209 TACOS - B/S and shenanigans

Thank you.

Is replacing bushings in stock LCA hard?

 

no idea lol

I was going to suggest you just take off your current ones, clean and pack some grease in there? I'd imagine that would help with the squeak.

I also think you only need to grease the sleeve, in which case removing the existing bushings wouldnt be necessary? just unbolting them and maybe using a socket as a punch to knock the sleeve out and lather them up in grease. Totally not my area of expertise, so im hoping someone with more knowledge comes here and enlightens us lol

 

No, but doing dumb shit can easily achieve those results
Going LT has only broken my wallet
LT kit was about $3400
Kings $1400
CVS $600-700
I prefer +2” you can get away without fiberglass

 

I’m pretty sure I saw @Radarninja drive by my house today

 

Man... our little thread has been f'n dead lately!

 

@foxrcing07 @Papadave418 or anyone else with any experience working with extruded aluminum.

Realistically, how hard do you think it would be to make my own Prinsu type rack? I see a bunch of people have done it (see posts is groups on Facebook etc) But no one ever shows a good picture of the feet, or how they connect to the roof.

I've never really looked closely at an actual Prinsu. Are they rivnutted to the roof?

Looking for a better option (lower profile, and cleaner) but there is no way in hell I'm going to spend $800+ on a roof rack.

 

If you end up doing this I’d be interested in paying you for materials and time

 

So I don’t think it would be very hard. The one challenging aspect would be the 1/4” aluminum sides and getting them cut to the length and shape you like, and making perfect copies of each side. Other than that you are in business. I don’t know if they use 1x1” extrusions or 1x2”, but you can get them from www.tnutz.com for a decent price. It doesn’t cost too much extra to have them cut them and tap them. Cutting and tapping isn’t hard but for like $1 it’s just done right. If you cut them use a high tooth count blade like a 96T to get it smooth.

I’d use the 10 series, 1x1” parameters. It uses 1/4”-20 hardware.

Prinsu has feet and hardware that screw into the mounting points up top in the channels. Do Gen1’s have roof mounting points? But again take some 1/4” and bend an L to attach to the vertical sides down to the mounting points. Otherwise Rivnuts with some silicon as you screw in the hardware you should be good.

$800 isn’t cheap, but aluminum is expensive. We buy 3” angle aluminum (now they are 25’) and it’s $200 a pop.

 

@Uphillshunter and @roguegs I second what Dave said about cost I just bought 8 24” pieces and it was $260 and I probably will be buying another $200-300 worth in the next week or 2

Tnutz does have precut pieces for Prinsu replacement pieces and in my research they do have the best prices
https://www.tnutz.com/?s=Prinsu&post_type=product

 

Correct me if I'm wrong. This is the profile of Prinsu crossbars. Correct?



And I don't think the Prinsu outside plates (the plates that run front to back, that the cross bars bolt to) are 1/4. I seem to remember them being 3/16th max... maybe 1/8th.

 

Yea I believe it’s the 1x2” I can double check when I get home

 

That’s it. Maybe 3/16th or a touch thinner. If you know someone with a CNC machine they could cut out a design for you

 

Are the side rails 1/4? I think they are 3/16, I could be wrong.

 

I edited my reply, might be thinner. Know someone with a CNC machine. That would be super helpful

 

I'm thinking just a piece of flat bar for each side, with radius ends like this.



In the front, to make it flare down and follow the roofline at the angle for the fairing could be a seperate piece that bolts on. That way I don't have to buy wider flat bar and cut a bunch of material off to make that contour.

As far as the slots that are cut the length of the side rails... do those even do anything? Or are they for looks? If they are functional, somehow that I'm not thinking, I have an endmill and router. It wouldn't be hard to set up jigs to make those come out straight.

 

I bet, if I figured this shit out, there would be a few that would be interested.

@RobertsT4R would want one for his truck. Sounds like @roguegs sounds like he'd be interested. How bout you @MattJakobs? 1stGen Taco/ 3rd Gen runner would be pretty easy to mock up etc... since they are both sitting in front of my house lol.

 

Then you are ready to go!!

 

i think the slots are for the different attachments they sell and you can also add in whatever else accessories you want.

 

Id be interested to see where this goes for sure! One thing I was thinking about is how the hell are the Tacoma ones around the same price as the full length 3rd gen 4runner when there’s so much more material?