Official ARB LC200 modified BASERACK rolled out today!

[7000ft]

Has anyone found a solution to remove the shark fin while keeping the waterproofing/integrity of the roof intact? I don't care about factory XM or GPS, I'm fine to lose it to take advantage of the low profile base rack as it was intended, not with spacers on the roof and another 1.5-2" of height.

The problem might be finding an LC200 low profile BASE mounting kit. I understand the ARB dealers returned them to exchange for the new higher mounting kit. You might try SLEE to see if they have any still in there inventory. Also, the new kit add approx. 1" of height to the overall height,. Plenty of photos on Mud with the new mounting kit.

 

[TCM]

Just finished installing the updated version of the ARB base rack last night. As expected from ARB, great fit and finish. The shark fin antenna clearance is no longer an issue (see picture). Although the single piece aluminum welded rack is one of the reasons I went with this rack, it makes installation more tedious and difficult. The side rails need to be pre-installed to the rack and aligned perfectly and symmetrically. Then the entire unit has to be lifted and seated onto the supplied 'blade' mounts on the roof, which is not an easy task even with two people. I first laid down a large rug pad (rubberized backing toward the roof) which then allowed me to slide the assembled rack, with cardboard still underneath, on top of the vehicle. This would obviously be easier if I had a hoist in my garage.

All said and done, I am very happy with the build quality. The included wind deflector eliminates cabin noise on routine local driving (<45 mph), though I haven't taken it on the highway yet.



View attachment 2829560

The ARB rack looks great on your Cruiser. Even with the additional height of the taller mounting rails it still has a very low profile appearance. Easily as low as anything else on the market for rigs with the shark fin antenna.

Would it be possible to get a photo from the front that clearly shows the wind deflector? How tight is the gap between the deflector and the roof?

 

[jdha777]

The ARB rack looks great on your Cruiser. Even with the additional height of the taller mounting rails it still has a very low profile appearance. Easily as low as anything else on the market for rigs with the shark fin antenna.

Would it possible to get a photo from the front that clearly shows the wind deflector? How tight is the gap between the deflector and the roof?

Sorry for the low light pics. Let me know if you want some in the daylight.

I get about 10mm clearance at the lateral edges and about 15mm at the center.

 

[xd40cal]

The problem might be finding an LC200 low profile BASE mounting kit. I understand the ARB dealers returned them to exchange for the new higher mounting kit. You might try SLEE to see if they have any still in there inventory. Also, the new kit add approx. 1" of height to the overall height,. Plenty of photos on Mud with the new mounting kit.

I have the original LC200 base mounting kit - was delivered before they released the updated one! I just don't want the added height with the new kit.

 

[TCM]

Sorry for the low light pics. Let me know if you want some in the daylight.

I get about 10mm clearance at the lateral edges and about 15mm at the center.

View attachment 2863573

View attachment 2863574

Perfect! ARB nailed it with the design of this rack. The lack of wind noise with such a low profile integrated deflector is far superior to the large wing style deflectors as used by all the other manufacturers. This rack is the closest to being an OEM Toyota product in looks and function.

 

[bryson]

I have the original LC200 base mounting kit - was delivered before they released the updated one! I just don't want the added height with the new kit.

Nice! I agree with @gaijin on his advice to simply trim the OEM shark fin antenna. Just a quick trim with a utility knife, a swipe of silicone if it exposes any holes/antenna wires and you're done. The rack will cover the trim job and nobody will be the wiser.

 

[bryson]

On a different note, the one thing I absolutely hate about this rack is the fact that the dovetail attachment pieces have to come from ARB, and they don't even have that many options available (both supply issues and the fact that some aren't even engineered yet...)

I don't know of any non-ARB pieces that will work with this rack (aside from simply drilling holes through the rack). Has anybody come up with any good non-ARB mount solutions yet?

 

[TheComedian]

If I follow you right it looks like i got the lower one. But ok it needed 3 months shipping from Australia.

Ps.: my LC doesn’t have any shark fin so there wasn’t any problem.

 

[sleeoffroad]

On a different note, the one thing I absolutely hate about this rack is the fact that the dovetail attachment pieces have to come from ARB, and they don't even have that many options available (both supply issues and the fact that some aren't even engineered yet...)

Actually they make a slot adapter that attaches to the rack with the dovetail mechanism that gives you a regular slot like Rhino / FrontRunner.

 

[biff44]

Probably easier to cut the tip off the shark fin for clearance and seal/paint for integrity and looks. Keep the (shortened) fin and use the low-profile base rack.

HTH

i would not do that. there is probably a circuit board right underneath the edge of the shark fin, and you might be cutting into the antenna pattern, which would detune the frequency it works well at.

