Prinsu Access Cab Install

Is there any big changes in mpg with the roof rack on the truck?

 

Not enough that I've noticed The fairing aero does a lot for that though.

 

Thinking about getting the access rack and top rack. My question is do they both sit level with the supplied hardware ?
I've seen some 2nd gens ..both levelled and not - levelled. Would be good to know what's required.

 

I used the supplied hardware and mine sit level. Granted, I have a 3rd gen but I don’t see why it would be any different on a 2nd gen.

 

Looks awesome. I wonder what accounts for the uneven look on some photos I've seen.

 

What makes the racks uneven is variations in cap height and track height. While most track systems are similar (Yakima and Thule), slight variations in fiberglass shells are made during the manufacturing process for either aesthetics or aerodynamics. It’s a pet peeve of mine and for the racks that I build, I custom fit mounting hardware to each truck to work around this quirk.

 

Did you drop the head liner for your install?

 

I did not.

 

thanks. getting ready for my install this weekend!

 

Did your rack come with the rivnuts or did you have to get them separately? I just bought a prinsu rack for my 05 access cab from a guy off that awesome instagram page @overlandmarket and dont remember seeing any rivnuts in the bag of hardware (probably because theyre still glued to the roof of his truck lol). Do you know the spec on the rivnuts? This thread is going to help out a lot on the install

 

When you buy new, the racks come with rivnuts. Since you bought a used one, you kind of have some freedom to use the appropriate rivnut for the fastener size of your choice. IIRC, the prinsu came with SAE threaded rivnuts and bolts (don’t remember the size), if keeping continuity in your fasteners on the truck is important to you, you can opt to use metric hardware.


Or you can match the rivnuts you purchase to the bolts you have and go from there.

 

So I'm one of the people who had the Cabrac and the Coprac *NOT* sit level. This was on a 2019 Tacoma OR and a Leer XR built in December 2018 with Thule rails (my dealer didn't give me an option to chose between Yakima or Thule or whatever rails). The Toprac sat higher than the Cabrac by 1/2 an inch. So I had to buy the low profile brackets from Prinsu, and those had the Toprac sitting 1/2 inch lower than the Toprac.

I don't know who was "to blame" for this, but I doubt the change is to the truck cab height/bed. And Prinsu hasn't changed anything. And I notice the Thule rails sit up a 1/2 inch up from the top of the canopy...so maybe that is it? Anyway to fix it I just ordered 4 lengths of 1 inch aluminum flat bar that is 1/2 inch thick from metalsdepot.com, cut to the lengths of the low profile brackets i got from Prinsu. Then I drilled two holes in these and used them for spacers (painted them black) and I'm in business. OCD-level shit there for sure.


toprac sitting high


leveled


spacer

 

My cabrac sat 9/16" below the sharkfin for some reason, also lower than my toprac, so my buddy had a guy he works with make me some new spacers the proper height out of some kind of high density polymer type material. Everything is better now, other than the noise reducing edge trim not touching the roof anymore.
I can't tell if it's louder than before or not. It was definitely whistling before I got the edge trim.
Camper shell not in the pic cause it's at the shop having the roof rails resealed.

 

Pic with the cap back on with new cab spacers. Both level now.

 

So I got a deal on a Prinsu AccessRack and have read the thread, will attempt to install here in the next few weeks. I bought the rack from someone who said they bought the wrong one, and it arrived and appeared as if the box had never been opened - having the original receipt for the item shows it was purchased from CBI in 4/2018. It's bare metal, which is fine I'm just planning on spray priming it and painting it black along with the fastening hardware. But it is missing the weather strip, nutsert tool, and strangely arrived with only 11 complete riv nuts/spacers/bolts. So, like a trifecta of missing shit. But everything that did come with it appears to have never been opened or used. I emailed Prinsu about the missing weather strip, nutsert tool, and I'm considering emailing them about the missing riv nut/spacer/bolt. My hold up is that maybe I should just get a new setup for the rivnuts/spacers/bolts at the hardware store and move on? The weather strip (if they won't send me one) I can at least buy one of those off of the site for $15.

