Roof racks

[Pradpiet Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Pradpiet]

Hi, I'm looking for roof racks for my Prado 150 series for general touring purpose.
Any advice RE 1/ Alloy vs steel?
2/ Best brand etc

Thanks

Piet

[Atherton Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Atherton]

Rhino Rack Pioneer platform is a great option, looking at getting one myself when the Gumtree gods permit.

[CamJam Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close CamJam]

I've got a Rhino Rack Pioneer Backbone system with the 2.1M tray and sold on it. Get it at reasonably regular 25 - 30% off sales at AutoB or AutoOne etc. It's the first thing that's pretty much going to go onto whatever car I get next.

It's lighter than other options (eg Front Runner - from memory the whole system is 27Kgs, whereas Front Runner was 32Kgs), lower than almost all other products out there (with a lift and the backbone, I am pretty much on the 1.95M limit for car parks), holds a good amount and it totally configurable. The bits and pieces for it aren't cheap, but are all one-off purchases. I'm looking at moving mine on, and it'll come off and be sold 2nd hand so I can put the money towards the exact same thing on my next car. I haven't noticed any fuel increase (I am sure there is, but its not much) and the wind noise isn't noticeable to me (snorkel is more noticeable).

[juz Member Find all posts View Profile Close juz]

Yes, carparks. I've been rocking an ARB Aluminium cage rack for over a year. Its a great rack for sure. However, I now have a 2 inch lift and my car won't fit into many undercover carparks. I'll be getting bigger tyres soon which will make the 150 even taller. Wish I had of purchased a rhino rack from the start.

[2016VX Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close 2016VX]

i have the pioneer platform with backbone system. I love its versatility and the huge range of accessories to chose from. It's not the cheapest roof rack system on the plant but it will outlast the car.

[Pradpiet Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Pradpiet]

Tanks, Sounds like the Rhino Pioneer is the go!

[Two89w Member Find all posts View Profile Close Two89w]

Rhino platform all the way

[Corigator Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Corigator]

The downside of the Pioneer is it's max load capacity

[Two89w Member Find all posts View Profile Close Two89w]

That is a good point but I don't carry heavy items up there, only bulky(when required)

[CamJam Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close CamJam]

The downside of the Pioneer is it's max load capacity

With the rails off, backbone on, you have 73Kg's - even taking into account Rhino's safety factor of 1.5. That's more than the 60kg usual roof-bar, a bit less than the 80kg ones. It's not too bad, I don't think. Especially if you look at he versatility of the things you can put up there (short boxes, spare wheels, gas cylinders etc). Still - each to their own!

[Russell Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Russell]

Hi The Pioneer looks good but I'm a fan of the Tradesman Oval racks - similar weight, very strong and range of styles including flat or open sides. We have the Alloy basket with low sides on our 150 and previously had a similar set up on a 90 series . Obviously depends on your touring set up and how you plan to use it...

[Disco,dewi Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Disco,dewi]

Hi all,

At supercheapauto they sell a similar product than the pioneer rack for half the price( $600 compared to $1100) and as far as my research goes it is of the same build quality. So I’m very keen on buying that, but the problem is there is no way of mounting it in a similar way as the backbone system. Their mounting system consists of having roof bars installed on top of the factory rails then bolting the actual rack on top of the bars. In my opinion that defeats the whole purpose of having a slimline rack. Now my question is, has anyone made brackets so that the one from supercheapauto ( Rola titan tray) can bolt directory to the roof of the car without the factory rails?

Another advantage with the Titan tray is that it has mounting points all around the sides of the tray where you can mount accessories( not just on top).

ps I called the manufacturer of titan tray today and they definitely don’t have these brackets and are not planing to make them.

http://www.supercheapauto.com.au/Pro...m-Black/525649

[Atherton Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Atherton]

Looks interesting, the concerns I would have with it are:

1) Not sure on the quality, supercheap is supercheap for a reason- And with a lot of stuff that's fine, just not sure about a big accessory like a roofrack. I know that the adventure kings ones rust like crazy on all the welds (have seen it happen to 2 mates with GU patrols).

2) It doesn't have any horizontal bracing across the middle slats (without the feet on the car, whereas the rhino is a self contained tray)- If it's of similar construction to the pioneer platforms, then those slats are just extruded section- Not really going to handle a heavy load in the middle.

3) Without a backbone option your height becomes an issue- as Juz said earlier. I know that with my backbone system and rack, combined with a 2 inch lift and 265/70 tyres my arse puckers up when I have to drive under low carparks. (2m ish is okay, but there'd be literally millimeters to spare.

I know the rhino is pretty pricy, but just wait for one of those sales where they give you 25% off- The price is well worth it in the long run.

[Disco,dewi Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Disco,dewi]

Atherton, I have to agree with you on the overall strength of the rack. If I was to make up brackets then the rack won’t be able to carry it’s rated capacity because I am using it without the roof bars that would have given it more support. I guess I should just fork out the cash and get a tried and trusted rack. As you said supercheap is cheap for a reason.

Thanks for the feedback.

[Graydog Find all posts View Profile Close Graydog]

Alternative solution with extra possibilities.
Replace rails with 3 aero bars from Toyota ($350). Easy to fit yourself. These are made by Rhino and sold with Toyota branding. They are about $200 cheaper than Rhino Vortex bars. (Go figure, it's usually the other way around).
Now you can carry all the surfboards etc you want at any time.
Buy the 1900 mm Rhino Pioneer platform only. Much cheaper without all the extras.
Drill 2 x 8mm holes through each of the aero bars. Throw the pioneer platform on and off as needed.
This way you get the strength of 5 crossbars with the platform plus the 3 Aero bars.
Get 6 extra locking tabs from Rhino to hold the platform on the aero bars, ss bolts with spring washers just fine.
When it's time to sell the car, as I have just done, keep the platform, fit new bars and go again.
Last big trip, in the previous 150, I had 150 kg of recovery gear, spare tyres etc on top.
Then from Port Hedland to Alice I added 100 litres of water.
Total 250 kg on top.(will prob cop a lot of flak for this).
Bottomed out plenty of times in unexpected washouts but all was good.
Always made sure I strapped as much as possible through the platform direct to the aero bars.
Ready to go again with the 2.8.
PS a flat platform makes it easier to slide stuff on and off.