Low profile roof rack 2023

I just recently purchased a 2023 Toyota 4Runner SR5. I was wondering if anyone had some good recommendations for a fair priced roof rack. (Low profile please). Live in Bay Area and have to be able to fit in parking garages.

I have seen roof racks starting from $600 - $1000+. Looking for $600 and below.

 

Come on bruv, you got that brand new 2023 SR5 Bay Area Money...spend some on a roof rack.

Let's go!

 

What is the planned usage of rack?

 

Don’t skimp on the roof rack and get a Sherpa Crestone!

 

I know everyone hates responses to forum questions that are totally not what they're looking for, so apologies in advance...

A roof rack is a long-term investment on your truck, and has huge value to you both from an aesthetic and usefulness standpoint. There are places to go cheap when modifying a 4Runner, but the roof rack is not one of them. A month from now you will completely forget that you paid 1k instead of $600, but every year you own your truck for you'll appreciate a good rack. A Sherpa Equipment rack is 100% the route I'd go if I did it over again. I am not happy with my Victory 4x4 rack. I've been to their shop, and the Sherpa is worth every penny. It is one of the few mods for your truck that you will never regret.

PS- Welcome to the forum!

 

Westcott Designs - low profile rack. Then again if you want budget and something that only last a few years if that then this isn't the custom shop for you. Best of luck on your adventure and welcome!!

 

Hi everyone,

Thanks for the words of wisdom. I could not agree more with getting a quality roof rack. I wanted to put my feelers out there to what you all would recommend. Price for some may not be an issue but who doesn’t want to save a few buckets when possible or if someone in these forums may want to sell theirs. I would be using it for storing temporary camping gear, possibly two small electric dirt bikes for my two daughters. I will look into the recommended roof racks suggested. Any web- sites or promo codes recommended?

thank you for the welcome to forum.

 

Thanks for the question. I am looking for a quality aluminum rack too and look forward to hearing more. Does anyone have any feedback on ARB's ALUMINUM FLAT ROOF RACK MESH? Also, have you looked into UpTop Alpha? $1,500 but it seems to check a lot of boxes.

 

In America there's a special sale after thanksgiving that usually gives pretty good discounts. Do you have something like that in Northern California?

 

speaking of roof racks,

• does anyone know the roof weight rating?
• do/what roof racks have both static and off pavement weight rating?

I don't see people about these specs. Seems to be blindly loading the roof and rack.

Edit-
I know stock roof racks have rating of 110lbs when evenly distributed (as far as I can remember). On what base people put RTT on roof / IG pics standing on roof rack / having lot of stuff? Where on the owner manual state the roof load rating?

 

If you're looking for a full length low pro, I'd go Sherpa or Westcott Designs... Otherwise, LFD crossbars on the stock rails which can also be used with a couple of their racks if you choose to upgrade further down the road.

 

Toyota 4Runner Owner's Manual (2022):
"Do not exceed 120 lbs cargo weight on the roof luggage carrier"

Stats per manufacturer websites:

-Gobi: 300 dynamic/ 600 static
-Victory 4x4: No answer (they say anything beyond owner's manual rating is "at your discretion")
-Sherpa Crestone: 300 dynamic/ 700 static
-Greenlane Offroad: 300 dynamic/ 600 static
-Prinsu: 400 dynamic/ 800 static
-Front runner: Stats not given
-UptopOverland "Alpha" rack: "The structural integrity of the racks far exceeds the weight limit on item (sic) you would mount (sic) them reasonably. We recommend not overloading the racks and referring to your vehicle specifications in order to not exceed the limit of your vehicle. All dynamic and static testing has been performed. Racks are able to hold a roof top tent, gear, and more."

Rhino Rack get their own section, because they actually have a calculator where you enter your owner's manual load limit specs (120 lbs) and it computes how much weight they say you can carry...
-Rhino Rack:
"Vehicle/System Load Limit: 120lbs
Roof Rack System Weight (excludes additional accessories): 47lbs
Roof Rack Cargo Capacity (excludes additional accessories): 73lbs
Off-Road Load Rating (excludes additional accessories): 48lbs"

CaliraisedLED don't specifically answer the question. They say what their rack can hold, but not what it can hold while mounted to a roof. As a side note, Caliraised are by far the best because they show their rack mounted to a silver 5th Gen, which reminds me of my truck...
-Caliraisedled:
"Most vehicles are rated for no more than 500 lbs of weight limit to the top of the vehicle. Our racks are rated to withstand well over 1000lbs amount, which will exceed the rating for the vehicle.
See report on running just (1) Extrusion Bar with over 200lb load! With 9 Extrusion bars on this rack, it's the vehicle itself that then becomes the limit to what weight you can load up on it!"

 

Not $600 but prospeedrack is the lowest profile rack I’ve seen.

 

So far with info we have people spend money to carry 120lbs which regular cross bars can do. Until Toyota give roof load rating it further reduce the weight carry capacity as all these aftermarket roof racks adds more weight to the roof.

I mean if we assume cargo weight on the roof luggage carrier = roof load rating, 120lbs - 70lbs roof rack = you can only carry 50lbs on the roof.
To me until some one find a document from Toyota stating the roof load carry numbers roof rack seems useless.

