Roof Top Tent on Factory Rails, 8020 Crossbars - Documentation

[GOLIGHTLY]

Spent a lot of time trying to research and didn't find a ton on this specific topic. Figured if there's one thing the internet needs, it's another guinea pig.

Setup: 2010 LX 570 with factory shorty-rails. Six 10 series 8020 crossbars. ROAM Vagabond RTT.

The long-term objective once this is no longer my daily, is a full build; roof rack/bumpers/armor/lift etc. For now, I'm looking for the most modular setups I can with everything "adventure" related. Also, ballin on a budget. Got the rails mounted up pretty easily, and the look great. A little loud over 60mph but I didn't put any faring on the leading crossbar so all is as expected.

Tincup Whiskey... not half bad.

Loaded up the RTT, knowing that clearance between roof and hardware would be TIGHT. And it sure was.... IS. That being said, with some patience and ratcheting hex wrenches, the job isn't that bad. I've seen the "banana" scale being used on here... I don't feel like tightening 8 nuts really warrants a rating on that scale, but two beers later, everything was good to go. (NOTE: the wrenches supplied by ROAM are not going to cut it. Make sure you have good tool. As in various other realms, a long shaft will make the job easier.)

The above is the rear bracket. This is the most clearance you'll have to work with. Front is a little tighter.

This is the front all cinched up. It's probably 3 credit-cards-worth of clearance. Will likely sag and gouge the paint once myself, my woman and my dog are onboard. Again, I'll bite off the unknown so that you don't have to.

I WILL say.... I will be trying to source effectively screen protectors that I can stick to the roof. Something thick enough to actually protect, but thin enough to slide under the bolt ends to protect the paint on the roof. I don't feel like spending the money to wrap the whole roof or anything, and that's probably overkill but some peace of mind wouldn't hurt for the longevity of the original paint job.

Last note: the dreaded load rating conversation. The tent weighs 140lbs, almost on the dot. Within factory rail rating. Best I could determine, that number appears to be a dynamic rating. I'm a physicist so I probably SHOULD be the one to weigh in on that, but I'm emotionally and physically exhausted by that prospect right now. It IS a big reason why I wanted to document this setup though and lend some insight.

Build quality on the ROAM actually feels really good. I'll include long-term durability feedback in my follow-ups on this in future. Folds up really cleanly when packing up.

Stoked on the result of this, and love the tent. First quick overnight on Tuesday, just to get out of the home office. Will look forward to tracking performance and documenting issues in future.

 

[JOFS]

I did something similar on my 200. Mounted an Alucab RTT on the 8020 bars and factory rack.

The only issue I had was with the hard shell tent I had to bracket it up a bit as the 200 factory bars stick up above the 8020 cross bars and the alucab is wider than the factory rails. To use the mounting bracket which crossed the factory rail I had to create a lift of about 1/4-1/2 inch pff the 8020 bars so the alucab mounting bracket could sit level. Then I had to create a support for the rails on the bottom of the alucab as it was 1/4-1/2 inch off the 8020 cross bars.

This is a temporary mount as the tent is going on the 80 with a prinsu rack on that. But nice to have the flexibility to move the tent between vehicles.

Good luck and thanks for sharing you work.

John

 

[GOLIGHTLY]

I did something similar on my 200. Mounted an Alucab RTT on the 8020 bars and factory rack.

The only issue I had was with the hard shell tent I had to bracket it up a bit as the 200 factory bars stick up above the 8020 cross bars and the alucab is wider than the factory rails. Then I had to create a support for the rails on the bottom of the alucab as it was 1/2 inch off the 8020 cross bars (that 1/2 inch lift was created by making brackets to get the alucab off the factory bars. .

This is a temporary mount as the tent is going on the 80 with a prinsu rack on that. But nice to have the flexibility to move the tent between vehicles.

Good luck and thanks for sharing you work.

John

I gotcha, ya I can see how that offset between top of the crossbars and the top of the rail would be tough with some hardshells, and I was actually a little worried about that playing a role with the ROAM. I toyed with the idea of hard shell for the sake of compact profile, but just made sense to go bigger with the family in tail. Fortunately the mounting rails used on the ROAM compensate for that offset enough that there’s at least an inch or so clearance between hinge and top of rails.

In a perfect world, we’ll all have off-road trailera, mount the tent on top of them and be done with it. Until then, creativity reigns!
Thanks man, I’ll continue to update.

 

[97 FZJ80]

I also have a '10 LX that Im interested in additing to the factory rack. Pardon my ignorance, but what is the 10 series 8020 crossbars ?

 

[GOLIGHTLY]

I also have a '10 LX that Im interested in additing to the factory rack. Pardon my ignorance, but what is the 10 series 8020 crossbars ?

Well, please pardon MY ignorance, but it appears to just be the 1” x 1” extrusion (15 series being 1.5” x 1.5”, etc...).

 

[eatSleepWoof]

I also have a '10 LX that Im interested in additing to the factory rack. Pardon my ignorance, but what is the 10 series 8020 crossbars ?

Poke around here: Resources to Learn More About T-slot Products and Narrow Down Your Options.

And here: 80-20-Inc-University-Booklet 6 80/20 Inc.

 

[GOLIGHTLY]

Quick first overnight in the tent last night and stoked on the setup.

