OEM Roof Rack or Not?

hey eveyone and good to be back. I'm thinking about adding a Toyota Roof rack to my 2016 OR4D and need some opinions and help. I'm hoping to add a basket at some point as well but not sure i will leave it on 24/7. pro's and cons please and pics help.

So I have decided to keep my 2016 taco but for awhile i was thinking 4runner. lets the mods begin

 

First off most are going to ask purpose and weight the oem rack seem to max about 100lbs recommended.

so if you are fine with that weight and you will be leaving your basket off then I personally like how the rack collapses and blends into the top of the truck.

By far seems to be the most popular is a prinsu rack for approximately another 200 dollars put out you will get yourself an all aluminum permenantly rigid mount flat rack system. I believe it is 475 before powdercoating and shipping.

If I had the money to spend I would get the stealth gobi rack or the arb rack. They by far are the best looking IMHO and there is specific mounting points for a few extra lights they are very well put together products.

so that gives you a couple options. all depends on what you want and your intended use. Just remember whatever you get it doesn't count without pictures.

 

I don't think I'm gonna load it down but thanks for your opinion on this,
i guess i need to build a idea and I'm sure the basket will weight 30lbs at least. I will do some searching

 

Got any pics of the ARB rack? I haven't seen that one yet.

 

my factory rack rattles - I am going to replace it someday

 

The factory rack with the crossbars extended makes a lot of wind noise. I put skis up there one time and I couldn't stand the howl on the highway. I got home and fabricated a bed rack. I have not used the roof rack again. If I had the plastic strips that came in the slots I might take it off but those stupid strips are $140 so ... not happening.

 

For some reason the 3rd gen Tacoma stuff is hard to find on their website but it there. Here are the ones I could find some are from SEMA and others are from ARB Either way I likes it a lot.

 

The picture says it all. Just installed this and it does add some wind noise. Not terrible, but you can definitely feel it in a cross wind too. Rated for 300#, very low profile. So low in fact that it interferes with the "pop up" moon roof position.
Slide bacK" is fine though.

 

Yakima and thule are good options too.i primarily use my rack for transporting kayaks. They get used almost every weekend from April til October. I have a prinsu.

Hindsight being 20-20, I almost wish i went with Thule Aerobars again. They're far more quiet, and take kayak and other sport carriers with less ingenuity.

Don't get me wrong, The prinsu rack is sturdy and looks good, but unless you're putting an accessory up there that's flat and is already a good option to drill holes through it to accept carriage bolts, you're likely going to have to fabricate something to suit your needs. Not a big issue if you have the time or means.

Aside from that, ordering a Prinsu is a nightmare. I'm sure both parties are good people, but it's just the facts. Nothing personal. And again, the product itself is well made for what it is.

Reasons I almost wish i went with Thule Aerobars again and might still

- Far quieter
- Removable
- No 4 week wait time (then 6, then 8, then miss a vaca, then radio silence for a long time, then 10). Again, nothing personal. Was just my experience with Prinsu.
- Not sure I want to fabricate 4 well built, functional, sturdy, folding kayak racks when I already have 4 thule carriers that are going to be more complicated to mod than originally anticipated.
- Rack needs to be partially broken down to remove accessories.

Tacomaworld loves them a good prinsu rack. But I suggest really looking at what your needs are. Good luck OP.

 

What bumper is that? How do you like it?

 

Get a Prinsu Rack and call it a day ;-)

 

Unfortunately my truck is still stock those are just images from ARB to show the roof rack they offer. that is the ARB summit front bumper

 

Does arb make the rack without the extra luggage rack?

 

Anyone else with the roof rack have problems with it being really loose? Like you can wiggle the bars back and forth. Not giving me the warm and fuzzy…

 

What will you carry in the basket? Had one on another rig and used it once while camping to move firewood

 

I have the OEM roof rack and it's perfect for my needs. I might tote an occasional ladder and that's about it and it's perfect for stuff like that. And any roof rack is going to add wind noise, some way more than others. And that's where the OEM rack excels. When you don't need the cross bars, they stow in line with the areodynamic frame. It's about as stealth as a roof rack can be.

 

I have a OEM and it only gets used a few times a year. Only thing I can lift that high are my fishing rods, so they get put on a ski rack up there when the bed is full of kayaks.

OEM is nice because when not in use, it stows away to the sides.

 

I would say I'm definitely qualified to answer this. I started out with the OEM rack. It looked good, but ONLY when the bars are horizontal. I hated the way it looked when they were stowed. So I kept the bars locked in place all the time, which created a shitload of wind noise. Also it limits you to what you can throw up there. I had maxtrax, gun cases, fishing poles, and that was about it. It wasn't until I went on a offroad/camping trip with four other people in my car and ran into serious storage problems with all our gear. That's when I decided get a real rack.

Fast forward to a few months ago I upgraded to the Sherpa Grand Teton. Best decision I made. Can actually haul things up there when the need arises, less noise than the OEM rack with horizontal bars, and looks better IMO.

Before:



After:

 

OEM looks like imo and barely holds any weight!

 

I like the OEM for looks but I never use it. I did put some surf pads on the cross bars one time to see if the old pads would fit. I drove wih the pads on and didn't get any wind noise, but I like the looks of the factory rack.