Anybody have experience with OEM 'style' roofracks?

I just bought a OEM 'style' roof rack from ebay. Just over 200 bucks delivered. It looks like the OEM product. Ive heard that alignment can sometimes be an issue (also a problem with OEM) but generally I cant find any reviews or first hand experiences. Im only looking to put a Coleman canoe on top, maybe a luggage bag for longer trips. Anybody have one of these non-OEM but OEM looking setups?

 

What's the point of asking for opinions if you've already bought it?

 

Maybe other people have had issues with them and come up with good solutions.

If you dont have anything productive to add how about you just move out and draw fire, hooah?

 

Alignment problem usually occur is you tighten one end of a side first before screwing the other end in.

Screw in both ends in loosely and then slowly screw them in concurrently.

 

Mine was OEM and I had dealer install.

 

That seems to be the general consensus with OEM and aftermarket. Any issues with plastic cracking?

 

No plastic cracking with oem . I installed mine on the first day I got my Tacoma back in 2010 and it's survived the Texas heat since then.

 

For what it's worth, I am in the market for the roof rack... I like quality items and stuff, but it seems like there are various assembly quality issues and issues like parts missing from the OEM Style roof rack. In fact it kind of pisses me off that there is a vendor or vendors which are sneaky enough to throw or bury the word Style after OEM within their description. Lots of younger people don't know well enough to read the fine print to the T... kind of deceptive to me.

I personally would NOT buy the OEM style roof rack because of the weight limit capability. Who knows what the fuck it is. We don't even know what the Toyota weight limit is... is it 75 pounds or 100 pounds? The specs changed at some time. If Toyota can't get it right, then I'm sure some bozo Chinese roof rack maker who copied the OEM design can't get it right either.

 

What kills me is the fact that aftermarket 'OEM' style racks all look the same but can vary in price by 100 bucks. They ALL COME FROM THE SAME FACTORY. Same thing with OEM. Dealers mark their stuff up by about 50-80%. Ive worked for dealers and auto retail, Ive seen the wholesale cost. (I dont have anything against consumer markup, I just like to shop around) Thats why I went aftermarket. 350 bucks for an OEM part made in China or 200 bucks for a aftermarket part made in China. Its all the same shit, but the OEM stuff is packaged all pretty and has a ton of Toyota markup on it. Id rather pay 200 bucks and be missing a common 15 cent hardware store screw....than pay 350 to be missing a toyota certified 13.5 MM allen head torx screw with torque to fit Teflon washers....

 

I see what you're saying...but liability. If it's the Toyota rack and shit comes flying off or the thing breaks to cause an accident then there will probably be an investigation to figure out likely root causes. If it's the bozo version which may or may not come from the same factory (show me that it does) which makes the OEM, then the operator (or insurance) is 100% responsible. It's worth just buying the OEM or otherwise buying a Yakima or Thule setup.