Front Runner Slimline II Roof Rack + Light Bar Installation Issues

[JBHorne]

Hi all,

I wanted to provide an update on my Front Runner Roof Rack installation. I took advantage of their Black Friday deal and ordered the roof rack and light bar along with some other accessories including the wiring harness, hi-lift jack mount, ladder brackets, Monsoon bag, and several “Stratchits” and tie down rings. Total was ~$2,150.

I commented on another thread regarding the installation of the roof rack here, so I won’t go into too much detail here, but be careful! Front Runner does not include proper directions as to mounting their racks. The factory Toyota brackets need to be removed VERY carefully and a specific way, or else you’re in for a surprise repair. @Yossarian posted a great graphic from the Toyota service manual detailing the procedure – Front Runner should have absolutely included this and would have saved me a great deal of time!

Overall the rack is made very well, and it’s one of the best looking and functional racks out there with its slotted design and movable tie-down points. The good part is that the rack is very functional and the combination of the stratchits with movable tie down rings has come in quite handy (I buy a lot of wood for woodworking projects). The monsoon bag is nifty, too.

Now comes the bad part – the light bar installation . I bought this rack as I liked the look of installing the light bar under the rack itself in lieu of the wind deflectors. So, I get all the mounts installed including the rock guard, and guess what? It doesn’t fit . The guard blocks the sunroof’s operation. After contacting Front Runner support, I informed them that their specifications – both in the manual and online – are wrong.

The light bar actually requires 95 mm of installation clearance under the rack, not the 90 mm as stated. Apparently, the old guard design was flat and fit within the 90mm specified, but the new guard has a bend in it which extends the height requirement.

I inquired with Front Runner support if they were able to either send a replacement guard or modify the mount such that it would work, to which they replied they will be “adjusting the specs on the light bar instructions, but not making any changes to the mounting system of the 200-series rack.” Really? So they acknowledge this is an issue, but instead of making their products better, they opt to just change the specifications ex post facto. That’s not my idea of a solid company that cares about the quality of their products and customer satisfaction.

Now I am left with the only remaining option to install the light bar on the front using the alternative mounting brackets – not ideal and not what I wanted. I perform this modified installation and then come to find out another issue – when front mounted, the light bar extends above the roof rack line by about 5mm, such that if you have a long object on the roof – like plywood boards – they will be resting on the light!

All around this is just poor design and could have EASILY been rectified with engineering the brackets slightly differently. This would be readily apparent on any CAD drawing. According to support, Front Runner has zero interest in modifying the front mount bracket either.

Now onto the final issue, I go to connect the wiring harness which I just spent hours running neatly from the battery through my power distribution block, grounding block, mounting the relay, puncturing and sealing the firewall gasket, installing the switch, and running the cable up the A-pillar windshield molding, only to have the connector (which I believe is an Amphenol ATP connector) literally fall off. No joke, the thing was held on from the wiring harness side with 1/32” wire stripped and no solder or heatshrink.

I tried to get the Amphenol connector open to re-solder, however cannot for some reason, so I requested Front Runner to ship a new connector. What did they send me? A new pigtail – the one I obviously already have from the light bar purchase itself (the wiring harness, optionally purchased, has its own).

Also, as the pigtail coming off the light bar is already 12” or so, now I’ll have an extra 12” of pigtail on top of my roof to hide, not to mention solder the leads onto the existing harness – not the clean install I was hoping for (yes, I do own a pair of wire cutters, but that's not the point ). Otherwise I could spend another several hours running the wiring harness again, which was siliconed (is that a word?) in from water ingress. I asked Front Runner to cover the installation cost, to which they refused, so I’m on the hook for re-installing their defective cable. Again, no concern given to the fact their wiring harness connectors were loosely crimped on and bound to fail.

I guess the bottom line is that I’m not happy after spending this much money for everything to have to use the front-mount option and risk damage to the light caused by objects resting on top of it, and the lack of concern by Front Runner for their lack of proper measurements. They sent me a pigtail I already had, and that’s the extent of the support I received (great customer service, eh? ). I will be finding the ATP04-2P connector (which I had to research to figure out what it was as Front Runner couldn’t answer that) on my own and fixing this the right way.

Finally, and not to add fuel to the fire, but I do wish the hi-lift jack had a better, more integrated locking system. I ran an adjustable cable lock through the lock down ring, through the jack itself, and then around the rack. This works, but it would be much cleaner to have an integrated locking mechanism.

I hope this review assists others in making the determination if the Front Runner rack is the right product for them. I know what I'll be doing this weekend...

