Prinsu Pro rack

New member here! Hello everyone!

I jumped on a Black Friday deal and got my 4Runner a Prinsu rack. I’ve been wanting to ditch my Yakima basket for something more low profile. I love the look of the Prinsu and the load capacity on the Pro rack seemed worthy of the investment. While looking for installation instructions online, I ran across someone complaining about rain collection in the crossbars. They said the rain doesn’t have a way of draining once it gets caught inside and as I’m looking at putting it together, I can see their point. They said Prinsu recommended they dry it out after every rain. In Arizona, I’d think nothing of it since it’d evaporate in the heat after a monsoon, but I just moved to Oregon where it has been raining every single day and I don’t have a garage. Should I be concerned about the aluminum corroding if it’s filled with rain for months at a time? My thoughts are if it’s worth sealing the end of each crossbar before I put it together. If so, what would you guys use for that job?

 

I wish someone could come up with a kit that would mount all racks like a Sherpa rack. The way that Sherpa keeps water out is brilliant and why I went that route recently after reading and studying about the Prinsu and Sherpa racks (the only two, really, I was deciding between). But reading your post you say the crossbars. If the ends of each crossbar cannot be seen when mounted to the frame with screws, I would for sure fill them with black silicone and mount them to prevent water intrusion from each end. Black silicone can be used, I would think and not be visible at all.

 

Welcome!

 

I get a pro deal on Sherpa which would make it the same price as the Prinsu. Now I’m considering a return.
Kinda disappointed in Prinsu right now.

 

The Prinsu Pro addresses the structural weaknesses I have seen across three years of using a Sherpa rack. It looks like the Sherpa mounting system is still better than the Prinsu mount. I wonder if the Prinsu would mount to the Sherpa's rubber seals.

Keith Walters (@eimkeith) fabricated custom braces to reinforce the crossbar connections on the Sherpa rack on his personal FJ Cruiser. If he sold those I'd add a dozen to my rack and have the best of both worlds.

 

I would do it if you can get it at the same price-in half a second. Having just installed a Sherpa I was impressed with every single element of installation. It is really a brutally strong rack. I went out of my way to write them a rave review which I rarely do.

 

Welcome from Washington State. I've had the Prinsu Pro about 6 months and discovered the water collection concerns after purchase as you did. Luckily I live in central Washington where we don't get heavy anual precipt., however, I'm looking for a solution or will be switching RR. Thanks for the post and I'll be tracking this thread.