 

I don't quite follow your last sentence with how it's worded. Are you saying load carry numbers seem useless, or roof racks themselves seem useless? If the former, I agree with you, if the latter, I strongly disagree.

What a manufacturer tells us we can do vs what we can actually do are two very different things. For many decades people have been using roofs of vehicles as valuable storage space, and I will continue to do so. Manufacturers have to keep civil liability attorneys happy, and they do that by being overly conservative.

This guy doesn't worry about manufacturer specs, and I know he gets a lot of enjoyment from his roof rack. :

 

I meant to say until we have the exact roof load rating it may not be worth to spend lot of money for a roof rack.

I mean,
- if we assume roof load rating is 120lbs (since that's the only number stated in owners manual)
- if new roof rack weighs 70lbs
we spend lot of money just to carry 50lbs (120-70)

vs we could have used the stock cross bars to carry 120lbs.​

 

I see what you're saying from a strictly mathematical point of view, but you're definitely choosing to use the letter of the law as opposed to the spirit of the law. All we have to do is look at the factual evidence before us; hundreds if not thousands of 4Runners with aftermarket roof racks carrying far in excess of 120lbs cargo, while doing some of the most challenging terrain the vehicle is capable of, for decades on end. That data is far more meaningful to me than what a company attorney tells them to write in a manual.

 

Sherpa all day + Westcott designs hatch ladder for the win,,,, but don't actually do it that way nobody else looks like mine

 

I saw this guy on a road trip last summer. On his rack he had a RTT, a Yakima cargo box, an additional basket to carry a gear box, and if I’m remembering this correctly, not seen in this photo, a small gasoline generator!
Quite a heavy load.
If this fellow is on the forum maybe he’ll give some more info on his setup.

 

Nobody seems to mention LFD. A while back, I bought three LFD crossbars in stainless steel, including one with the integrated fairing. They looked stout, but super simple design that allowed any normal hardware to be used to mount stuff on. Unfortunately, I returned them because the fairing touched the roof.

That said, Ive been liking the look of their 7/8ths rack a lot, and since it uses the same crossbars, and the integrated fairing doesnt touch the roof. It seems to tick all the boxes. The stainless option guarantees no corrosion, even aluminum cant guarantee that.

Not many pics of that rack out in the wild. They have a full length version as well.

 

I love the Westcott Designs and the UpTop Overland but really wanted to see through my moonroof. After a ton or poking around I found the ARB Base Rack that measured 72x51 and has a bunch of assessors. It's welded, box constructed aluminum and mounts using the factory holes. I can run wires for lights through the box construction. One thing I would suggest is getting the wind deflector. The only problem is I can only tilt the back of the moon roof about half the space. (I never used it anyway) I bought the kit that included the wind deflector for around $1,300. The Aussie's know what they are doing.

 

would love to see pics of this setup

 

Great summary for the most considered racks.

 

Hey Gonefishing, if you're prioritizing budget - i’d suggest LFD ruggedized bars in your choice of widths, including one integrated fairing bar. We ran these before our current setup and while a bit of a hassle to install and make loadout changes, they are simple, stout and make the oem rack very useful. Did a good amount of offroading/travelling with this setup.

OR

Stick with the OEM aerobars and add a thule rack/roof top box that fits your specific needs. Thule has their act together.

for us, our Frontrunner Slimline 2 fit the bill for size, strength, adjustability, light weight and longevity. Only thing we gave up was low cost.

 

Frontrunner used to post their Slimline 2 stats as 660lbs static, and "use your good judgement or vehicle manufacturer #'s" for the dynamic load rating, as seen here on a vendors site:
FRONT RUNNER Slimline II Toyota 4Runner (5th Gen) Roof Rack Kit (Full (rhinoadventuregear.com)

Just fyi.

I normally carry about 150-200lbs on our rack, but would feel 100% confident up to about 300-400lbs dynamic. We've definitely had 600+lbs static up there with 5 of us (2 adults, 3 kids) in an XXL rooftop tent. It was perfectly stable.

 

Hi, can you still use your Thule box with your Frontrunner rack?

 

Yup, 100%. It’s bolted straight to the rack using four of the 8 factory holes. The rest are taped. No leaks, very sturdy.

 

I wonder how much those rooftop tents weigh that people like to haul around all year. With the rack, tent, some gear, and two average-sized Idahoans up there, I would wager that the roof load rating is being exceeded.

I use my cheap Go Rhino rack to haul a shovel and axe, mount for a backup LED, and occasionally gear or home improvement supplies. Works fine.

 

most normal sized RTT’s are around 150-200lbs

Upside is that most RTT’s take up most of the room up high, so it’s your tent and maybe an awning and some sand ladders, which probably only adds 30-50lbs.

That being said, all vehicles have a static (parked) roof weight rating and a dynamic (moving) rating.


Depends on the car, and roof rack system but, dynamic ratings are usually around 200-400lb max, whereas the static rating is usually much higher, up around 500-700lbs max.
5th gen 4runners are more than capable of a roof tent, 2-3 adults and a bit of gear as a static load, from what i’ve seen. Call it 600-700lbs?

 

I actually really like my LFD crossbars too. Have you heard anything about the 3/4 rack? Wind fairing touching the roof on that? I’ve got a sunroof, so the 7/8 wouldn’t fit. Also do you think the steel version will hold up?