1994 Prado - Roof racks and spare tire mounts (1 Viewer)

[onecrazyadventure]

Good Morning! I am looking for a roof rack that I can mount a rooftop tent. Any recommendations?

Also, where do you guys mount a spare? I see a barn door mount but I worry about the weight on the hinges, I think a bumper mount might be better. Or maybe a swing arm? What do you guys do about your spare?

added some photos below

 

[jblueridge]

If I had money I would import an Aiba Works roof rack from Japan.

 

[kgrove]

Three four options for the tire if you don't go for a swing out bumper:
1) order the tire mount and hang the tire on the rear door. This does add stress to the rear hinges and increases the likelihood of a squeaky rear door, especially if you go for a bigger 33" tire.
2) lay the tire flat in the rear cargo area. This become problematic when you use the 3rd row seats.
3) remove the 3rd row seats and fabricate a bracket to hold the tire upright using the bolt locations from one of the seats. I may go this direction if I decide to remove the tire from the barn door.
4) Roof mounted on the rack you said your looking for. The Prado is already pretty tall, so this would just add to problems with all but the tallest garage doors and some parking garages. Getting the spare up and down wouldn't be fun either.

I've always been surprised how many of these come from Japan with no spare tire at all.

 

[AirheadNut]

Best option for mounting a spare tire would be a bumper with a swing out tire carrier. Expensive, but would be the stoutest option. Factory spares were mounted on the rear door as mentioned above, and that works but does wear out the hinges sooner.

With regards to a roof rack, any adjustable gutter mounted rack will work as long as the towers are tall enough to clear the roof. The kind of rack you go for depends on what you intend to use it for:
- roof bars for the occasional load or bike/ski racks/rocket box
- expedition style flat rack for a RTT or more permanent cargo
- cargo basket for smaller loads and ease of tying stuff down

I have been using cheap lumber racks for a commercial van to hold my RTT for the past 7 years, they're super sturdy and have held up great, but I plan to replace them with a full length custom rack whenever I can get around to finishing fabricating it.