Greetings. I'm a new member so this is my fist attempt to use forums. I have a 2011 Toyota Tacoma 2.7 regular cab. It has a fiberglass canopy upon which I'd like to mount a rack, ARB canopy (1250 I think), a light bar, and rear work lights. I was considering using a Yakima system to include the basket. My question is, what are other's experiences with Yakima racks mounted on a canopy and if there are recommendations for other options. To me, function is more important than form, but I would like something that didn't look overly utilitarian for those times when the rack is empty. If pictures could accompany your recommendations, that would be great, particularly if on a Toyota standard cab. Photos are nice, but certainly not critical. Thanks in advance. William.
First thing you have to ask yourself, and be honest here, I'm I getting it for looks of for actually putting stuff on it to go into remote far away places?
If you answered mostly for looks, go with the Yakima rail set up and be happy.
If you answered for actually putting stuff on it to go into remote far away places read on my friend. Overlanding in the Taco is awesome, but you do have some limitations to consider. First you have the good Ol 2.7, great engine, more than great I think its magnificent. This little power plant is both a plus and a minus. The engine will come in handy on the trail as long as you keep the truck on a diet, but it will be a pain on the highways you need to traverse in order to get there. Especially at speeds over 70 MPH with something on your roof, a lift and a laden truck and bigger tires.
The average fiberglass cap on a Tacoma can handle up to 300Lbs no problem, as long as the load is properly distributed. On a fiberglass cap, the Yakima setup will only support about 100lbs to 200lbs per bar depending on the attachment type before it starts causing damage. The only way around this is to add more crossbars this is impractical, expensive, inefficient and ugly. Making things worse, the Yakimas or Thule WILL become lose or break with prolonged off road use. And to be honest, do you really want over 300lbs on the roof of your 2.7 Taco off road? If you don't know, the answer is no, trust me on this. The cap is heavy enough, adding that much additional weight higher than your roof line will make for some sketchy driving when things get... interesting off road. You need to upgrade the suspension to handle this added off balance weigh.
OK, So we established that Yakima and Thule "suck" for the Overlanding application on a Taco. What are your options then? Lucky for you there are lots of options for the Taco, not so lucky for you, they ain't cheap. There is Front Runner, Awesome racks that will outlast the vehicle, they are modular and have a lot of cool attachments you can purchase later as funds or requirements increase. You want the Wind Cheetah. These racks are built to last, which also means they are heavy as heck, they are loud at highway speeds, and the attachments are made of steel, which adds a layer of maintenance for long term durability.
Baja Racks, They are the cheapest option, but I don't care for the construction or the weight. They also have a lot of attachments and doodads you can add to the rack to make it more usable/look cooler. Ive never actually owned one of these, I don't think I ever will. I just checked them out while I was doing the research for building the Argo, my "R&D" expo vehicle. Yes its a Tacoma.
There is Gobi, excellent racks, Low profile very durable, modular sleek rugged. Best mounting interface of any rack Ive owned. Had one on my 4 Runner and loved it. Expensive and overkill for your application, it will also not flow with the Tacos roof line, makes the cab look bulbous.
There is Prinsu Design Studio, this is a small upstart that is in my opinionated opinion the best rack made for the Tacoma. Its light strong and sexy, the price is more than fair and it works flawlessly. I would personally only repurchase the Prinsu rack System. Its obvious the designer has an aye for style. The rack is not only bulletproof and modular, it actually looks like the Toyota factory put it there. Actually, it makes the cap look good on the truck because the visual lines work. Its pure elegance and form following function. Its the easiest to mount, and adapt to the load requirements, and its the quietest and most fuel efficient of the racks I tested. And its the only rack manufacturer that has an option of a bolt on cab rack for your Taco. I don't like it because I own it, I own it because I like it.
There are other racks out there but I didn't think them different enough to mention. Just remember that the weight on the rack will bounce up and down, and take the truck with it on its violent little journey. this it true of every rack system, the kinetic weight will affect your ride, on top of that, the Taco's bed will twist sway and bend in relation to the cab, its designed that way, when you put lots of weight on the roof, this is amplified as well.
Oh yeah, there is the cheaper not so sexy option of a contractor rack, but they are really heavy and stick out from the bed sides quite a bit. They allow you to carry up to 500lbs on the roof, but are, well, all about the function.
