Roof Rack Advice

I will soon be replacing my existing Yakima basket with a low profile rack (possibly a ladder also) and have narrowed down my search to Wescott Designs, Sherpa and Prinsu. Each company offers similar racks and floor panels (which I want), but only Sherpa and Prinsu offer hardware for attaching accessories. Wescott indicated to me that their racks will fit Prinsu accessories.

I like how the floor panels for Wescott and Prinsu fit inside the cross bars, but Sherpa is attached to the top, and not sure if that makes it more difficult to attach accessories and mounting hardware. Not sure if any of these panels are strong enough to walk on (I am roughly 220lbs).

I also want to add a 40"+ light bar and am not looking at spending a fortune on the lights so looking at CaliRaised LED (or something similar), which seem to be an affordable option. Wescott offers a 44" cutout that will fit a 42", but Prinsu's 40" cutout won't fit a 42" light and they don't offer any other options other than for circular lights.

Thanks, and I look forward to recommendations including ease of installation, quality of construction, customer service....

 

I too have been considering the Wescott and prinsu but I’m not sure I need all that for the occasional use it would get. I was considering going with what you are looking to get rid of. I’m curious as to why you want to ditch the yakima before pulling the trigger. Thanks in advance.

 

Been in a similar boat (but I really am only looking for one for a full size rtt so a bit different) and I've narrowed it down to Sherpa (love the mounting feet) or Wescott (they are local and I'd love to support that). Both are solid options and I don't think I could go wrong with either. I think for you, I'd consider all accessories you want and see what the options are for that and then go with the brand that makes the most sense for that out of the brands you mentioned as I believe they are all top quality.

 

I will likely be saving the Yakima cargo box to put on my wife's vehicle as it worked great for attaching a large travel bag up top when we took a long road trip to Acadia last summer. I am really looking for something more low-profile and sleeker looking with the added benefit of being able to attach an awning and other accessories easier. I do lots of camping and prefer to have my Gazelle tent versus a RTT and it will be strapped down to the rack as well.

 

Thanks much for your reply. I agree if you will be using it the way you state. I would use it mostly with a waterproof travel bag as you were using it. I was wondering about the wind noise from the Yakima . I’ve had a couple of roof baskets before in different vehicles one was noisy and one was not. That’s kind of been my sticking point with buying another regular roof basket. I’m not wanting to deal with obnoxious wind noise. Thanks again

 

I have decided on getting the Sherpa Crestone rack and will likely get a 180 deg awning down the road. The Sherpa has lots of accessories like Prinsu, but I have read that they are built better, have better customer service and the accessories are much cheaper.

 

I want to support Wescott because they are local but I like the way the Sherpa mounts better and it looks easier to potentially add things on to (although any will probably be difficult with a full rtt)

 

Now after getting pricing on both Wescott and Sherpa, I am back to undecided. Wescott is going to be significantly cheaper and that's with a Cali Raised LED light bar. I am now leaning toward Wescott Designs and wondering if Sherpa accessories, such as floor panels, would work with Wescott. Sherpa panels are designed with many more slots, holes and other attachment points than Wescott and you can also get them in varying widths to accommodate different setups.

 

I don't think the floor panels would be interchangeable given the way you can convert the Wescott to basket style if you so desire. My hangup is wanting the rubber feet and not having to use sealant. I also believe the Wescott faring sits on the roof and I'm not sure how I feel about that if so. But if I could get the rubber under mounts from Sherpa and then install them on a Wescott I may go that route.

 

I did check with Wescott, and although they can't definitely confirm the panels would fit, they said that most all t-slop style mounting would work, and the cross bars would be adjusted as needed.

 

The Sherpa Crestone (which I have) has 1/4" thick side rails and mounting feet and use a rubberized mounting system that helps seal up the bolt holes and such to minimize the likelihood of leaks and uses factory mounting holes with a surface-mounted pair of feet all the way up front. The cross rails are pretty typical 40x20 extrusions. They're not bad, but they are a bit flexy. Spread the load out a bit and it's not really too much of an issue. I've walked across mine (200 lbs) and the bars flex a little bit, but they don't appear to be in any danger. The side rails are thicker than most of the others best I recall which tend to be around 3/16" thick. That played a role in my decision TBH.

The static load rating on the Sherpa rack is 700lbs and dynamic load is 400lbs. I've put a crapload of lumber and other things up there on my weekend home center runs and it carries it like a champ. Plenty of tie down options. I wouldn't mind a little less flex in the cross rails and have considered going to something of greater dimension or putting a piece of angle iron on the short side to stiffen things up a bit. But I haven't really needed to go down that road yet.

It is a bit noisy at highway speeds, so keep that in the back of your mind if that's a concern. Definitely noticeable compared to the factory longitudinal rails. If you're already using a basked, then you probably already know how loud things are.

My build thread linked in my sig shows the installation and a few use photos on pages 4, 5, and 6, but it's been loaded more than what's in those pictures. It's been a workhorse of a rack and can't imagine living without it.

~C

 

Thanks for that feedback. I have many things to ponder haha. So many options.

 

Jeff and his team over at WD are amazing!!! I have their low profile roof rack with a 40 inch Rigid light bar and several other products from them. You get what you pay for and WD stands behind their products 100%.

 

What is their warranty like? I think I would be happy with either product.