What have you done to your 5th Gen 4Runner today?

Yeah. There were (and still are) a lot of complaints about the "CNC" racks as they're called, especially the ones that use flat side rails made of quarter inch aluminum. They do almost nothing to prevent the rack's ability to twist and shimmy side to side, at freeway speeds and on the trail.

The Ecotechne may seem heavy and clunky in comparison, but the brake-bent steel siderails, front fairing, and crossbars work together like I-beams (or a boxed frame). When assembled and snugged down to the roof seams, it's immovable. I can rock the entire truck back and forth from grabbing any point on the rack without budging it a millimeter.

 

What’s the product number(s) for the entire set-up? Thank you.

 

You only need two items -

 

That is my concern with aftermarket racks. Ideally, the “basket” will be as solid as possible - but there should be dampeners between the basket and the roof of your truck. Otherwise, all shock from dynamic forces is transferred into the car’s roof.
Did you drill extra holes to get the rack secured to the roof?

 

I appreciate the info. Thank you.

 

Added 4 FJ cruiser cross bars to the pro rack. Trying to make it more functional. The fj bars are a little different but close enough.

 

That looks good

 

Very nice that is a lot of cross bars i think 2 extra bars would be sufficient enough but that is something else how much was each cross bar thanks

 

I would like to do this to one of my switches. What wire did you tie into?

 

Ordered the DiodeDynamics 29mm festoon bulbs for the dome light; Auxito and Yorkim do not fit properly and you will bend the case; the 31mm fit in the tailgate.
Also ordered 2 DD HP5 (194) bulbs for the puddle lights and 2 sidemarkers in pure white.

 

I got them for $30 each. Yea definitely could have gotten away with 2 but I just wanted the extra for the few jerry cans I carry.

 

Love this:
blue tint
clarity
blindspot




Almost same

 

Finally getting around to installing a CB Radio. Went with a 3’ Firestik with 18’ Fire Ring/Stud Mount, the Rago Fab Antenna mount, and Uniden Pro 520XL.

Had some difficulty running the line due to the sliding rear cargo deck, but managed to find a rubber grommet leading straight to the rear bumper. Worked out decent, but plan on re-routing through the bumper so it doesn’t snag on the trunk lid.

 

on my 2020 its white wire from the wiper heater. i will highly rec you check with a multimeter before doing anything cause the wire colors different depending on the year.

 

Nope. Weight and stiffness keeps it firmly in place on the roof seams. The rack is supported directly by the entire length of the roof.

 

that's great deal where did you find them at thanks

 

You have any luck with Jerry can? They changed design and I got screwed by them

 

Took the wife for a much needed date night. Started with me napping past our reservation to still making it. Absolutely best damn steak I’ve had a restaurant ever. If you’re ever in Knoxville I highly recommend Conners. Then we went and got gas and just got home from some very mild night wheeling to a scenic overlook at Windrock.

The kicker is I haven’t been pulled over in several years I drive like an old fart as my wife puts it and I just enjoy the ride. That all changed when one of the wind rock rangers pulled us over for being suspiciously....... clean.

that’s right ladies and gents. I got pulled over because I didn’t have any mud on my truck. In our years together we’ve never laughed as hard as we did when that ranger came up siren and lights on in the middle of no where because my truck was way to clean to be out night wheeling. All in all it was an excellent night and wouldn’t have changed a thing.

 

where did you get the extra crossbars?

 

So you have more than those small 8 bolts securing the roof rack to the roof? It is understood that full length racks spread the weight over the top as they rest on the weather channel. But, to keep it from sliding forward or when rocking side to side - is there more than 8 small bolts as in stock? It is those forces that I am concerned with that are being transferred into your roof.
Applying force from top down - aftermarket roof rack wins because it spreads the weight over a greater area. Now rock the vehicle side to side (or abrupt breaking) and everything (all the load you’ve placed on the rack plus the weight of your rack itself) is still applying pressure to the same small bolts and the mounting areas of your roof. Being full length rack provides zero advantage.
Also, stiffness is good in certain areas - in others - elasticity is better to provide dampening. Good looking rack though

 

Craigslist, but their available through dealerships. A little more expensive there tho.

 

Picked up this RTT Mt Rainier Hybrid

 

Finished the frame to my low profile storage and sleeping platform with 60% seat delete.

 

First snow she seen haha

 

Today's 4Runner project- install the Canvasback cargo covers. They are excellent quality and stitched to match the rest of my interior, Black with red stitching. Look forward to having the added protection and an interior that matches.

 

Frankie got a good cleaning!

 

All you need now is to get some blacked or smoked out tail and head lights!
Looks good!!

 

I heard you Texans got some snow today. Some family that lives down that way sent some pictures out of the blue (not pun intended) and I was shocked!

 

No, it is only held by the 8 factory bolts. But, only a small percentage of the shear force you're describing is transferred directly to the hardware. Consider that a two-piece system joined with tensioned bolts is no longer solely reliant on the bolt's resistance to shear. Instead, a large amount of frictive force between the two plates is providing most of that. This is true for almost every system joined by bolts, if mounting surfaces are properly in plane with one another. We'd never be able to bolt together building frames and bridge trusses if they were only held in place by the bolts themselves.



Similarly, the rack is no longer solely dependent on the bolts to resist shear. The rails are firmly snugged to the roof and have become an interdependent system. This is as much true of this rack as it is the factory rack, with its wide mounting feet.The rubber weatherstripping on the roof seams provides a small amount of damping, as well as the firm silicone washers that the mounting plates are sandwiched between.

I will agree that there is no way this rack has been as thoroughly engineered and tested as a factory rack system. But it's considerably less dependent on isolated bolt shear than other racks with a similar aesthetic.

 

Agree with all points made - still stand by the belief that people with aftermarket racks will be more prone to overloading. Another point to the diagram you provided is that decrease on the pressure to the bolt provided by the two pieces sandwiched together is also dependent on how the pressure is distributed between the two plates - in our case roof rack’s mounting peg and the roof of the car. I doubt that the peg and the roof are contour-conforming and then add in the fact that there is a gasket between the two which will inevitably provide slip.
But we are biking the heck out of it now. Lol my point was that for sensible loading stock rails are more than sufficient and do provide advantage over going aftermarket which can provide with false sense of durability causing people to be more likely to overload. For an RTT stock rails and those Yakima bars are far beyond sufficient