Get more from your factory roof rack with t-slotted aluminum (8020) (2 Viewers)

[jLB]

Hey gang,

In the summer I keep an XL Thule box on top, plus maxtrax, shovel, and a pop-up shelter that I hope to replace with a fixed awning.

Someday I want to get a Gobi or FrontRunner rack for my 570. But today ain’t that day.

One common improvement is extra crossbars. But rather than do that, I decided to instead get some T-slotted extruded aluminum bars from 8020.net.

I like this set up a lot because it’s super rigid and will allow me to use aftermarket accessories (such as front runner tie downs and “Stratchets”.

Note that I left my front OEM bar in place - because I did this there is no extra noise. This weekend I may try and take it off just to see what it’s like.

I chose black anodized because I didn’t want it to look too DIY. I also paid a few extra bucks for milled access holes to slide accessories into:

Here is a finished bar w/maxtrax mount:

The whole setup was $130. I will add a third and maybe 4th bar. Very happy!

How exactly are the MaxTrax pins mounted to the 80/20 bars?

 

[tbisaacs]

How exactly are the MaxTrax pins mounted to the 80/20 bars?

MaxTrax pins are gigantic in diameter - I had to drill holes. I've since moved to carriage bolts with eye nuts. They slip into the extrusions no problem.

 

[IOPTURBO]

Google "m8 eye bolt"...major cost savings. Other than that, an outstanding job and one that's now near the top of the list.

Thanks, I wish I had googled that sooner but at least now I know and can economically add more. Got a source for the stratchits, preferably more heavy duty?

 

[Bryanmc]

About to order 4 bars from 8020, figured it was worth a bump. Still a good way to go?

 

[mahoolaha]

About to order 4 bars from 8020, figured it was worth a bump. Still a good way to go?

I would check out www.tnutz.com
Prices were cheaper than 8020 when I ordered a couple weeks ago.

Note that I had to chop 1/8” off the length I ordered.

 

[Bryanmc]

MaxTrax pins are gigantic in diameter - I had to drill holes. I've since moved to carriage bolts with eye nuts. They slip into the extrusions no problem.

What's your source for the bolts and eye nuts? Would love to have them here and ready when the 8202 bars come in. Thanks!

 

[tbisaacs]

What's your source for the bolts and eye nuts? Would love to have them here and ready when the 8202 bars come in. Thanks!

I ordered the eye-nuts from frontrunner - but others have found cheaper / more elongated on mcmaster-carr. The carraige bolts were from my local hardware store.

 

[prharper]

I would check out www.tnutz.com
Prices were cheaper than 8020 when I ordered a couple weeks ago.

Note that I had to chop 1/8” off the length I ordered.

View attachment 2296758

I have 80/20 rails and

I ordered the eye-nuts from frontrunner - but others have found cheaper / more elongated on mcmaster-carr. The carraige bolts were from my local hardware store.

I do have a set of Matraxx mounting pins and did have them on with the factory crossbars but wanted something lower profile and without the curve of the OEM bars.

I followed some of the advice @tbisaacs had previously posted. I ordered the FrontRunner eye nuts thinking they were sold in singles but received two in each pack so had extras. I also ordered 2 - 80/20 cross bars and brackets. Later on, I added a few more and went with Tnutz the second time around. I measured and grinded the 8 MM bolt heads and used an 80/20 channel for test fitment. I noticed the Tnutz bar channel was a tad bit narrower and had to grind a little more metal off the bolt heads to slide in the channel. YMMV.

I had a variety of bolts and tested several sizes and shapes. What worked for me was 8 MM stainless button socket screws. Had to grind the heads down some and the thread beneath it - on each side. I used a bench grinder so was pretty easy. For two stacked boards, I used 50 MM length which leaves enough room to add another 1-2 boards, otherwise go shorter.

Also used 20 MM length for FrontRunner rings direct to crossbars.
Photo below shows FrontRunner black bolt and my version that grinded on each side.
Plenty of options for you.

 

[Scylth]

@tbisaacs , have you tried using blue loctite to keep the bolts from coming loose. If that works, then you system if pretty rock solid.

 

[tbisaacs]

I did! I put some on last summer and haven’t had any issues.

@tbisaacs , have you tried using blue loctite to keep the bolts from coming loose. If that works, then you system if pretty rock solid.

 

[Scylth]

Hey gang,

In the summer I keep an XL Thule box on top, plus maxtrax, shovel, and a pop-up shelter that I hope to replace with a fixed awning.

Someday I want to get a Gobi or FrontRunner rack for my 570. But today ain’t that day.

One common improvement is extra crossbars. But rather than do that, I decided to instead get some T-slotted extruded aluminum bars from 8020.net.

I like this set up a lot because it’s super rigid and will allow me to use aftermarket accessories (such as front runner tie downs and “Stratchets”.

Note that I left my front OEM bar in place - because I did this there is no extra noise. This weekend I may try and take it off just to see what it’s like.

I chose black anodized because I didn’t want it to look too DIY. I also paid a few extra bucks for milled access holes to slide accessories into:

Here is a finished bar w/maxtrax mount:

The whole setup was $130. I will add a third and maybe 4th bar. Very happy!

