Roof rack help

Hi everyone! I’m wanting to make the roof rack that over land under budget made a few years ago as my first project I do on my own. I was looking for the Yakima Q117 clips but not only are they hard to find…but I’ve seen some people saying don’t use them as they can ruin the body and even cause rust. Does anyone have any advice on this? I love the prinsu rack but am on a budget and think it would be cool to make my own as a simple learning project. I don’t like the beefy basket look and want something simple and sleek to go above my double cab. Advice, pictures, recommendation are all appreciated! Thanks!

 

If you're ok with wind noise and a hit in gas mileage then go for it.

Understand that these trucks are very old, and most things people wish to add will be 'custom'

Plenty of threads here of people adding roof racks; several of them posting back that they regretted it.

 

what the rack users have discovered is that the sheet metal isn’t thick enough to support the weight and it dents at the mounting points.

 

I tracked some down some on eBay. I did a google search and found one place online but the eBay set were brand new and 10$ cheaper.

 

I tried to find more threads but couldn’t, I’ll go back and look again! Thank you for the advice…I figured the wind noise but didn’t think it would hit gas mileage as much…definitely something to think about.

 

H

Shoot okay this is good to know! Sounds like a lot of people regret putting them on. I liked the ideas of the clips rather than drilling into the roof and creating something lightweight…but not sure it’s worth it

 

I ran them for a few years on my double cab and didn't have many issues after taking them off. I cleaned the shit out of their roof before putting them on and made sure it was bone dry before setting the feet. After 4 years I pulled them off when I sold my truck and the only noticeable difference was the paint was nicer underneath than the rest of the roof (clearcoat had started peeling due to AZ sun).

There was also a small lip of gunk around where the feet had been so I spent some time with some simple green then a quick hit of polishing compound and it was pretty much right back to where it was prior to putting them on. I honestly didn't mind them at all, just wish they were a little shorter but for not having to commit to a drilled roof rack, I'll take the Q towers everytime. Even if it messes with your paint, it's way easier to paint a roof then deal with the holes in your roof in my opinion, but most of my trucks never have great paint due to living on the surface of the sun so it never bothered me.

Qtowers are also nice since they mount to the edge of the roof which is easily the strongest part of the roof on these trucks, but it's still nothing like the 2nd -3rd gen ones that were designed from the start to have a roof rack and weight up there. I never really loaded mine up that much, most was maybe 60-70lbs spread out across the platform I had and never experienced any roof deformation. As long as you just remember it's mostly sheet metal for the roof and don't load it down with a ton of overlanding shit you'll be golden. I tired to keep heavier items near the edges to keep their weight mostly over the edges of the roof where it's stronger, lighter items went in the middle. I had seen conflicting info about late model double cabs all having a reinforced roof regardless if they came with a factory roof rack but I never felt like dropping my headliner to find out.

My setup before I upgraded was Qtowers and a Rhino Rack mesh platform, was everything I needed and nothing I didn't. I just found a better form fitting option. They're both about the same height, but the newer set up helps spread the load out across the entire roof side as opposed to the Qtower points

First setup: Qtowers and Rhino Rack platform


Current setup: Box Rockets old rack with some spacers to level it with my shell rack

 

Just get a Prinsu

 

When I bought my truck, it came with a dealer installed roof rack already. I ran that for years. Never really liked the way it mounted. (Rivnutted to the roof). It was really attached out in the weakest part of the roof. But I was able to load it with some light(er) camp items.


Here is what I'm talking about where it mounted.



I, later, ended up adding a basket (that I found on craigslist), just to making loading a little easier... but I never really liked the way it made everything so tall. The basket just clamped to the roof rack. It was alright, it did it's job, but I wanted something lower profile.

This is with the dealer installed rack, with the basket mounted on it.