In addition, I will be posting two more reviews this weekend after I finish my Air-On-Board "oem look" switch installation and also a special interior light LED upgrade, so look for both of those coming soon!

Now, here she sits in in all her glory!

 

[TeCKis300]

Sorry to hear your issues. That is quite a bit of money for a premium product, for which they should have tried to work with you more to resolve issues. Premium products survive on premium service. You tried to help them and the next guy, which they should have been more receptive to.

That said, this is generally par for the course with aftermarket stuff in my experience. And is also why I prefer OEM stuff as they go through meticulous verification and validation, rather than letting the end user be beta testers.

For the connector, there's no magic in that ATP04-2P connector. You can supplant it with just about any connector. Possibly something better and lower profile for that spot.

BTW, she's looking good!

 

[JBHorne]

Sorry to hear your issues. That is quite a bit of money for a premium product, for which they should have tried to work with you more to resolve issues. Premium products survive on premium service. You tried to help them and the next guy, which they should have been more receptive to.

That said, this is generally par for the course with aftermarket stuff in my experience. And is also why I prefer OEM stuff as they go through meticulous verification and validation, rather than letting the end user be beta testers.

For the connector, there's no magic in that ATP04-2P connector. You can supplant it with just about any connector. Possibly something better and lower profile for that spot.

BTW, she's looking good!

Thanks for the feedback @TeCKis300. Honestly, after having worked with countless vendors to help design their products for the 200 series over the past nine years (not bragging here, but I was one of the first three on IH8MUD upgrading their 200 series, and given that the other too have sold theirs, does that make me the first? ) I was quite surprised at their lackluster response. The other companies I worked with went back to the drawing board and had a replacement product for me nearly immediately. I mean, how hard is it to modify a CAD drawing and have a new adapter plate cut that would solve this issue rather than bury it under the rug? This won't just affect 200 series as well as most roof lines are slightly curved. I doubt many vehicles have the 95mm clearance the light bar mount requires for bottom mounting. Putting an angle on the front mount would be stupid easy -- in fact, that's exactly what I'm probably going to have done at a local machine shop! If I could do it, surely they could as well...

As for the ATP04-2P connector, I'm sure I'll figure that one out. It was upsetting enough after moving the light that this happened, so I somewhat threw my hands in the air. It will be finished this weekend, no doubt. I will keep the same connector though as I don't want to have to cut the one on the light bar itself. Also, as much as I enjoy drilling (yeah, that's what she said), I'm not sure I'm up for the task of putting a double-ended connector through the roof just quite yet! Now maybe with some that will change...we shall see, we shall see...

 

[DezRoamer]

Thanks JB,
Good information to know.
If and when I buy a 200, My plans were to fit the Front Runner rack, I've bought 3 of them for 3 different trucks, (LR3, FJ Cruiser, and my current 4Runner TRD Pro) I've always thought these were one of the best roof racks on the market. Versatility, weight savings and quality are three reasons why I chose Front Runner. But it does appear they totally botched this for you.
Good luck, the truck looks great.

Jeff

 

[DezRoamer]

Thanks JB,
Good information to know.
If and when I buy a 200, My plans were to fit the Front Runner rack, I've bought 3 of them for 3 different trucks, (LR3, FJ Cruiser, and my current 4Runner TRD Pro) I've always thought these were one of the best roof racks on the market. Versatility, weight savings and quality are three reasons why I chose Front Runner. But it does appear they totally botched this for you.
Good luck, the truck looks great.

Jeff

 

[619TOY]

The connector is just a knock off of a Deutsch connector, but I believe AMP offers two different types of pins and it looks like yours uses the non-Deutsch, non-cylindrical version. That said, it's still a pretty common connector. If I had one I'd give it to you. This is how they usually assemble and lock. Once the plastic lock is removed, you can usually remove pins with a pick tool and re-crimp maybe. These are actually what my light bar uses. Sorry for the out of order pics iPad...

 

[SmoothLC]

Bummer to read this. I had planned to get another FR rack when I upgrade to a 200. FR has been excellent to work with but the 100 was a known platform. They should have fixed this for you.

 

[JBHorne]

@619TOY thanks for the info. I managed to pull the connector apart and soldered it back on.

The word "overkill" isn't in my vocabulary.

Also finished up the silicone where the cable exits the A-piller above the windshield. There isn't room within the channel past this point. Unless you are looking for it, you don't even know it's there!

 

[yonah]

I'm glad you got the connector issue resolved.

