load warrior, mega warrior, off grid (YAKIMA)?

[landcruiser3DP]

i suppose i should hold out for a used mega warrior or an off grid if i can find them? thinking to put a spare up there and camping gear.

right now i have a pair of 1A towers and bars and will probably add a second pair.

thoughts?

is this thing here an old "load warrior" i guess or are there some really old yakima cargo racks that are bomb proof that i could touch up?

THANKS

 

[amgraham]

Kind of hard to tell with no real frame of reference in the pic but it looks like a Loadwarrior to me. I have one with the extension mounted to my stock rack. I think the Mega is too big IMO. I've had the Loadwarrior for about 15 years on my 1st gen runner, my wife's 4th gen, and now on my 80. It's been a good basket for hauling crap to the beach and all that. I have a hi-lift and shovel mount on it. I will say I briefly had my spare up there on my 1st gen and I hated it. It was top heavy, caught the wind, took up most of the room in the basket, and was a pain getting it up there and back down. I really wish it had worked better.

Also, you are probably ok with 2 load bars. They're not very long. Mine with the extension goes almost perfectly from the back of the sunroof to the back of the roof. Check my previous post for pics.. I don't have any handy on this computer.

 

[landcruiser3DP]

Kind of hard to tell with no real frame of reference in the pic but it looks like a Loadwarrior to me. I have one with the extension mounted to my stock rack. I think the Mega is too big IMO. I've had the Loadwarrior for about 15 years on my 1st gen runner, my wife's 4th gen, and now on my 80. It's been a good basket for hauling crap to the beach and all that. I have a hi-lift and shovel mount on it. I will say I briefly had my spare up there on my 1st gen and I hated it. It was top heavy, caught the wind, took up most of the room in the basket, and was a pain getting it up there and back down. I really wish it had worked better.

Also, you are probably ok with 2 load bars. They're not very long. Mine with the extension goes almost perfectly from the back of the sunroof to the back of the roof. Check my previous post for pics.. I don't have any handy on this computer.

OK. thanks. trying to get sorted here so that helps.

are you saying the sides in the mega make it sort of massive height wise?

one question was whether to get the extension. which i guess (?) means it would cantilever over the sunroof? wonder if anyone is running an extension with any of these baskets?

also. do you know if the mega is more heavy duty than the load warrior? i mean for me that would be a good reason to get it. but it is /way/ more expensive and much harder to find i think...

THANKS

 

[EvanD]

It really depends how much you're planning to put up there. Personally I wouldn't use my 2 Yakima bars for anything more then my RTT (about 110lbs). Even that tent and the mounts worry me sometimes.

I did use it for years with a roof box and wheeled it hard while it was up there but I never had much weight in it.

I'm saving some pennies for a full length rack with 4 gutter mounts on each side. Probably the Bowfin one.

I had my 35inch spare on a 4th gen 4runner up top for a while and it def sucked. At least when I had to use it.

 

[landcruiser3DP]

It really depends how much you're planning to put up there. Personally I wouldn't use my 2 Yakima bars for anything more then my RTT (about 110lbs). Even that tent and the mounts worry me sometimes.

I did use it for years with a roof box and wheeled it hard while it was up there but I never had much weight in it.

I'm saving some pennies for a full length rack with 4 gutter mounts on each side. Probably the Bowfin one.

I had my 35inch spare on a 4th gen 4runner up top for a while and it def sucked. At least when I had to use it.

the extra weight up high with the tire and the drag on mpg was what sucked? not getting up there to get it i guess? which pretty much means you need a swing out mount on the rear bumper or to mount it inside the trunk somehow?

 

[amgraham]

OK. thanks. trying to get sorted here so that helps.

are you saying the sides in the mega make it sort of massive height wise?

one question was whether to get the extension. which i guess (?) means it would cantilever over the sunroof? wonder if anyone is running an extension with any of these baskets?

also. do you know if the mega is more heavy duty than the load warrior? i mean for me that would be a good reason to get it. but it is /way/ more expensive and much harder to find i think...

THANKS

IIRC the mega is not taller or more heavy duty, just wider and longer.

Like I said, I have the extension and it runs from right behind my sunroof to the back of the roof. I can tilt up my sunroof and it just clears and I have around 3 inches of clearance at the back when my hatch is open.

 

[landcruiser3DP]

IIRC the mega is not taller or more heavy duty, just wider and longer.

Like I said, I have the extension and it runs from right behind my sunroof to the back of the roof. I can tilt up my sunroof and it just clears and I have around 3 inches of clearance at the back when my hatch is open.

OK. thanks a lot for that. i missed it the first time. really good to know.
THANKS

 

[cbpeck]

I have a Megawarrior with extension and have my spare mounted up top with the Yakima spare tire mount. I do not find the Megawarrior to be too large. It may be so if attached to the factory rack, but with 1A towers and load bars the megawarrior looks right at home atop an 80. More importantly, the extra real estate is invaluable when overlanding with a family of five.
My spare is a heavy 305/70r16 load range E tire, and it can be a PITA getting it up and down, but the only time I've ever needed to was for five wheel rotations. The vehicle might be a little more tippy with the tire up there, but I've never noticed it. I probably don't wheel as aggressively as some of you. I do know it increases noise and reduces fuel economy, but the Cruiser doesn't exactly excel in either of those areas anyway. Obviously a rear tire swingout would be preferable, and at some point I do plan to buy one, but the spare rides just fine on the roof for the time being.
Yes, I have five crossbars. I know it's excessive, but the Warrior line of racks are not particularly robust, and the extra bars help to distribute the load more evenly across the roof. The towers and bars can be found inexpensively on the second hand market and later sold for about the same, so cost wasn't much of a factor here.
If you look closely you'll see I also have a bike tray mounted on either side of the Megawarrior. We don't do a lot of biking, but when we do take the bikes somewhere I add three more mounts to the megawarrior basket for a total of five bikes on top. I can also add ski/snowboard mounts or any of the other Yakima products just as easily.
The flexibility and adaptability is why I went with Yakima in the first place. I know it isn't as strong or as cool as many of the other options out there, but I already had a bunch of Yakima stuff from prior vehicles, and I have to say the setup has worked quite well.

