LFD kudo..

Installed an LFD Ruggedized Crossbar kit on my 2019 TRD-OR. When I ordered the kit I included one "wide" crossbar to make a total of 5 crossbars with the lead bar having a wind fairing design. All went well until I noticed one of the regular crossbars being a 1/4" short. Contacted LFD and they quickly identified that the defective unit was the wrong part number. Forty eight hours later I had the correct replacement at my front porch. We all understand that crap happens occasionally but when you get good service/support from your vendor the pain goes away quickly. Great job LFD!

Note: This kit utilizes the stock OEM rack rails and is extremely easy to install. Fits my needs to a tee!






Give me a few - working on getting pictures instead of links..

 

Glad to hear about the customer service. What's your opinion about the gap between the front crossbar with the wind fairing and the surface of the roof? Any photos?

 

Always nice to hear about a company that has a good product and the service to back it up.

 

I know I've read where people have concerns with the gap issue but so far so good. Wind noise is pretty minimal. Note that the pictures only show 4 bars as I have yet to install the replacement bar due to crappy weather.

 

Yes, so important. Good service always hooks me into their repeat customer database..

 

Keep us updated on how you attach stuff to it, please.

 

I'll do that but it will likely be April when I'm headed to Moab before I do anything serious with the rack. Here's a little Youtube clip that talks about the LFD crossbars:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3cPQa3SiUI

 

Thanks for the photos. It appears there's sufficient clearance under that fairing bar. Did you add the edge trim, or did it come installed?

What a difference from the stock cross bars...IIRC, the kit comes with 4, so you added the wide bar?

 

Pinch (or edge) moulding was in the box - its super easy to install using a small rubber mallet to drive it in place.

 

Finally got these to post - the older I get...... Anyway, the fifth bar got installed today and I through a level across it to check alignment - all good.

 

Looks like the aero bar clears the roof with plenty of space, good deal!

Kind of crazy how much variation there is between vehicles.

 

Thanks for sharing your experience and pictures. Are you experiencing wind noise at certain speeds?

Agree. The gap on the 4R in the video shows to be much smaller.

 

The gap on mine was negative lol. It pushed down the roof sheet metal with the rubber trim installed.

 

Does anyone know the cause of this? Is it tolerances in the crossbars/rails/roofs, different rail systems, or is there play to adjust vertically? There seems to be too large of differences to just be manufacturing tolerances.

 

I don’t know why some are close and some are not but I do know there was no vertical adjustment on mine. I didn’t put the rubber molding on it though. It’s got good clearance.

 

Good question. No adjustability at all for vertical. LFD told me it’s variances on Toyotas end.

Ive seen other people post problems with tolerances on other products too. Sliders, skidplates etc across different manufacturers. Reading responses from other people’s experiences, the other manufacturers say the variances are on Toyota’s end as well. On my caliraised sliders too, I had to ream out a bunch of holes (and not by a small amount)

I dont know, but I have a hard time with the idea that toyotas vary by 1/4 to 1/2 inch from one vehicle to another. If that were the case, toyota would hire gunsmiths at their factories, since every part they piece together would require modification.

 

Agree with this. Too significant a difference!

 

Should you end up installing the LFD kit consider checking the tightness of the retention bolts after about a week of running around. When I went to install the 5th bar I found several bolts that were lose. Theres always the possibility that I screwed up and didn’t get them all tight… However, this time I took extra steps to ensure every bolt assy was gudntite….

 

Have you put any weight on the bars like a Thule box or anything? I wonder if that front bar would bow and touch the roof?

 

Not yet but when I do I have some surplus 1/4” silicone strips I plan to place under the front bar just for good measure..

 

No significant weight on my LFD 3/4, probably less than 100 pounds. But I haven't noticed any additional sag with weight up top. I still have 5/8" or so loaded or not. Worst case if you think there's not enough clearance would be to take a grinder and carve out some metal. Good idea from Sandbuster too about checking the bolts. I had a few loosen up.

 

FWIW, I installed this crossbar system today. My front fairing touches the roof with the door trim installed. It's doesn't push down to negative on the roof as there is a mm or two of play in the rails/crossbars to move up or down.