Covering Maxtrax on the roof?

I bought a set back in November and have been happy with them. There's plenty of space between the front fairing bar and the roof, over 1/4-inch. No noticeable wind noise up to 80mph, and the bars are rock solid.

 

Click on the pic for a higher resolution version so you can see better the details. Unlike the pics above, mine came with weather stripping that you slid onto the integrated wind fairing crossbar. I had to cut it down to size, but it wasn't bad. I don't know if they just began including the weather stripping. I got mine in February.

 

Yeah, I got the weather stripping with mine too. I chose not to use it because others have reported having grit lodged between the weather stripping and the roof that abraded the paint.

 

Considering I had 10 years of "WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!!!!!!!!" with my previous Jeep, I'll live with a little paint imperfection if it means the sound is reduced.

 

I recently test drove a Wrangler out of curiosity, and the wind noise was... impressive.

 

Thanks for the pics. Looks like plenty of room under there.

Thank you. Crossbars look good. So you opted for the front windfairing bar and one wide bar for the rear, no center?

 

Yes. I later put on a Rotopax on the double wide.



I might eventually get a Rago stock rail awning mount and a basic awning. I don't care about having much more up there.

 

I like that set-up there. Where did you get the cross-bars allowing you what looks like easy ability to add stuff securely?

Thanks

 

There are a few manufacturers that sell cross bars. I think those look like the Artec ones:


https://artecindustries.com/products/toyota-4runner-5g-venture-cross-rails-2-pack

 

I can't tell exactly what those crossbars are since they're low res pics, but this is what I use. It's a similar setup, especially when it comes to the Maxtrax mounts.

Integrated wind fairing in the front front: I got the stainless steel version: https://lfdoffroad.com/collections/...ng-ruggedized-crossbar?variant=32547169730596
The crossbar I use in the rear. I got the stainless steel and wide version in order to mount the Rotopax mount. https://lfdoffroad.com/collections/...dized-crossbar-5th-gen?variant=39984512499748
Maxtrax MKII and mounting pins. I have the orange color and the 40mm mounting pins, though you could get away with the 17mm mounting pins. There is plenty of clearance for the 40mm ones, but it makes it harder to get the pins on the crossbars. You'll need some deep sockets. On the other hand, you could potentially use the extra thread protruding downward for fashioning your own mount of sorts to carry something under the Maxtrax. Check out the combo deal: https://maxtraxus.com/collections/maxtrax-mkii-recovery-boards

After you get the Maxtrax and the pins, go to Home Depot or whatever and get some small locks and a hefty pair of needle nose pliers. They'll keep your Maxrax safe and secure when you have the knobs on the pins turned into the securing position, and the pliers will help you turn the knobs because they can be hard to turn. You could potentially loosen a screw on the top of the pins, but I wouldn't recommend it.

 

Appreciated

 

How easy is it to mount the roto to the wide bar?

 

Decently easy, even while the bar's attached to the 4Runner. It still involves some turning your hands upside down to get the nuts onto the threads of the bolts, but it's not bad. It's a lot easier when you simply get the nuts and bolts started when the bolts aren't put all the way through the Rotopax mount. Get them started and then you can get a socket wrench in there and finish it up.

 

Victory 4x4. They are universal cross bars and you can add as many as needed to the stock rack. In my case i just needed 2 and the universal mounts were perfect since i like to fabricate things. Very low profile, adds no height.

https://www.victory4x4.com/product/V4RRK-CS.html

 

I personally prefer the East Coast. Just got to go out and find it:

 

Maxtrax may not be affected by UV, but Rotopax sure will. We used rotopax for decades on our SAR vehicles, and every single one of them eventually bulged to the point of being almost impossible to mount, became pink and see-through, and began leaking like nobody's business. And we were in a forested area for the most part, and when the ATV's are stored outside, they are under huge solar panels. I'll never buy Rotopax for personal use. For me it's Wavian Jerry cans and Scepter water cans.

 

I'm starting out with the Rotopax water containers and seeing how it goes. Realistically, I'm not going to see much use for much of this stuff. By the time I get a Rigd or whatever else spare tire swingout thing (this shows how much I'm going to be using this stuff, being able to take it off would be a big plus for me) I'll have a better idea for what I'm going to do. I have considered getting the jerry can attachment for fuel.

If the Rotopax water containers fail, I'll just have a good spot to put more Maxtrax

 

Love the pics. Is that the South Portland lighthouse and the white mountains by any chance?

 

you quoted my post by accident. Sorry, I couldn’t tell you which lighthouse.

 

Oops

 

Love the pics. Is that the South Portland lighthouse and the white mountains by any chance?

 

Yes it is, the most photographed light house in the world I believe.

I did a long trip hitting Baxter state park, white and green mountains all along the AT - NY, VA, WV, NC, SC, to TN and smokie mountains during Covid.

BTW that fist photo of the "New river" in WV is 260-325 million years old.