Any recommendations for replacing the hardware? I will be dropping the headliner - my main concern is actually finding a matching 12th spacer.

Also, I read that someones post that I believe said something to the tune of all legs on the accessracks have now been lengthened. If mine are just a hair under 3" when measured from the inside of the rack is this the elongated version or the short version?

I will be getting some permatex gasket sealer (thanks!) for sure.

I appreciate your help!

 

If you're dropping the headliner then you don't need either nutserts or the tool, just use stainless bolts, stopnuts, and washers. Rhino racks supplies bitumen patches for each of the drilled holes for their ditch track hardware(placed between the mounts and the roof) which seems an excellent idea and deck tape is the same stuff. I also added a dab of caulk inside and out before placing/tightening the bolts. You might shit bricks when you see how close the air bag curtains are to the channels over the clamshell doors but if you remove the bolts holding the bags in place over the doors and loosen the two on each side C-pillar that secure the charge cylinders and feed tube, the curtains can be moved aside far enough to access the underside of the channels at the back(over the front doors there's some plastic headliner spacers but nothing else. Here's a pic of my AC from when I added noico and the ditch tracks.
You're not touching any sensors or air curtain wiring to move them and not removing anything but enough bolts to pivot the curtains to the side a few inches.

 

The weather stripping is a common item that can be purchased elsewhere if necessary. I might actually recommend installing the rack without it before you buy (as long as CBI can't provide one for you or otherwise help). You can then judge for yourself if you feel you need it or not. Some people don't experience wind noise without it and others experience no difference with it on or off so it's a bit of a toss up. If it were me, and you could get away without it, I'd leave it off. Small particles of dirt and road grit will get trapped between the weather stripping and dull the paint and/or wear through. Not a problem for some, but worth pointing out.

Secondly, the nutsert "tool" they provide, last time I checked, was nothing more than a long bolt with one oversized nut or spacer and a second nut to clamp the nutsert in place. Nothing you can't piece together if you wanted to from the existing hardware you already have. If you do need to buy anything, I'd recommend on of the rivnut tools listed below ("products discussed…") for $24 you can get a tool that will be handy for future projects and make this install a hell of a lot easier. I think there are cheaper options as well if you search Amazon a bit.

Lastly: the missing 12th hardware/spacer. I've had a hard time finding matching spacers that are readily available and/or cheap enough that I could justify buying just one. I'd try and push CBI for at least that if you can or maybe they can help you with a discount on the missing hardware. As a last resort, I'd add that the full sized rack for double cabs only uses one mounting point for the center of the rack so if you couldn't source the additional spacer, you could just drill the one hole for the center mount of each side and use one bolt/nutsert without compromising the structural integrity or load capacity of the rack. It might "look weird" but there's not harm in doing that. As an added bonus, by only using a total of 10 fasteners (5 per side), you'd have one "extra" bolt/spacer, nutsert.

Side note: I'm personally not fan of using nut/bolts for this particular install only because it makes removal a much longer process if you ever have to in the future. While dropping the headliner isn't hard, it's a bit tedious if you have no other business up there and are just trying to loosen a couple nuts. I have a headliner removal thread here that you may find helpful:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/removing-your-headliner-and-insulating-sound-deadening.394469/


Removal of the headliner is actually easier to do on Access cabs since there's no b-pillar, but still a chore.

 

Good points on nutserts vs nuts/washers Ghostship, and it was your thread that privided me with the info and confidence to do mine. With ditch channels installed though I won't need to pull the headliner to remove or exchange rack systems

 

Awesome, thanks for the advice bagleboy and Ghostship. I called CBI/Prinsu today and they are sending me the extra hardware and I bought the weatherstrip. I appreciate the advice on the airbags and will go ahead as planned once I get all the hardware

 

I'm just here to help.