Anyone know if these things exist, specifically designed for the factory LC roof rack? I did a google search, but they all look proprietary- I see no "addon" basket for these factory racks.
Never heard of a factory basket but you could take a Yakima Megawarrior or any other brand equivalent and add mount it on the factory rails I don't really see much point doing that though since you would still be limited to the factory rail load bearing unless you are just throwing light weight items up top. There might have been some overseas variations that had a basket but even then most often they are a port added item Jaos is a brand that sticks out the most to me when it comes to aftermarket add-ons by overseas dealers.
Never heard of a factory basket but you could take a Yakima Megawarrior or any other brand equivalent and add mount it on the factory rails I don't really see much point doing that though since you would still be limited to the factory rail load bearing unless you are just throwing light weight items up top. There might have been some overseas variations that had a basket but even then most often they are a port added item Jaos is a brand that sticks out the most to me when it comes to aftermarket add-ons by overseas dealers.
I'm just trying to keep weight off of the roof itself (prevent scratches, more evenly distribute weight) and allow some stacking if need be. I travel quite a bit across the southern US and i'd like something a little more functional for the roof rack.
Thule and Yakima make excellent roof top baskets that attach to factory bars. I have a Yakima MegaWarrior that is on my new (to me) LX 470. It's perfect for what we do. New, these baskets are $300+. You can routinely find them on Craigslist gently used for under $200. Remember too, Curt makes an excellent roof basket that is nearly as good as Thule and Yakima and you can find those all day on Amazon for under $150. The only thing the Curt would need would be a spray of Rustoleum as it doesn't seem as rust-proof as the higher end offerings.
Thanks guys! All the searches I did turned up baskets that were attached to the Yakima/Thule cross-bars and door-attached rails. Thanks for the lead, Fellows! I like the wind deflection, should reduce drag as well..
I had a Yakima Load Warrior on my '01, worked fine. Got it on a friends and family discount, $200 I think. Looked sharp, I could stand on it w/out deforming (be gentle), and threw everything onto it. Only issues, as I recall were: needed annuall tightness check of the mtg hdwre, and tying down was sometimes a pain - the configuration of the rack bars (curving around and up) meant I would have to get creative with tie down locations.
But overall, a great unit, no big issues, outlasted the rig, and did the job. (stock photo below)
I currently have a Megawarrior on my 80 have had it for years it was originally on the factory rails and then I put it on crossbars for additional weight I have never had an issue with it.
if you're just using for general purpose, go for either manufs., can't beat the price. Also, I got almost zero fwy noise with the wind deflector installed on my Yak.
That's the one. Excellent basket by all accounts for the pricepoint. I see them on all sorts of vehicles here in Austin and strongly considered buying one. If I hadn't gotten a crazy good deal on a Yakima Megawarrior from my best friend's brother, I would would have gotten the Curt.
Im a big fan of the Megawarrior, and there's a 24" extension as well if you want an end-end basket. The Megawarrior works on stock crossbars until oyu want to put more than 150lbs in it, at which point you can swap out the stock roof rack for some extruded rails and some Yakima crossbars. I went with 4 crossbars and have put 600lbs in my extended megawarrior.