 

[cbpeck]

IIRC the mega is not taller or more heavy duty, just wider and longer.

Like I said, I have the extension and it runs from right behind my sunroof to the back of the roof. I can tilt up my sunroof and it just clears and I have around 3 inches of clearance at the back when my hatch is open.

I have mine mounted a bit further forward so that the front fairing is just behind the leading edge of my sunroof. I can confirm that the sunroof is fully functional without interference from the rack.

 

[landcruiser3DP]

I have a Megawarrior with extension and have my spare mounted up top with the Yakima spare tire mount. I do not find the Megawarrior to be too large. It may be so if attached to the factory rack, but with 1A towers and load bars the megawarrior looks right at home atop an 80. More importantly, the extra real estate is invaluable when overlanding with a family of five.
My spare is a heavy 305/70r16 load range E tire, and it can be a PITA getting it up and down, but the only time I've ever needed to was for five wheel rotations. The vehicle might be a little more tippy with the tire up there, but I've never noticed it. I probably don't wheel as aggressively as some of you. I do know it increases noise and reduces fuel economy, but the Cruiser doesn't exactly excel in either of those areas anyway. Obviously a rear tire swingout would be preferable, and at some point I do plan to buy one, but the spare rides just fine on the roof for the time being.
Yes, I have five crossbars. I know it's excessive, but the Warrior line of racks are not particularly robust, and the extra bars help to distribute the load more evenly across the roof. The towers and bars can be found inexpensively on the second hand market and later sold for about the same, so cost wasn't much of a factor here.
If you look closely you'll see I also have a bike tray mounted on either side of the Megawarrior. We don't do a lot of biking, but when we do take the bikes somewhere I add three more mounts to the megawarrior basket for a total of five bikes on top. I can also add ski/snowboard mounts or any of the other Yakima products just as easily.
The flexibility and adaptability is why I went with Yakima in the first place. I know it isn't as strong or as cool as many of the other options out there, but I already had a bunch of Yakima stuff from prior vehicles, and I have to say the setup has worked quite well.

View attachment 2007510

thanks man. that looks like the “budget play” i’ve been looking for. it would get me moving so i appreciate the help here.
- jon

 

[EvanD]

the extra weight up high with the tire and the drag on mpg was what sucked? not getting up there to get it i guess? which pretty much means you need a swing out mount on the rear bumper or to mount it inside the trunk somehow?

The wind noise wasn't great. The weight between the rack and tire was probably about the same as my tent, which hasn't given me trouble. I'm sure both hurt my mileage but that isn't why I have my cruiser.

Mostly I hated getting the thing on and off of there. Had to use my spare twice while it was on the roof and both times ended up simply putting the flat in the truck vs hauling it back up top. If you have a full vehicle at the time it's obviously not an option. I have a swing out bumper now and life is much nicer.

 

[bicycleagent003]

I also have the Mega option, which is just the Load Warrior with a section inserted in the middle which adds about 18". It's a good, budget option. I have never put the spare on top with it.
My suggestion is to get the Mega off Craigslist if you can. Then you can take out the center section if you choose and you'll still have a good size rack. Or, you can leave it all together and have a full length rack.
The rack does make a fair amount of noise, so be prepared for that.
One of the things I really like about the Yakima roof baskets is that they are just that - baskets. You can throw firewood, chairs, tents, sleeping pads, etc., in there and then use generic kayak straps to keep it all secure. I think the proprietary mounting mechanisms of things like Front Runner racks are money pits. Also, the flat racks look cool but are not practical IMHO. I'd rather have a basket.
My suggestion is to use a stretch net across the top of your gear, then two or three cam straps (not ratchet straps) across the top of the net. I've never lost anything off the top that way.

Good luck, don't let anyone convince you that you need to spend crazy money on a roof rack. Low budg here! It's a 25 year old truck, and you might roll it anyway.

 

[cbpeck]

I also have the Mega option, which is just the Load Warrior with a section inserted in the middle which adds about 18". It's a good, budget option. I have never put the spare on top with it.
My suggestion is to get the Mega off Craigslist if you can. Then you can take out the center section if you choose and you'll still have a good size rack. Or, you can leave it all together and have a full length rack.

One of the things I really like about the Yakima roof baskets is that they are just that - baskets. You can throw firewood, chairs, tents, sleeping pads, etc., in there and then use generic kayak straps to keep it all secure. I think the proprietary mounting mechanisms of things like Front Runner racks are money pits. Also, the flat racks look cool but are not practical IMHO. I'd rather have a basket.

Your description of the load warrior vs mega warrior is incorrect. The mega warrior is not simply a load warrior with an extension. In their standard form the mega warrior is wider and longer than the load warrior. Yakima sells extensions for both models, so either one can be made longer.

I agree that the basket design Yakima uses is ideal for a lot of things. When overlanding our basket is usually pretty full with three Plano sportsman totes, 5 gallons of fuel, a 5 ft rolled table, several camp chairs, and our spare tire. Other times we have five bikes on top of the cruiser. It may not be as robust as some dedicated off-road racks, but I really appreciate the flexibility of the Yakima baskets.