1- Fitment: Driving around for a couple days with the tent has been revealing. Everything is super solid, the only thing I've run into is the fitment of the front mounting backets on the tent. The tolerance is incredibly tight between bottom of the bolts and the roof itself. I've heard and can replicate the bolt contacting the roof itself. Cause: narrow tolerance and flex in the 8020 crossbars in combination with the weight of the tent. The mounting rails on the tent line up perfectly with the raised ridges on the roof, which doesn't help. Fix: I'm going to try and file the bolt down slightly, to make it a little shorter. This may compromise the threading, but I think I'm leading toward just undoing one of the bolts at each corner, and swiveling the bracket out of the way anyway. I'm also going to place a strip of 3M Door Edge Protection Film down the raised ridge on the roof as a secondary measure, in case the bolts still touch occasionally and to protect any small paint defects I've caused in the past couple days, until I can get those rectified. NOTE: I drove it around for a couple days and then re-tightened the nuts on the mounting hardware. I don't think that anything "settled" per se, but I suspect the flex of the 8020 might encourage an extra turn every once in a while.

2- Driving Characteristics: Only somewhat feel the weight. Given its height relative to the center of gravity, it's mostly only felt in "cornering". Doesn't make a huge difference to me... I have no need to hit apexes at pace in this vehicle, so sort of a moot point. Braking doesn't really seem to be affected... on a vehicle like this, if this type of weight made a difference to braking, I'd have bigger concerns. I do find that wind noise is much quieter with the tent installed, than with just the rails. Not a huge surprise given the aerodynamic profiles of the two bodies.

3- TENT REVIEW: The ROAM Vagabond is great. Solid build quality, the mattress is absurdly comfortable (I'm about 10lbs heavy right now at 205, thanks primarily to the 'Rona, but I never bottomed out the mattress as a side sleeper). I love having a good excuse to stress eat, but I'm sure weekly pizzas have nothing to do with the weight gain. Anyways... the included boot bags are nice, really enjoyed having the screened roof that I could leave open, and the overhanging "vestibule" is large enough to provide a good amount of shade if you've parked the vehicle appropriately.

Future considerations: I might investigate the complexity of buying a second set of factory LX rails, and just removing the entire tent/crossbar/rail "assembly" come time to remove the tent, and re-installing the other set of rails. Only considering this due to the challenges presented by lack of clearance between tent and roof. I've seen some rail systems mandating that the headliner be removed... any input on whether that's necessary for the factory rails would be appreciated, or if it's simply the two visible bolts under the caps. I'll dig around on here in the mean time. Would love to add a tray for power equipment (battery or goal zero or the like) onto the front of this whole system as well, but think I'll wait until I've got a purpose built rack installed to add any more weight.

 

[GOLIGHTLY]

Following up on fitment issues, regarding mounting hardware.

As mentioned, the mounting hardware for the tent in conjunction with the lack of clearance between 8020 bars and the roof were creating an issue with the front bolts occasionally making contact with the roof of the vehicle over bumps, etc. I went to Home Depot and got two Air Shims, and, positioned between the roof and adjacent 8020 crossbars, gave me enough clearance to fit a metal file between the bottom of the hardware bolts and the roof, while distributing the force applied to roof well enough to avoid any risk of creasing/indenting the roof Filed roughly 1/8” off the end of the bolts nice and cleanly, and this issue is now considered resolved

 

[reddog90]

@GOLIGHTLY Did you consider or try mounting the tent on the factory crossbars instead of 8020 bars?

 

[CharlieS]

I just reread your thread. Thanks for doing this experiment. You mentioned "screen protectors" for the roof. I've had good luck with stuff called Helicopter Tape. It is basically protection film, but you can get it in small quantities on eBay. I think, but don't actually know, that it is used to protect the leading edge of the rotors. It seem popular in the mountain bike crowd to protect frames.

 

[GOLIGHTLY]

@GOLIGHTLY Did you consider or try mounting the tent on the factory crossbars instead of 8020 bars?

I did not. Knowing the weight of the tent, there was way too much flex in the factory crossbars. I wouldn’t be too keen on spending hours on the highway (or even the time it takes to do normal errands in stop-and-go traffic) with the tent swaying up there. Not safe. Also, assuming a max load of 400lbs+ with myself, my girl and my four legged girl in it, I frankly wouldn’t even want to sleep on top of the factory bars. I don’t do much in the way of over landing/trails (at least for now) and I know that’s even a whole new slur of forces being applied. If I’m being honest, even the 8020 feels a little “recreational” as far as its strength. I’m building out a leightweight steel rack as we speak, for when I get moved to CO and need something a little tougher.

@CharlieS thanks for that!! This has been on my to-do list for too long so I think I’ll start with that helicopter tape.

 

[reddog90]

I did not. Knowing the weight of the tent, there was way too much flex in the factory crossbars. I wouldn’t be too keen on spending hours on the highway (or even the time it takes to do normal errands in stop-and-go traffic) with the tent swaying up there. Not safe. Also, assuming a max load of 400lbs+ with myself, my girl and my four legged girl in it, I frankly wouldn’t even want to sleep on top of the factory bars. I don’t do much in the way of over landing/trails (at least for now) and I know that’s even a whole new slur of forces being applied. If I’m being honest, even the 8020 feels a little “recreational” as far as its strength. I’m building out a leightweight steel rack as we speak, for when I get moved to CO and need something a little tougher.

@CharlieS thanks for that!! This has been on my to-do list for too long so I think I’ll start with that helicopter tape.

Another thought I had was to borrow two more factory crossbars from someone for the trip. RTT would mount to two of the crossbars and I would have an additional two for extra support. I thought this would result in less flex in each crossbar. Thoughts?

 

[highfructose]

@GOLIGHTLY Did you consider or try mounting the tent on the factory crossbars instead of 8020 bars?

I installed a land cruiser (longer) roof rail along with two extra normal crossbars...all Chinese knockoffs...and they did fine with an overlander xl roof top tent up there.

granted I only had it on there for a thousand or so miles, but I think the stock stuff is probably alright for a tent.