Roof Rack System

Looking to add some sort of rook rack to the vehicle. Either on the cab itself or the shell, whichever is better in your opinion?

Anyone got any good companies that might sell 1st gen style racks or anyone have any good build plans for making one that works?

Thank you

 

I have a Yakima system. On all my cars I go with Yakima. I might be a little biased because I work at an outdoor shop that sells Yakima. They have a lifetime warranty and they’re pretty easy to deal with. On my truck I run a rack on my camper shell with Yakima’s side-loader bracket And Rain gutter tower. I put kayaks, paddleboards, roof boxes, and bikes on there so over the camper shell works way better for me. Depending on what you’re carrying will help you make your decision. Also putting the rack on the camper top gives you a wider spread between bars, a little better for carrying larger things. If you wanted to put a rack over the cab you could either go with Yakima’s Q Towers and Clips (older model) or Baseline tower and clips (newer model). You could also go with Yakima’s track system on the roof of your camper shell which would allow you to change the spread of the bars, not very necessary and more expensive. Yakima may be a little expensive depending on your price range but it’s definitely worth it in the long run. Once you have the base system there’s so many different attachments for different activities. Heres my truck below.

 

@upTOPoverland makes a great product. I got the bravo cab rack on my 3rd gen. I'll snap a photo after work, nothing on my phone currently.

 

They don’t make one for the first gen.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/any-good-roof-racks.651651/

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/1st-gen-roof-racks.469013/page-2#post-22896763

The second link has a post in it that has build plans.

There are so many threads on roof racks. Or just type in “95-04 Tacoma roof rack” in google.

here’s my Prinsu rack on my double cab

 

yes we do

we make a bravo only for the 1st gen tacoma’s

price is $499 for the access cab version!

 

What’s the story on that bedside mount bike rack? I’ve been in the market for a rack and that would suit my needs better than a hitch mount or roof rack would

 

Got any pictures of that?

 

tracking them down now

 

I had a Yakima rack on my Honda Civic and bought the clip adapters for Tacoma and the stretch kit when I had an access cab, and then put it on my double cab. Ran that for 4 years or so with the Yakima basket. Solid. Lots of accessories etc

Just sat taller than I ultimately wanted and I liked the slicker look of the newer style racks and versatility of the t-slot bars. Not a lot of offerings for double cabs so I built my own

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/shortrounds-04-double-cab-trd-at.369401/page-3#post-23095252



I used a 2x1 bar so should work with a variety of aftermarket rack accessories, or direct mount via the t-slot channel. Lots of bar profiles to choose from too. Just search 8020 extruded aluminum. Bought the tracks, bolted to the roof (as far to the outside edges as I could) bought feet and mounted bars to the feet and used a side rail I designed.

 

What roof rails did you go with?
How well did they form to the curves of the roof? Are there any gaps?

I'm planning on installing rails into my roof but I'm concerned that it will be difficult to get them to bend to the contours.

 

Looks great!!

 

I used the 1400mm universal track from Front Runner, cut them down to 52" with a 45 degree to match the uncut factory ends. They were pretty sturdy and took some effort to bend to the roof contour. I put one end in a vice and carefully bent a bit at a time. The very front end was the toughest as it took a sharp curve down towards the windshield. If you cut them shorter you could avoid that dip, but I got it to work. For the gentle middle curve I just put the middle over a 4x4 and carefully bent a little at a time to work the shape. I got it pretty close, enough that when bolted to the roof it has no gaps

 

@upTOPoverland this looks great! Definitely a great looking functional rack.

 

Thank you!

 

it’s a KB VooDoo outboard bike mount. They discontinued it years ago and I just recently bought this one from another member on TW. They’re hard to come by so you have to act fast when they pop up in the classifieds.

 

Ah damn. Maybe I’ll just fab something up myself.

 

Got one for a 1st gen double cab?

 

we are working on it but not yet!