 

[TheComedian]

Actually they make a slot adapter that attaches to the rack with the dovetail mechanism that gives you a regular slot like Rhino / FrontRunner.
View attachment 2864121

If ARB just for such parts would not charge prices as if they were made of gold.... two of this clamps cost me here in Germany ~50€…
but ok the product is still comparatively young and the Chinese will eventually offer accessories.
For some parts it is worth considering not to mill them yourself.

 

[xd40cal]

The problem might be finding an LC200 low profile BASE mounting kit. I understand the ARB dealers returned them to exchange for the new higher mounting kit. You might try SLEE to see if they have any still in there inventory. Also, the new kit add approx. 1" of height to the overall height,. Plenty of photos on Mud with the new mounting kit.

I have the original BASE mounting kit but still haven't found a way around the shark fin.

 

[xd40cal]

Chopping it off is becoming intriguing....

 

[biff44]

there is a LOT of stuff inside a sharkfin antenna.

Shark Fin Antenna Broke Off, Advice? - ClubLexus - Lexus Forum Discussion

GS - 4th Gen (2013-2020) - Shark Fin Antenna Broke Off, Advice? - So a rather embarrassing story. About a week ago I had to run a quick errand, so I went to back out of my garage. I opened the garage door, and went and got in my car. Started her up, looked in my mirrors and didn't see the garage...

www.clublexus.com

multiple antennas, circuit boards, etc.

If you just start chopping on it with a sawzall, a lot of the electronics in the car is going to stop working.

IF you can move the roof rack more forward, it might work better.
I suppose if you were industrious, and got the right jumper RF cables, you could carefully remove it, and have jumper cables going from where it was, to some new location...like on a bracket mounted on TOP of the new roof rack.

You of course would have to seal the opening well from rain/snow. AND it might not work if you loaded up the roof rack with stuff. But at least when the roof rack was empty or lightly loaded, your sat radio and GPS, map updates, etc would be working then.

If anyone has close up pics of the sharkfin antenna removed, i could help u figure out the right jumper cables. i am an electrical engineer.

 

[biff44]

Another option.....cut out some of the metal parts of the rear of the roof rack, and replace them with plastic crossmembers (not carbon fiber, but something non conductive). If you stayed perhaps 6" away from the sharkfin with any conductive metal, the reception might not be too bad.

 

[AnyMal]

Forgive me but dont all of these popular lately racks with the widely spaced pieces of wal-mart aluminum lawn furniture like aluminum cross bars cause the roof of our vehicle to just get beat to heck? I know the old style ones with the mesh floors are heavy, and rust in some climates, but you could put whatever you wanted up there without it gouging the roof of your cruiser and then set up some lawn chairs on top of it to watch the stars once you got there. What am I missing?

Not much really, its a good summary ^.
You're just missing that they are asking close to $2k for that "R&D" and that they turn away when you actually want to use it for anything useful because its above the load limit and all that is buried in the fine prints. Ronny Dahl vid posted a few days ago did a good job of explaining things.

 

[KJun]

Unintentionally popped off the plastic cover of my antennae the other day (was just glued onto the mounting base part that bolts in from under the headliner). Unfortunately the base now no longer sits flush with the top and there's a pretty good sized gap. Don't use XM radio and GPS not affected so just need to figure out how to seal up what's left from the weather/carwash. Debating whether to go the route some Tacoma/4runner folks are taking with replacing with a low profile Camry antennae or just chop and glue the original sharkfin plastic cover back on and fill with silicone.

 

[KJun]

Decided to cut the original plastic cover. You can see the indentation where it made contact with my four post lift.

Made the cut on a miter saw

After a bit of cleanup

With a bit of cutting and filing made an attempt to shape a partial cover out of the leftover plastic. Ugly and ghetto but worth a try to give me a bit more piece of mind. Not enough to cover with one piece so will take the other half to cover the remaining gap. Waiting on some JB Weld plastic adhesive and some Gorilla silicone sealant from Amazon.

 

[lx200inAR]

Decided to cut the original plastic cover. You can see the indentation where it made contact with my four post lift.
View attachment 2913093

Made the cut on a miter saw
View attachment 2913095

After a bit of cleanup
View attachment 2913096

With a bit of cutting and filing made an attempt to shape a partial cover out of the leftover plastic. Ugly and ghetto but worth a try to give me a bit more piece of mind. Not enough to cover with one piece so will take the other half to cover the remaining gap. Waiting on some JB Weld plastic adhesive and some Gorilla silicone sealant from Amazon.
View attachment 2913100

Nice work. Maybe ditch trying to use the top and just find some other stiff plastic big enough to cover the hole. Maybe just paint it black and be done with it...Or get real fancy and get it attached and then bondo and smooth it over...then paint the whole thing one color.

 

[biff44]

wasn't there a printed circuit board antenna filling up the full height of the sharkfin?