry. If you are consistently driving in crosswinds thats where the most noise will com from and obviously wont have a substantial effect the aerodynamics while moving forward.

 

Wow that looks really good!!

 

Guys with light bars, mind posting some pictures of how you mounted them?

 

With the Wraith series there are only a handful that have them. Most have mounted it how I posted a few pages back. The LITE series bars were mounted by drilling a hole in the front extrusion bar.

 

I am a little hesitant to mount it that way. The weight of the bar is shifted way forward, and its only attached to the mounting bracket by a single screw on each side. Don't want it to fall off. Plus it would be very easy to steal. I dunno. Maybe I'm just over-thinking this.

I think you should make some brackets. I'll be down to purchase a set

 

Just curious is the light output of a 40" Heretic really only 11,000 lumens? That doesn't sound right...

 

11,000 is the 20". 40" is 22,000 lumens. Basically 5500 per 10" section.

 

The theft part I get. I am looking into some tamper proof hardware to start supplying on my end. As for strength, the lightbar is light enough I haven't had any problems. I have tested the 40" and 30" this way. You can actually fit 2 bolts on each side in the slots for more strength.

I will work up some beefier brackets and have them on hand.

 

Ah, I see.

 

You mean using 2 thinner bolts to and put them both through the same kidney bean shaped hole in the bracket that attaches to the cross bar?

Sweet! Put me in for a pair whenever they are ready.

 

Shouldn't the light fit closer to the wind deflector cutout?

 

No, I meant back where the bracket attaches to the extrusion bar.

In the spot you pointed out I just angled the bar how I wanted it and added some loctite so it didn't back out. That with the nylock nut has kept in in place just fine.

 

Technically you could arrange it a number of ways depending on preference and the lightbar you have.

I designed it to work this way for 2 reasons.

1) Sitting back further it is more protected. During last winter I was just getting to know heretic, I came up with this design and had the lightbar sitting forward at first, it got hammered with snow, sleet, and the spray from the vehicles in front of me. It also was the furthest thing forward the roof. On trails with thick forest like some of the trails here in utah, my roof rack constantly gets hit by low hanging branches. The lightbar was right in front getting hit.

With it tucked back it helps in both of these cases, you can't reduce all of that stuff but this way helps it out.

2) Glare. If you have seen the numerous threads across the forum about lightbars glaring off the hoods of trucks and hood scoops you know it is an issue many have tried to mitigate. By sticking the bar back a littler further the deflector cuts off the light that would have hit the hood. Yes you lose a small amount of light but most of it would have been hitting the hood of the truck anyway. I have never had any glare on mine with a 30" or 40" lightbar and have driven some pretty long nights through the desert in southern Utah.

Also, Personal opinion here so take it with a grain of salt. I think it looks better. Not that having the bar up right in the cutout looks bad, but I like the way it looks tucked back in behind.