Following a recommendation from a friend (who is a mechanical engineer and avid overland/4x4 enthusiast), I bit the bullet a few years back and purchased a Weatherpack kit with the crimp tool and 30, or so, disconnects with various plugs, gaskets, crimps, etc... It was well worth it as I've used Weatherpacks exclusively since then for all of my quick disconnects. I've never had one fail or ingest water. They're a solid and simple product.

Looks good and I love your 200. I keep seeing these colormatched ARB bars and I'm beginning to go back on my word to keep my 2011 stock with no armor or lift :/. It looks so clean. Thanks for sharing.

 

[JBHorne]

Just wanted to drop an update on this issue. I sent an email to Steve Hayes (Director of Operations), and Tina and Dave Payne (Owners), back on December 15th. I have not received a reply from any of them concerning this matter. I figured I'd give them a shot at resolving the issue as some tech support worker may not care as much, but it's pretty bad when not even the owners of the company care about their customers enough to respond to an email.

 

[LALC]

Thanks for posting all of this and for the update. I was planning to eventually make a big $2k+ purchase with Front Runner as well, but I will find another manufacturer.

 

[Taco2Cruiser]

Sorry to hear that. I've always had wonderful results with Front Runner. I had their first version of the pro table slides and... well they were terrible. I called a year later, said my problem, and they sent me new sliders for free, that completely fixed the issue.

While I know it's not the right answer to fix the light under the rack issue. But for what it's worth since you have both. Why not place a very small spacer between the rack and the foot kit to make clearance? Or simply make or go to a metal shop and have a new rock shield made?

Again, I agree that I should of worked from the get go, but why not find a solution? Like my Slee compressor mount that cut into factory wires, I cut the bracket to fit.

 

[JBHorne]

Sorry to hear that. I've always had wonderful results with Front Runner. I had their first version of the pro table slides and... well they were terrible. I called a year later, said my problem, and they sent me new sliders for free, that completely fixed the issue.

While I know it's not the right answer to fix the light under the rack issue. But for what it's worth since you have both. Why not place a very small spacer between the rack and the foot kit to make clearance? Or simply make or go to a metal shop and have a new rock shield made?

Again, I agree that I should of worked from the get go, but why not find a solution? Like my Slee compressor mount that cut into factory wires, I cut the bracket to fit.

You have a smart idea to raise the rack up the requisite 5mm. Wouldn't be too hard, except that's quite a bit of work to remove the rack, add 8 spacers all around, and reinstall. I could also get a flat guard made, so that's a good idea as well. I have no issue with retrofitting the product, BUT the fact remains -- I shouldn't have to. I paid for a professionally developed product from a reputable company and it should work as designed. The response "we'll just update the instructions" doesn't sit well with me, and such is the purpose of this thread.

I do appreciate the suggestions, but in all honestly, my plan is to probably have new front mounts made that drop the light position by 10mm so that large objects clear the top of the light. It's a fairly easy mount to fabricate. Basically the mounts that Front Runner should have designed in the first place.

 

[Taco2Cruiser]

You have a smart idea to raise the rack up the requisite 5mm. Wouldn't be too hard, except that's quite a bit of work to remove the rack, add 8 spacers all around, and reinstall. I could also get a flat guard made, so that's a good idea as well. I have no issue with retrofitting the product, BUT the fact remains -- I shouldn't have to. I paid for a professionally developed product from a reputable company and it should work as designed. The response "we'll just update the instructions" doesn't sit well with me, and such is the purpose of this thread.

I do appreciate the suggestions, but in all honestly, my plan is to probably have new front mounts made that drop the light position by 10mm so that large objects clear the top of the light. It's a fairly easy mount to fabricate. Basically the mounts that Front Runner should have designed in the first place.

Yeah, I thought about a better bracket design after I posted that. Will always agree with you that products should work, it’s sad to Head the customer service side of Front Runner fail on you like they have.

Maybe something happened, but yeah, poorly design product.

The best way to get back is to develop a better products that they failed at.

For instance, I will be making a windfairing on my FR rack, and BudBuilt might turn it into a production item. No better way for all of us to get what we want that to have companies rise to the occasion, or fail and make room for those who are better.

 

[WillW]

Just wanted to drop an update on this issue. I sent an email to Steve Hayes (Director of Operations), and Tina and Dave Payne (Owners), back on December 15th. I have not received a reply from any of them concerning this matter. I figured I'd give them a shot at resolving the issue as some tech support worker may not care as much, but it's pretty bad when not even the owners of the company care about their customers enough to respond to an email.

