OEM Rails + Harbor Freight Roof Basket ($100 Build)

I recently picked up my new Tacoma and need a quick and cheap solution to get some extra cargo capacity for a family camping trip into the woods. While wandering aimlessly through that seemed like a good option for my new truck. It looked pretty solid and as usual for me made an impulse decision to purchase without measuring. Turns out its 18" short to connect to the OEM cross bars.

Heres what I did to make it work.

Purchased 4 pieces of 18" iron pipe from Home Depot, 2x 3/4" and 2x 1"

LDR Industries3/4"X18" BLK NIPPLE

LDR Industries1"X18" BLK NIPPLE

The rack ships in three parts, making for an easy extension. I cut the pipes in half and drilled two holes in each end for some pop rivets.





I fit the pipes to the tubes from the rack, there is a tiny bit of play from the smaller tubes, but that went away after being riveted.





I used a ratchet strap to pull everything together tightly.



I used 2 aluminum pop rivets per pipe end and the rig was solid as possible. I popped on the crossbars for a test fit and it was all good.



Next step was to remove the sticker, I hate stickers.



A couple coats of primer and a can of rubber dip were applied.



Boom. End result is a decent rack for about $100 (after using Harbor Freight Coupon).







We used it last weekend with a cargo bag to go camping. Three kids, the wife and a dog. We definitely needed the extra space.

 

Well done.

 

Semi related question. Are you not worried about the rear crossbar sitting on the antenna pushing down the roof?

 

Looks awesome. How's the wind noise, if any?

I have an issue with my OEM bars, the front bar lifts up and down in the hole that it's locked into when it's in the mounting position, and makes a knocking noise. Drives me nuts. I should get a new set, but I rarely use them so I've been lazy. This will be on my to-do list if I ever replace the crossbars lol

 

Nice job. I too frequently wander aimlessly through harbor freight

 

I dig it. Its awesome to see someone be creative and come up with a solution that works. Very nice!

 

Why did you keep the thread part of the iron pipe?

 

Mine did the same thing. I bought a few different size rubber O-rings and coupled them over the part that snaps in until it fit tight. No more rattle.

 

That's a good idea. I actually have a bunch in my basement. I'll give that a shot, thanks!

 

Wonderful

 

Did you use any kind of sealant on your added extensions? How much of a gap is between the tube and pipe?

I’d hate to see that get moisture in it and then drip rusty water in that sweet color!

 

The crossbar just barely hits the shark fin, it doesnt look like its defecting at this point. Now that you've pointed it out I'm a bit concerned.

The wind noise when empty is definitely there, but amazingly disappeared when we had it loaded with the cargo bag. I don't plan on rolling around with the rack on.

I left the thread on the pipe because i was too lazy to get a longer pipe and do the extra cutting

I rubbed grease on the inside of the pipes but didn't do too much to seal them up, I only plan to have this mounted when in use, so hopefully rust won't be an issue.

Thanks for the likes!

 

Read through this thread for more about OEM racks on 2020s
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/2020-tacos-with-factory-roof-racks.638069/

 

Yup. Totally hitting the fin. Left a nice little gouge. My tuck was built jan 20, so guessing i missed the fix. Bummer.

 

Who installed the roof rack? You or the dealer?

 

How far apart are the factory bars from outside to outside?

I have a Yakima rack on my truck and it's just over 41" from edge to edge and I use this rack Rola V-Tex rack. There is almost no extra noise and I haven't noticed a massive fuel loss, maybe 0.2-0.7 mpg.
It just barely fits my bars, I used to have a one of those cheap baskets as well, the Rola one isn't quite as nice as a Yakima basket but way better than the $100 ones.

ROLA 59504 V-Tex Rooftop Cargo Basket 48"es x 37.5"es x 4"es

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004R34HDC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

I did, I ordered it after delivery of the truck, but they knew it was for a 2020.

 

I applaud your ingenuity and functional money saving idea, well done. But then I saw you put this on a Pro when you should have bought an SR5. We'll call it even...

 

What Yakima towers are those? It looks like they're mounted right into the factory channels. I'm looking for a way to mount a crossbar on the roof - don't want anything that grips the gutter/ door channel or has a strap running through the cab.

 

They are the Skyline towers and it does utilize the factory mounts. Yakima just released a new landing pad, #24, which fits the 3rd gen Tacoma, I went with round bars because all my bike racks have round bar mounts.
I've had it installed for just over a month now with no issues which includes multiple rain storms, 2,000 miles of driving, and going through car washes (both touch free and soft touch ones).

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/yakima-roof-rack-using-factory-mounts.672272/