ARB Roof Rack impressions? (1 Viewer)

[raoulduke101]

I'm about to purchase a roof rack for my rig and am leaning toward the ARB 73" flat rack and mounting kit. I've searched the forums but don't see a lot of feedback on these racks. If anybody has one of these racks, what are your thoughts? Thanks.

 

[nwfl4runner]

rocking it on my LX (Aluminum one, the ~80" one). Love it, it's low, can tie down everywhere. Just go ahead and save yourself a lot of trouble, buy the OEM mounting bolts from Toyota that the instructions tell you to reuse. They are some rubber/washer/bolt combo thing, and you need a bunch. That, and some Permatex black RTV (8xxx).

EDIT - do not use their fairing!!! it just forces the air down directly on the sunroof and causes it to vibrate like crazy.

 

[dubyahard]

rocking it on my LX (Aluminum one, the ~80" one). Love it, it's low, can tie down everywhere. Just go ahead and save yourself a lot of trouble, buy the OEM mounting bolts from Toyota that the instructions tell you to reuse. They are some rubber/washer/bolt combo thing, and you need a bunch. That, and some Permatex black RTV (8xxx).

EDIT - do not use their fairing!!! it just forces the air down directly on the sunroof and causes it to vibrate like crazy.

Do you have any pictures of your LX with the ARB rack on prior to mounting up the awning and lights? I'm trying to decide between the ARB flat rack mentioned here and the Rhino Rack or Prinsu.

 

[blznlw355]

I can post some pictures Thursday. I have the full size 84'' flat rack that I will put on Wed night.(the first one they sent me was destroyed but the box not damaged). Its going on a 2011 LX. I did a test fit after putting the fit kit on and it looked really good on the truck. @828Overland is our Instagram page there will be some up on it as well.

 

[PhuckItImDone]

Intrigued by the arb rack as well. May have to get into this.

 

[raoulduke101]

rocking it on my LX (Aluminum one, the ~80" one). Love it, it's low, can tie down everywhere. Just go ahead and save yourself a lot of trouble, buy the OEM mounting bolts from Toyota that the instructions tell you to reuse. They are some rubber/washer/bolt combo thing, and you need a bunch. That, and some Permatex black RTV (8xxx).

EDIT - do not use their fairing!!! it just forces the air down directly on the sunroof and causes it to vibrate like crazy.

Thanks for the feedback. Would you mind posting a pic of your rack, especially the supports? The pics on ARB's website don't show the supports very well. I'm curious if it's supported by individual legs as opposed to a rail like many of the other racks.

 

[dubyahard]

I think I like the more "tubular" style of rack on the LX just due to it's more sleek (or bulbous) body design. As much as I like the Prinsu on my 80 series, I'm just not sure it's my favorite on the LX. Gamiviti is about the only other one I would consider but trying to keep the expense bit.

Which ARB flat rack are you going for? Steel or Aluminum? Not sure if the aluminum is worth it. Looks to be about 19 pounds lighter.

 

[eatSleepWoof]

Which ARB flat rack are you going for? Steel or Aluminum? Not sure if the aluminum is worth it. Looks to be about 19 pounds lighter.

I'd absolutely go for the aluminium. 19lbs on the roof is not small potatoes, but more importantly, the aluminium won't rust, whereas the steel one will almost certainly be rusted all over in a few years. Whatever finish it has will be damaged by the elements, branches, gear you strap on it, etc., bare metal will be exposed, and nature will take its course.

 

[Fisher23]

I have the alloy flat rack, and got the alloy because a rack made of steel will rust and fast.

Took a bit to find clamps for the tube it's an odd size (53mm). It also makes a whistle sound using the front barrier piece, I haven't tried it with out it. I heard swapping in a light bar eliminates it.
I covers up the sun roof (which I don't use) so if you want that open you may want to mount it backwards and cut a hole for the sun roof ahead of time.
It uses the factory mounts .. and do read about removing the factory bolts "before" you install any rack. The OEM mounts have a backing plate that is free floating.
It's really sturdy. Easy to bolt or tie down stuff.

 

[nwfl4runner]

Do you have any pictures of your LX with the ARB rack on prior to mounting up the awning and lights? I'm trying to decide between the ARB flat rack mentioned here and the Rhino Rack or Prinsu.

Only one I got - it's family approved. I'll snag some pics of the mounts this evening

 

[Fisher23]

Only one I got - it's family approved. I'll snag some pics of the mounts this evening

Does your rack whistle at all?
I notice you did not install the front wind defector, and I think that defector is making mine whistle a little?

 

[nwfl4runner]

Does your rack whistle at all?
I notice you did not install the front wind defector, and I think that defector is making mine whistle a little?

Yeah, that thing was horrible. Forced air down onto the sunroof and made noise. Without it, rack was relatively quiet. I built a fairing (on my hood in the above pic) that I use for long trips.

 

[Fisher23]

Thanks .. I'm going to take it off.

 

[nwfl4runner]

Thanks for the feedback. Would you mind posting a pic of your rack, especially the supports? The pics on ARB's website don't show the supports very well. I'm curious if it's supported by individual legs as opposed to a rail like many of the other racks.

Here’s the support - for mine there are 4 mounting areas on each side.

 

[ethernectar]

I switched from the tall-sided rack to the flat rack (both alloy) and am pleased with it. It's much easier to load and unload. Like some of the previous posters I don't run the fairing, its quieter without.

 

[Angelo1]

I like the endless tie down options but would certainly have the roof expel wrapped as it would be difficult to keep it clean and protected

 

[dubyahard]

I switched from the tall-sided rack to the flat rack (both alloy) and am pleased with it. It's much easier to load and unload. Like some of the previous posters I don't run the fairing, its quieter without.View attachment 2209762View attachment 2209763View attachment 2209764

I put the same lights in the same place.... on the dash.

Do you have any more side profile shots, maybe from 1/4 off directly from front?

I'm stuck between this and the Rhino Rack Backbone system. Both seem very flexible and have options that do not extend beyond the sides of the roof, i.e. 44" for ARB and 49" for Rhino. My preference would be to run rear and alley flood/work lighting beneath the rack however, I don't know if with the narrower width the alley lighting would fit. I'd be using the rack much in the way @ethernectar is: storage for ground tent and WP cases for lighter weight camp stuff.

 

[eatSleepWoof]

I put the same lights in the same place.... on the dash.

Do you have any more side profile shots, maybe from 1/4 off directly from front?

I'm stuck between this and the Rhino Rack Backbone system. Both seem very flexible and have options that do not extend beyond the sides of the roof, i.e. 44" for ARB and 49" for Rhino. My preference would be to run rear and alley flood/work lighting beneath the rack however, I don't know if with the narrower width the alley lighting would fit. I'd be using the rack much in the way @ethernectar is: storage for ground tent and WP cases for lighter weight camp stuff.

I think the Rhino Rack is a better option purely due to the tie-down methods available with it. With the Rhino you can bolt things down, but with the ARB you're stuck using straps, or some u-bolt-like hackery.

 

[ethernectar]

Do you have any more side profile shots, maybe from 1/4 off directly from front?

Might be something like that in these pics here: #FrederickAfield (overlanding and camp snapshots) - themirrorpool

 

[BAY2MTN]

Might be something like that in these pics here: #FrederickAfield (overlanding and camp snapshots) - themirrorpool

sweet pics & the bags for organizing gear