Factory roofrack vs aftermarket

My DCSB TRDOR should be here within the next week so I am starting to look at stuff I am going to need pretty soon. My truck does not have the factory rack on it, but I know I will need one since I haul a canoe and a kayak about every other week during the summer. I also do a good bit of highway travel (>100 miles/day) so being able to rotate the crossbars back to cruise seems nice to cut down on wind noise. However it seems silly to spend that much on a factory option when I could spend about the same and have one made by a guy here in town that would be a low profile basket and much stronger.

Is the soundproofing in the cab good enough that I shouldn't worry about the wind noise? I am coming from a 2008 Jeep Wrangler with a soft top and 37" MTR kevlars. You could barely talk to someone riding with you whether I had the rack on the Jeep or not.

 

The Taco roof rack for the 15's will fit the 2016.... the cross pieces fold away, when not in use, and do not make wind noise.

Excellent item.... get on E-Bay of elsewhere...dealer too pricy...

 

Aftermarket is stronger, more expensive.

OEM looks cleanest, is least costly.

 

Was definitely going with ebay if I go factory route. I can get a rack like the warrior rack made for the cost of materials. Knowing that it makes my decision a lot harder. On my jeep I would often stand on the rack to get a better view in the cow pastures or for spotting while out shooting.

Would the factory rack be able to support an ENO hammock strapped to it and the other side a tree?

 

Sub'd. I'm working through all the options for this as well. I take my 16-1/2' canoe out several times during the summer, and I think I would take it to area lakes more often if I had a better loading option. I used to use the foam pads on top of a Honda Pilot; less than ideal. I'm currently up in the air between a permanent roof rack with platform (Baja, Warrior, et. al.) and a rail-mounted TracRac (emailed support, they're saying March for the '16 fit kit). This is my first mid-size truck (DCSB TRDOR) and I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around only supporting the canoe on two points about 4 ft apart. I would tie it down front and rear, but still seems like it would be unstable at highway speeds.

OP, I'll be interested to hear what you go with. Hope you post some pics!

As for this part:

I don't know that I would trust the internal construction of the OEM rack. I'm guessing it's some overmolded steel structure with minimal shear support. Could you use a rock climbing sling (or webbing, rope, etc) and a carabiner hooked to one of the bed floor/side tie down points with it draped over the side of the bed; hook the truck end of your hammock to that? I would trust that much more than the roof rack. Plus it may be at a better height that way.

 

Leman said: ↑
Would the factory rack be able to support an ENO hammock strapped to it and the other side a tree?

I believe the factory rack is made to support 75-80 lbs only....!!

 

What about getting a truck rack instead?

 

I have a Front RunnerRack. A little on the pricey side, though but I am very satisfied with it. No wind noise and you can stand on it or attach a hammock from it. Front Runner also sells a canoe mount for the rack.

 

Ive thought about this but I generally have a tool box in the bed. That doesn't leave many options for a bed rack that Ive seen.

I do like the looks of that. Whatever I get I want low profile. Not a huge fan of the giant baskets on top of some trucks.

 

He must be getting ready for an African Safari

 

Thank you for your contribution to my thread.

 

+1 for a frontrunner

 

Holy balls that is awesome

 

@ACKtrd30 can we get some more sideshots of that rack? Frontrunner is expensive, but I'm seriously considering getting one. I would love to have a rack sturdy enough to stand on that doesn't look too much like I'm going on safari.

I wonder if the standard J rack for kayaks will mount on those cross bars?

Edit: I went digging around and found some nice pics in the 2nd gen forums. Would still like to see it on a 3rd gen though.

Also, ignorant question, does the roof of the truck not flex at all with people jumping up and down on it?

 

I would get something aftermarket. Frontrunner is great, prinsu as well. Bajarack isn't bad but their prices just went up and they are steel so corrosion and weight are issues. Labrak is cool but really expensive and essentially a frontrunner knockoff.

In my opinion the stock rack is crap. When the crossbars are deployed it makes more noise than any full platform rack I have used and the weight capacity isn't that great.

 

SERIOUSLY LEGIT BUILD! I'm dying to get my '16 so i have to live vicariously through ACKtrd30...

 

I would really like to do a nice semi permanent aftermarket setup, Prinsu preferably, but running numbers I'm fairly certain I'm looking at Yakima just to get the kind of width to haul my normal summer load of 2 kayaks and a SUP. Need a minimum 51" bar length to accommodate...

 

You mentioned Prinsu and that got me looking. Yep. At almost half the price, I think Prinsu's gonna be the way I end up going. Seems to look better as well.

 

I can't compare functionality without first hand experience, but for clean design Prinsu is the king. @zscott has a solid eye for sure.

 

Curious -- what are people putting on their roof racks other than Kayaks/Canoes?