This winter, I decided to change it up. My son found a Vijay rack on Craigslist. There are a few different brands that are all, basically, the same as Vijay. They are a steal knock off of, basically, a Prinsu. BUT... they are actually for 2nd Gen. It's made to bolt to the factory locations on a 2nd Gen. This requires one to drill and rivnut the roof, to mount on a 1st Gen. I've put enough holes in and cut off enough sheet metal on my truck, that I really didn't give a crap. I knew it was a rack that I liked, that I got for a hundred bucks, so I was gunna send it regardless. But some may not feel comfortable with this. (The same would be said for an actual Prinsu specifically for 1st Gen though, cause that's the way you have to mount them)

Here's how a 1 hundred dollar Craigslist special 2nd Gen Vijay rack looks on a 1st Gen.


Better pic


It actually mounted in a pretty solid spot. Right at the gutter line on the roof.




As far as the Yakima rack systems. I have no experience with this truck BUT I used to race road bikes when I was younger, and also worked at a bike shop, where I installed a lot of Yakima racks. They do, in fact, hold a lot of weight. They clamp at, pretty much, the strongest point of the roof. And if people have a problem with the Q towers damaging the paint... it's 100% user error. Either they mounted to a dirty surface, or they have the Q towers to lose, where they move around.


I suppose the entire premise of this response is to say there are quite a few options here. They all work, some better than others. But there can be creative ways to look at it.

 

@El Taco Diablo - I notice you have a basket up there, how much weight you put up there ? do you feel it driving, tippy ? thinking of bolting a basket to my 1st gen roof, thoughts ?

 

this, I removed mine and there are indentations where the mounts were. Heck I remember when drilling it for the install one or two of them got indented even while doing it carefully. At that point though I was committed. I recommend not doing a rack that requires drilling, which limits your options and load capacity but you'll thank yourself later.

I ended up removing mine about 5 years later and plugging the holes with rivnuts sealed with silicone and bolts, the rack made a lot of noise and was a big air dam on the highway especially if you were driving in a windy area.

 

I wonder if you mount it inside the door channel... there's definitely the margin to get a 16GA or so bend around in there
Back mount could be on stilts to the top of the bed

 

The basket is no loger up there. I switched to a Prinsu knock off, because it looks cooler, and allows 2 Pelicans instead of 1.




I don't really have much weight in the Pelicans. 1 Pelican is recovery gear, but I've gone through and switched everything to soft shackles, straps, synthetic winch line extension etc. The other side is Kitchen stuff and miscellaneous, there's no real weight there. Our pans are Cast Iron, but they are lightweight Cast Iron. That would be the heaviest items in that Pelican (2 pans).

With the weight of the tools, spare parts, extra fluids, down low (on the bed rails), the truck is actually pretty well mannered (in terms of "tippy")

Now, with the long travel making the truck 7 inches wider than stock in front (rear will also be going about 6.5 inches wider than stock) the way the truck is loaded, the center of gravity is probably actually lower than it was stock.

The rack I have up there now is actually a Prinsu knock off for a 2nd Gen. So it's wider than it would be for a 1st Gen specific. It put the Rivnuts way out past the dented rails and close to where the body starts to roll down. The sheet metal there also doubles up in that area. The "feet" of the rack are basically bolted to the strongest part of the roof. I've never had any problem with any wind noise with this rack. I do get some wandering in cross winds, but I'd say that could be attributed as much to the RTT as it does the rack.

As far as gas milage... Once I lifted the truck the second time, and increased the size of the tires the second time, and started adding the weight of the sliders, skids, winch, full size spare, RTT, RTT rack, etc, etc... Gas mileage went out the window. I, seriously, don't even care what the gas mileage is.

 

Hey bud,

I just installed my own Prinsu roof rack that I got for a discount back on Black Friday from CBI. My Tacoh is a double cab 4wd 2003.

Long story short. Gas station is not a major “driver” in my daily driver. I’ve had a Marginal gas decrease - still 13/16 city/hwy give or take. I think my mpg is “normal” given the age of the engine regardless of the roof rack!

edit: keep it simple stock and don’t exceed boundaries. Just like life.