1st gen (99) roof rack solutions?

Balaraaam said:

can anyone suggest a roof rack solution for my 99 5dr? I wan to be able to hold upwards of 250 lbs and am under the impression that loads of that capacity are too much for the OEM crossbars.

Also I want to be able to use this system in off-road scenarios.

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I've used the OE roof rack well over it's load rating. been on many a road trip, and have been off-road and overlanding with about 170lb of equipment strapped to the top, and even popped a tent on it with some plywood, I weigh 220lbs and the tent felt like 30lbs. It has also sustained negative force on it while some construction board decided to turn into a parachute going 65 mph. Needless to say the OE rack is built like a tank, and the mounts likewise.

though it's not recommended in most cases. It seems like it's load rating is just made very reserved. Much like how Toyota overbuilds their engines and tunes them well under what they are capable of.

But if you're dead set on going aftermarket there's not a lot I can recommend. Most universal racks that clamp to your door jambs wouldn't be built for that, and even if the description says otherwise, it's not a good idea to lay a 200lb load on something that is resting on the VERY DENT-ABLE hollow parts of your vehicle.

The other option are DIY kits that you bolt on your car into the roof. while this could be an ok option, it requires experience with weatherproofing and in order to install it in a way that won't cave in the roof you will need to find the location of your cross members and bolt into them rather than the thin section of the roof, or make your own structural cross members and weld them into the ceiling inside the car and redo the headboard.

Your best option is probably sticking with OE, ive abused the hell outta mine for half a decade and rarely put anything up there that was within rating. I trust my roof rack more than I trust most people.

iowagold said:

post some pix please!

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Top is 2 years ago on my road trip across 20 states. Coming down the Appalachians, I was driving through cloud cover for 2 hours and it soaked everything, even the inside of the car was humid and damp. Yet the roof rack is still water tight. The lower 3 is it currently, the mounts just go on the crossbeams as usual but are rubberized to prevent damage. It's never failed me, and I can stand on it fine.

iowagold said:

are you building as an cold air intake?

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Its neither here nor there. Too long to be a short ram/pod , not far enough from the engine to be a cold air intake. the cone will likely replace the position of the airbox or a bit farther forward where the coolant overflow reservoir is. But because it's a common 3" cone, you can get a ram cold air kit to run a hose out to the fresh air. I'm mainly doing it for the repair but also because the oe is super suffocating by design to make it more economic. I've heard people on this site getting upwards of 10% increase, which is alot for such an old underpowered nugget. Also induction noise... Always a plus.

A few other modifications I'm doing is dual billet wiper fluid reservoirs with high pressure pumps, I have larger tires in width and height and they've rubbed through the well guard and wiper reservoir so I'm replacing and relocating them. Also replacing the vinyl and ASA tubes that carry the fluid with silicone tubing. and while the body is torn apart I'll be doing more sound deadening and rust removal/inhibition. And install a limited slip diff from a Highlander in the rear as well as axles and rear discs from a second gen Rav4. Billet control arms from an st205. Filtered good scoop to cool the engine bay Because my original hoods clear coat burned away.

iowagold said:

are you building as an cold air intake?

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Doing a mock up today. The pipe adapter will either be that painted exhaust pipe stock I got at O'Reilly or a hunk of PVC I have in the garage, pneumatic fittings from an AC unit as a temporary vac line adapter will be drilled into the pipe and the MAF will be relocated as seen fit. Once I have a setup set in stone I'll make an actual parts list and a step by step of it so everyone who wants/ eeds to do the same knows exactly what to expect and what they need.

This is what it looks like, used the OE intake, adapted the diameters. Drilled a hole on the adapter for the sensor, and another on the resonator box for the vacuum line that was attached to the original airbox. Easy as pie, since pie takes 4 hours to make.

Its a cromulent replacement if I do say. and if it holds up for a bit and I trust it I'll make the parts list and a video or something. If you're into noise, it makes it. You can REALLY hear this thing breathe, sounds like it's had a cord wrapped round it's neck for nearly 3 decades and is finally allowed to take a deep breath. The sound in the cab under acceleration is a deep grumbly noise with an induction whine undertone. It's very noticeable but fades to ambient levels in the cab while driving at a steady speed.

As far as power goes, like the other people who've done this modification, there's DEFINITELY something there. Not much but it's unmistakable. not a placebo effect. It doesn't feel like the 10%+ some people have preached on theirs, but I'm also sucking in air from the engine bay too.

On the topic of Engine bay air, I was a bit worried too. However, after driving hard for a bit to get things hot I parked and opened the hood, intake was still cool all the way up past the throttle body. I think it's still able to pull air from the grille and around the headlights like normal so no worries there.

Only thing left is to make a proper mount for it, you may have noticed the bungee cord.