Simple Roof Rack and Crossbars

The bar spacing on the bars mounted to the cab (using the factory locations) is about 36" on center. When I first started researching a simple cross bar rack, the retail places and the Yakima website all acted clueless about how to use the factory locations on the 2024 Taco and continually pushed me toward a complicated system that would have cost twice as much as my Sherpa parts, and with questionable relative value... but they did offer the areo bar feature.

The modification of the spacer bars in the channel was super simple, I just cut then to accommodate the interested bar towers, and then snapped then back into place needed in blob of silicone.

With my rear cross bar, the spacing from the front cross bar to the back is almost 12', and from the rear cross bar on the trailer hitch to the rear cross bar on the cab is about 9'

 

I'm curious about wind noise and easy to remove as I am still undecided and also interested in reusing Yakima round bars I own.

The Yakima configurator doesn't get those for me. Their optional configurator site doesn't list products such as LandingPads and the SkyLine towers but a local paddling shop as close to a rack expert there is says that works.

 

I’m super interested in that solution but would prefer the shorter length bars. Would something like

how’s the wind noise ?

 

Any update on the setup?

 

The Thule configurator still shows nothing for gen 4 Tacoma, and in addition to email from Yakima confirming no "landing pad" style option, a call to customer service got someone saying he doesn't see any note or mark that it is in the works. His advice was also towers with clips for now but they do have round bar adapters. The clips are not too readily available.

My hesitation with the fixed mount Sherpa is those bars would still need something soft to not have metal, wood or plastic on metal. I think sail/SUP (board) pads might fit. Beyond wondering about wind noise is wondering about hits to MPG when not carrying and now easy and sure to take it off and have the roof sealed during winter.

It seems most of the pickup truck rack market now is for bed racks and square more complicated roof racks of not ones geared for contractors or outfitters.

I have a Fas-Top (tonneau soft topper all in one) and their compatible bed rack looks like it has enough adjustment to get a boat well enough over the cab. Still, that's more permanence and just stuff and spend than I'd care for. Yakima Baseline towers, round bar adapters and the right clips might be it for me.

 

The Yakima Landing pads will work. just need to use longer bolts. Believe they are 35mm in length

 

Have you done this personally? Which of the 37 versions? Some have said #23 but Yakima site has a warning for the gen 4 Tacoma. Any closeup pics?

Thank you.

 

Landing pad 24 with skyline Towers. The provided bolts that are included are designed to be used with 3rd Gen Tacoma which are shorter.

 

Thank you. Do you have the exact specification of the bolts you used and photos? Thanks again.

 

Here you go

 

OK, I finished my installation today. I used the Landing Pad 24 kit, and of course the supplied 50mm bolts were too long. The 30mm bolt shown by @chazmen would be too short, so if you want to install the Yakima racks on a 2024 or later Tacoma, this is what you need:

First, get the Landing Pad 24 kit, aka LP24 kit. It has what you need, for the most part.

Second, go out a buy two each

$9 M6-1.0 M6 Black Acorn Cap Nuts, Stainless Steel 304 (18-8) Black Coating Acorn Nuts, 20Pcs-Pack

M6-1.0 x 35mm bolts for the two front SkyLine towers -
and two each M6-1.0 x 40mm bolts for the two rear SkyLine towers.

Third, you might as well get a tube of high quality silicone. The tiny little bit in the kit probably isn't enough to prevent water from intruding on your drive.

Other than that, you mostly follow their instructions but I made a few modifications to their installation. I took a lot of pictures, but I won't write up a full installation instructions set and post gigabytes of photos unless enough of you are also die hard Yakima tattoo wearing fanatics, like me. I've had a Yakima rack on every truck I've owned, and my wife's minivan, since the mid 1980s. I need to have a Yakima rack in order to use all my existing Yakima bike hauling gear. I don't need a Prinsu roof rack or anything like that.

My Yakima rack can be removed when I don't need it in under 2 minutes and will then eliminate all wind noise and drag on my totally un-aerodynamic Tacoma (FWIW).

Whatever.
j.

 

Thank you SO much. Looking at it and head scratching yesterday, our Yakima museum pieces go back to 1980. More detail would be appreciated if only to help convince my wife a not from Yakima or modified installation would be legit.

In the past year I've looked at that Prinsu style you describe, lots of what people do, and I get lots of trailhead or parking lot discussions for being a trail steward and ski area crew. I for sure know a pair of crossbars is what I want. Some people have admitted their square type racks are not practical for a lot of carry, make noise, and hit fuel economy. Yakima attachment nubs like I've had with track style racks would be ideal.

One person I've seen who has a gen 3 with square rack admitted they like the look but that their old Thule cross bars were best.