I imagine things were probably crazy around that time, I would try following up.

 

[JBHorne]

Update:

I sent a follow up email to Steve Hayes (Director of Operations), and Tina and Dave Payne (Owners) on January 10th. Steve replied with the following email. I am posting here as it is only fair that their "side" is expressed verbatim.

Hi Justin -

I just wanted to drop you a note after your email from yesterday. Before anything else, I wanted to express that myself and the owners care very much about all of our customers and make best efforts to find solutions to any issues a customer may experience. I felt that our email on the 13th addressed all of your concerns, and I did not see further correspondence was needed at that time.

I saw the thread on Ih8mud, and I have always been a firm believer of letting customers speak their minds freely on forums, without vendor intervention. However, I do encourage you to post this or any other previous replies so that the community can get a fair shake at interpreting the issues, and our resolutions.

We notified our engineering department in South Africa of your problem when it occurred, but unfortunately their winter break started Dec 16th and is 3 weeks long (it is summer in South Africa and they have a much more liberal vacation policy than we Americans!) and they just arrived back in the office on Monday. We will be sure to urge them to make the spec correction on this product a priority in the coming days.

The lowering of the light in the brackets in the forward position is on their list of MKII modifications for this product. When that version is released we will gladly send you a pair so you can swap them out. I know it’s not the same as your expectations of having the light fixture sitting directly below the rack, but that’s the best we can do with your application.

If none of these suggestions are acceptable, you are of course allowed to return any or all your Front Runner products. We will gladly refund you.

Sorry for the frustrations. Feel free to contact me directly if you have any other concerns.

Thank you,

I am pleased that he addressed the modification necessary for the new brackets in the forward mount, however from the email it doesn't appear they are doing anything regarding the under-rack fitment position. Like @Taco2Cruiser suggested, lifting the entire rack with additional/taller spacers may be the solution, although that would leave a larger gap between the rack's sides and the roof line.

Note that the email to which he references in his first paragraph was the email from support below, stating that they were going to update the instructions only, and not modify the product:

The light bar and bracket set that we sent you can be mounted in various different positions. The light bar kits we offer work great with many of our racks, but are essentially a universal design. This is why we include 3 different mounting options with the kit. I have notified my engineers about the 5mm clearance issue, it sounds like they will be adjusting the specs on the light bar instructions, but not making any changes to the mounting system of the 200 series rack [emphasis added]. I would recommend mounting the light bar in a different orientation so that it can be optimally used. Many of our customers prefer mounting in front of the rack. It gives a nice clean appearance, and still allows you to use the wind deflector underneath the rack.

Also, while Steve didn't mention it, I note that the website has now been updated to state:

PLEASE NOTE: A minimum of 100mm (3.94 inches) clearance is needed between the bottom of the Front Runner Rack and the vehicle's roof in order to fit this product using the under rack brackets

Previously this statement noted the incorrect 90mm measurement. At the minimum future customers will now be aware (hopefully if they measure) that fitment under the rack will not be possible on our 200-series.


All in all, I am not going to return the product. The rack itself is a good product and I look forward to receiving modified brackets that correctly position the light bar.

 

[ckkone]

I had some issues with my rack and trying to get it to sit level on the roof. Frontrunner support was very helpful at trying to resolve the problem and they even sent me a 2nd set of rails to try for free. In the end I returned the rack because for the money it cost it should be perfect and I confirmed its engineered to sit flat. I'm not sure if they had a run of rails that were out of spec or what, whatever it was I'm a little bummed because I do think its the best looking rack available. Here are some pictures of the problem:

 

[TonyP]

That's bizarre. That would make securing stuff a little tricky. Especially something like an awning.

If you're looking for a similar rack, I'm dropping my rig off at Trail Tailor this weekend where he's fabbing up something similar but in aluminum and significantly stronger. No idea on the ETA though.

 

[ckkone]

I will be getting something probably a K9 or Rhino Rack. I spent 3 weekends messing with the Frontrunner and even tried building some spacers out of aluminum, in the end I just couldn't live with it and sent it back.

 

[TRAIL TAILOR]

That's bizarre. That would make securing stuff a little tricky. Especially something like an awning.

If you're looking for a similar rack, I'm dropping my rig off at Trail Tailor this weekend where he's fabbing up something similar but in aluminum and significantly stronger. No idea on the ETA though.

Yes, I'll be making a full aluminum modular rack for @TonyP rig. All 3/16" aluminum structure with a few strapping options; S and E track SS ratchet and the standard slots for hook straps.

J