@tbisaacs , I'm likely placing an order tomorrow for 6 sets of rails. A couple questions:

1) If you had to do it over again, what would you do different? Mounting hardware, rail length, using v notch shaped hardware vs "shimming" your own?
2) What hardware would you suggest with the initial order? I'm taking a trip in 11 days, so I'd like to get it usable right away. Likely storing bags up top, and recovery boards.
3) Anything else you'd recommend?
4) Lastly, how much room is there between the bottom of a rail and your roof?

Thanks in advance, and thanks for doing all the leg work to figure this out.

 

[tbisaacs]

@tbisaacs , I'm likely placing an order tomorrow for 6 sets of rails. A couple questions:

1) If you had to do it over again, what would you do different? Mounting hardware, rail length, using v notch shaped hardware vs "shimming" your own?
2) What hardware would you suggest with the initial order? I'm taking a trip in 11 days, so I'd like to get it usable right away. Likely storing bags up top, and recovery boards.
3) Anything else you'd recommend?
4) Lastly, how much room is there between the bottom of a rail and your roof?

Thanks in advance, and thanks for doing all the leg work to figure this out.

Great questions. For my use I’m not sure I would change anything. I’ve had my roof box fully loaded, maxtrax, plywood, etc etc and the cheap fasteners were fine.

If I were to put more weight up there, say an RTT, I would come up with a more substantial attachment to the roof rail channels. There have been other folks who have done this with custom mounts as well as the triangular corner mounts that 8020 sells. if I were really picky I would have paid to have the end wholes tapped on the bars and do something clever. But like I said for my use it’s fine.

Second change I would make is to experiment with making the front bar more aerodynamic.There are a bunch of ways you could go:

• Use a profile without a notch on the leading edge
• Use a rounded profile
• Retrofit an aftermarket fairing

There is very little room under the last bar. My Thule XT just clears the shark fin and only does because there is a channel in the box

 

[Scylth]

I pulled the trigger today. Super big thanks to @tbisaacs . A couple notes:

• I measured between the rails, and was almost exactly 43 9/16", so close that I bought 43 1/2"
• rather than modifying nuts, I bought the drop in studs, nylon washers, and 1/4"-20 eye nuts
• I'm using the economy backer plates between L brackets and OEM rails, and drop-in nuts between L brackets and Tnutz extrusion (just seemed best for each, that's the end of that logic)
• only cost not shown below is the $21.03 of UPS Ground shipping, and blue loctite (which I have several types of already)

Total cost is $247.09, vs maybe $2k installed for a Front Runner? That's $1750 I can now spend on a LiFePO4 aux battery system.

 

[Bryanmc]

I suppose this is old news at this point, but I was pleased to see that the wood I loaded up today cleared the fin.

 

[eatSleepWoof]

Has anyone put a RTT on the 80/20-modded rack? Is there enough room underneath the cross bars to fit the RTT mounts & protruding bolts? Seems like it's very tight.

How about room to get your hand under the tent and secure the hardware?

 

[Scylth]

Has anyone put a RTT on the 80/20-modded rack? Is there enough room underneath the cross bars to fit the RTT mounts & protruding bolts? Seems like it's very tight.

How about room to get your hand under the tent and secure the hardware?

My rack is going on Wednesday night, and if there are no surprises, I should have some feedback on Thursday morning. The mounting bolts on my Tepui look a little long, and may need to be trimmed.

 

[sdscolumbia]

Thanks to all for the good advice in this thread. I just ordered 5 rails for my 2008. I found these bolts on Amazon (they are M6) and look like they will fit into the 8020 without trimming: Amazon product ASIN B083F8LX11
These are the eye nuts: Amazon product ASIN B07GQXT5NM
Not sure if the eye nuts will be too small, but I really just needed them for tie down's. I don't put too much stuff on the roof at this point.

 

[Bryanmc]

Thanks to all for the good advice in this thread. I just ordered 5 rails for my 2008. I found these bolts on Amazon (they are M6) and look like they will fit into the 8020 without trimming: Amazon product ASIN B083F8LX11
These are the eye nuts: Amazon product ASIN B07GQXT5NM
Not sure if the eye nuts will be too small, but I really just needed them for tie down's. I don't put too much stuff on the roof at this point.

Awesome, please report back when you test these out!

 

[Scylth]

I installed the rails last night. Glad I ordered 1/16” smaller than I measured, as the fit perfectly.

What didn’t work was some of the hardware based on sloppy tolerances from TNUTZ. Slip in nuts don’t slip in, neither do the drop in threaded bolts. I ordered with the 9/16” counter sunk holes on each end, and they forgot to do that machining. I would have sent the whole thing back if I wasn’t leaving for Moab tomorrow. Fortunately, the design is simple enough that I think I can work around most issues long term.
The distance is only about 7/16” to 1/2” In the center of the roof between the roof and bottom of the rail. I would recommend attaching a roof top tent unless you had hardware similar to what front runner sells that will allow you to mount it from the top of the rails.
While I’m frustrated with TNUTZ, the overall product looks great.

 

[eatSleepWoof]

I came across this option, which is also quite interesting: 2014-2019 5th Gen 4Runner Modular Factory Rail Support System

The length of these cross bars is almost certainly not going to work for the 200-series, but the implementation is quite interesting, and with a lot of potential. Downsides is that getting a bolt in from the bottom will be nearly impossible without first removing a cross bar, due to how low it sits to the roof. Don't have that issue with 80/20 and being able to slide a bolt across the top.