Thank you. I've seen their offerings and don't know if I'd trust $200ish made of Chinesium with not a lot of reviews, and reviews covering packaging and looking sporty vs saying something like they've held canoes or boards for thousands of miles etc....

For a non-Yakima solution the Sherpa bars look solid but then I'll have them there about all the time.

 

Whoops. I totally didn’t catch that they are not US. I knew the name didn’t seem like it was from there. I had a whole discussion with them on their Instagram after giving a suggestion about the seat covers and they told me if I had any ideas for other products to let them know. I offered if I designed something in SolidWorks to send the CAD file. I’m a Mechanical Engineering Technologist. lol. Whoops. The running boards I got are very well made though and well designed but thanks for clueing me in to that.

 

I bought these racks - do not recommend. Forward end of the rack started to lift at 80km/h with a 30kg cargo bag on it.

 

I’d be very interested in some more details! Just to confirm. You are only using one of the two both locations at each mounting point?

 

I didn't consider something like running boards relatively simple bolted to the frame to be critical or a possible liability matter like a roof rack carrying a boat at highway speed etc.....

I'd like to see pics too if @JoeMongo has them.

Knowing if the Sherpa solution is noisy or a significant hit to fuel economy is another curiosity that remains.

Thanks all.

 

OK, I'll post pictures and step descriptions sometime over the next few days. I was kinda hoping to only hear crickets.

FWIW, the Landing Pad 24 (aka LP24 in Yakima speak) only has a single bolt hole, so it only uses one bolt in each location. For the 2023 and earlier Tacomas (which is what the LP24 is designed for), they recommend using the inside holes on the fixed points. I can understand why after looking at my installation, but it's a little subjective. In the end, I agree that the inside holes (meaning closest to each other) are the best to use. On my 2024 Tacoma, the front LPs get

$9 M6-1.0 M6 Black Acorn Cap Nuts, Stainless Steel 304 (18-8) Black Coating Acorn Nuts, 20Pcs-Pack

M6-1.0 by 35mm bolts, the rear get M6-1.0 by 40mm bolts. There are some details of my install that I think could be better done, but that is also subjective and other choices have some negatives associated with them.

It sure would be nice if Yakima would get off their fat a$$es and develop a factory proven Landing Pad solution for our 2024+ Tacomas. I also think that I can see why they are still working on it. They have to change something to support the single bolt on the 2024+ Tacomas. I did my attempt at it, but I think my solution could be improved upon.
j.

 

OK, I know I promised a detailed installation description, but I've been delayed due to an inherent problem with using the Landing Pad 24 on a 2024 or later Tacoma.

It doesn't work.

Now, I can get everything mounted and locked, but the Landing Pad isn't supported enough to tighten the single cap head screw in the center of each Landing Pad. Sure, you can get a screw through the Landing Pad to the roof of your Tacoma, but since it isn't supported, you can't tighten the screw to any kind of torque that would prevent it from vibrating loose.

If you try to snug down the single

$9 M6-1.0 M6 Black Acorn Cap Nuts, Stainless Steel 304 (18-8) Black Coating Acorn Nuts, 20Pcs-Pack

M6-1.0 hex head screw at the four Landing Pads, you'll just flex it into enough of a concave bend that the towers won't engage the Landing Pad mounting points.

This is a problem that I've been trying to solve for a few days. I have ~$150 invested in these Landing Pads, so it would be nice if I could use them. I'll keep trying to make them work, but it would be best if y'all waited until Yakima developed a new Landing Pad designed for the gen 4 Tacoma.

 

I have been very interested in getting a Yakima landing pad installed on the hard mount of the Tacoma roof. If there are any pictures or details on what the issue is, it might help me understand the problem. I believe I was using landing pad 12’s on my gen 2 Tacoma. It wasn’t sleek, but it was functional.

I do think I understand the words being said and what the problem may be, but a pic or two might help.

I am also pondering if there could be a 3d printed brace to go underneath the pad to act as a support.

 

OK, it took me a number of iterations testing different thicknesses and shapes of filler material, but I finally got something that is good enough for me. My Landing Pads are secure and solid even though they only have the single mounting bolt. I filled the space inside the outside support of the LP24 with three layers of self adhesive rubber tape. The rear LP24s required 3 X 1/8" rubber adhesive tape providing a 17/32" total thickness including the adhesive layers. The front LP24s required 2 X 1/8" plus 1 X 1/16" layers stacked for a total height including the adhesive of 15/32" since the front mountings a bit higher in the trough than the rears, On My Truck. Your truck may be different.



The strips are 5 7/8" long, 1" wide, and have a corner cut off to match the angle of the interior support of the LP24.



I wouldn't be surprised if the eventual LPs developed by Yakima are a simplified version of what I finally installed.
j.