oem roof rack?

Saw a thread on OEM roof rack and was surprised. The dealer said there wasn't an OEM rack available when I purchased my 2023 double cab SR5 recently. Did they not know what they were talking about or is there more to this? From the comments I saw they weren't impressed and I am better off going with another brand anyway but curious if the dealer lied to me.

 

There is in fact an OEM roof rack. It may have been discontinued for the more recent model years because I don't think I have seen any 20+ models rocking them. To me it only gets used occasionally with lighter weight items so I didnt want to invest too much in a roof rack. If your planning on heavy items or frequent use Prinsu seems to be the go to rack but there are definitely others out there. Cheers!

 

Still available. I added mine a couple months ago. Primarily for carrying fishing rods.

 

Dealers are dumbasses. There are parts dept in the dealership, you should have gone to the parts dept and ask for the rack. Don't ask dealers for the parts, just ask a guy in parts dept for anything you need such as rack, wheels, etc.

Or you can try to find OEM racks on Amazon or elsewhere.

You can go with any aftermarket racks such as Prinsu.

Here is a pic of my truck with Prinsu racks:



I can carry long kayak on there, a few sheets of plywood, 2x4s, etc.

 

How do you rig up fishing rods on the roof rack? I built a rod holder for the bed rails but wouldn't be opposed to using the roof rack.

 

Thanks. Mainly for carrying 2 kayaks but also the occasional long lumber, etc etc. so don't want a flimsy rack. Want to get one for the bed that matches height so the kayaks don't hang over the windshield so far and would be nice if the bed rack was easy to put on and off. Will be pulling a travel trailer so they can't hang much off the back either. Some rollers on the back cross bar would be nice.

 

Prinsu racks aren't flimsy. They are strong. They can carry the tent fine.

I have no issue with kayak on there which isn't overhang much.

Some aftermarket companies have bed rack that has same height as the cab.

 

If I want to carry the rods up there, I'd use the PVC tube for those which can be mounted onto the rack rail.

 

The flimsy comment was about the OEM rack - I have read some postings that people aren't impressed with it.

 

One of my past vehicles was too short to carry fishing rods (2 door Mitsubishi Montero 4x4) so I put snow ski racks on the aftermarket Thule bars. Held rods tight!

 

I wouldn't say the OEM rack is flimsy, just not rated for a lot of weight and is really just a couple of oval bars. It is nice that they fold out of the way when not in use. I've had one on my last 2 Tacomas (2nd and 3rd gen actually use the same rack) and it is a quality rack if you just want a couple of cross bars occasionally. I swapped to a Prinsu to have more options for "stuff."

 

I just looked up that Prinsu. That is sweet. That may be one mod that I do.
Here is a better shot of how one could carry fishing rods, SUP paddles...etc. with a snow ski rack. I wish I still had that rig.

 

I had the OEM one on my second gen and it was fine for my needs (carrying my longboard and occasionally long pieces of lumber).

Folks say the Pinsu style are more rugged, but I think they mount using the same mounting nuts as the OEM (which were pretty small IIRC).

My thought is while the rack may be more rugged, I still would be careful with how much weight I put up there.

I’d also take care to consider cross winds and wind lift for things like SUP’s and kayaks. I’ve seen kayaks fly off of cars on the highway due to the amount of pulling force they can generate from lift.

 

About the weight: The prinsu crossbars can handle 200+ lbs, no problem. Which most tents weight 150 or more.

About kayak flying off: It could be the reason that some people doesn't strap them tightly....

I have been carrying stuff on there for years, no issues.

My parent had their kayak on their car roof for years... which they had oem racks since there were no aftermarket roof rack that time.

 

Good points about the wind load. Not sure how to avoid that as I will be towing an RV trailer so will be doing a fair amount of freeway driving. I have seen carrying the vertical on the back of the travel trailer so I suppose that's an option but I still need a rack for when I don't have the trailer. I figure having less stick out over the hood will lessen that somewhat so thinking about 1 bar somewhat centered on the cab and one bar about midway in the bed. Having a bed rack where I can mount just one upright if I want and with it having some fore and aft bracing for stop and start loads and pushing the kayaks up from the back is what I am thinking of.

 

I had the diesel Japanese version of this, the Pajero, when I was stationed there!

 

Would love to have one of those diesels. Fun little rigs. Bought mine on eBay auction $1,400 and flew to Long Island and drove it home to Florida. Man, I miss that one.

 

That thing was great for the narrow roads in Japan. Because of the rules for unaccompanied personnel, I could only have 1 vehicle in my name. I had bought a diesel LandCruiser for $200, my roommate that paid half for the Pajero suddenly got orders and had to leave, so there was no time to swap the Pajero to my name. The LandCruiser eventually got a crack in the head gasket, and I sold it for $100, but I would have preferred to keep the Pajero for my last year there.

 

Sherpa just released their mid and full height bed racks that you can run tandem with the roof rack. I have their roof rack and love it.

 

Selling my Caliraised rack if your local to LA.