Best rack for LR4 without factory rails

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landy103

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I use the Baja Rack and have a roof top tent mounted on it - works great:


I also recently mounted the OVS 180 Swing Awn on the side of it .. solid as a rock .. love it!
 

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chrisp

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The ProSpeed rack is definitely worth considering too. It's high quality and low profile.

I had the FrontRunner rack for a couple of years. It's strong and there are a ton of accessories available, but it has terrible wind noise at speeds >70mph.
Looks interesting for sure, but seems they're out of stock. Did you ever try the wind deflector on the FRO?
 

allegro

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A couple years ago I was looking for a load bar setup for a ***** roof (no factory rails), and I ended up connecting with Paul at Equipt. He got me set up with the Eezi-Awn K9 bars, and it’s been a great fit for my needs… Yakima roof box, bike rack, lumber hauling, etc.


If you eventually want to go for a roof top tent, Paul could sell you the additional feet and platform to make that change.
 

AdventureTim

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Looks interesting for sure, but seems they're out of stock. Did you ever try the wind deflector on the FRO?

The wind deflector didn’t help much. I think a lot of wind noise comes from the wind passing around each of the slats.
 

cannondale900

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Love my low profile Voyager rack. Super tough. I can jump on it and I am a big guy.

(Polymax chicken coop flooring, some eo2 mounts for cases or maxtraxx mounts, 100 watt panel on gas struts to lift up.)

I have the Voyager low profile as well with similar EO2 mounts for cases and jerry cans for gas or water. Also have ARB awning attached. Next is solar panels and lights.

20201025_181413[1].jpg
 

djkaosone

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The wind deflector didn’t help much. I think a lot of wind noise comes from the wind passing around each of the slats.
My diy wind deflector helps tremendously. I made it like the old school yakima wind fairings, but mine is taller than the rood rack above the top of the front side.

Here's a video of my resonator delete with the wind fairing driving around 80 mph with the sunroof open, little noise.

 

BigBriDogGuy

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First of all, thanks for this thread, lots of good info.

I'm seriously considering a roof rack (and potentially a ladder). I have a mix of considerations, - some practical, some aesthetic. I have a 2011 LR4 (black) and I like the way it looks stock, but I have a wife, two girls (8 and 10) and an Irish Setter pup (6 months). With the wife, kids, and pup (in a 36 inch wire crate in the back), there really isn't much room for anything else if we were to go on a camping trip. Also, if I were to pick up my wife's family at the airport and use the 3rd row seats for the girls, there would be little room for their luggage. Bottom line, the roof rack would be good to have in certain situations.

The next consideration is full-length or 3/4? I like being able to have an unobstructed view from the sunroof. I also think that 3/4 would be more than adequate for most cargo situations. Finally, I kind of like the quirky asymmetrical look of the elevated rear portion of the LR4 over the lower front cabin and the short hood. The 3/4 option might accentuate that feature (or perhaps overdo it). That said, I'm not afraid to go all in on the full length, especially if there are some sound practical reasons for doing so. I like having the option to load even more stuff and it certainly makes a visual statement.

The wisdom of the group seems to favor the FrontRunner. I can see why with all the functionality and additional features that platform offers. However, to me, it looks like someone just dropped a table top onto the roof of your vehicle. I guess, I sort of like having a bit of a railing around the edge and imagine tossing a cargo net over whatever I have thrown up there on top. That said, posters have brought up some very important and relevant considerations with regards to factors I hadn't even considered. For instance, height. Are you going to be able to get into parking garages and the like if you have a high profile roof rack on an already tall vehicle? Valid point. Wind noise is another factor that has come up. I don't want to have to deal with wind noise all the time for additional capacity I will only use occasionally.

Truthfully, I like the look of the Baja product. However, it doesn't seem to get much love from the group. My sense is that those that like that style would choose the Voyager over the Baja, perhaps due to its solid steel frame construction. I take the wisdom of the group seriously when it comes to which roof rack is best. You folks have actually used them and know what works (and what doesn't). I guess it depends on how deep I want to get into the off-road modifications. I like the stock look of the vehicle so maybe something more subtle that compliments the luxury styling rather than creating a jarring contrast. Perhaps the Voyager low profile would be the best overall choice.

Update: My vehicle did not come with factory roof rails installed. I think that could be a deal stopper for some of these roof racks.
 
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djkaosone

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Here's my opinion on the topic of form and function vs aesthetics, I'll take function all day.

When I was in the market for a roof rack a few years ago, I was into the appearance of Prospeed. It had THE sleekest look and aerodynamics, but look at them now (discontinued). They moved on to a more diverse form/function platform in their design to be more modular with lots of options like the Rhino Rack. The Rhino Rack literally took the ideas of FRO and made it their own by rotating the slats front to back. It's a good design, but FRO has more diverse functions. Then there's the static round bar racks like Voyager, Baja Racks, (discontinued) Urban Offroad, Safety Devices Expedition, OEM, etc... they all have limited mounting options with round bar adapters that are hard to find.

I used to think FRO racks were aesthetically lame, but after ownership of it throughout the years I fell in love with the form and function of it. It has mounting options on top, bottom, and sides. I made custom brackets to mount bridging waffle boards under the rack, mounted a FRO rtt in the front, an ez-up canopy right behind it, spare 33", 1 gallon propane tank, 2x LCI 5 gallon water jerry cans, and have light bars all around it.

I highly recommend getting a full rack vs a 3/4 rack. Yes, the sunroof is 100% functional and your view is blocked. However, how often do you use the sunroof or panoramic roof for the view? I'm a pretty small guy and I cannot fit half torso through the sunroof, if you're thinking that you can simply go through the sunroof to put stuff on the 3/4 rack. The full rack would allow you to redistribute the top weight towards the middle instead of the rear. BTW, I was able to fit into a standard house garage with the FRO full rack in access mode AND 255/55/r19s.

Take all this with a grain of salt. It's your truck and there's wrong answers.
 

BigBriDogGuy

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Thanks djkaosone for your thoughtful reply on this topic. I appreciate the functionality over aesthetics argument as well. I assume the acronym FRO stands for FrontRunner. That seems to be the clear popular choice. It appears highly customizable and offers a ton of optional add-on features. I also can see how a flat platform across the length of the roof could come in handy for larger/longer cargo. One of the things that caught my attention is that you can simply throw common bolts into the slats and attach whatever you want, anywhere you want. That's the kind of common sense functionality that I really like seeing offered. They could have easily come up with some complicated proprietary fastening system in order to squeeze folks for a few more dollars. The sunroof thing really doesn't bother me that much. It just came with the vehicle and I thought it was sort of neat that it worked. I suppose if I really wanted to see up through it, I could just reposition some of the slats, or remove a few all together, until it came time to use the full length of the rack.

As a "new to me" owner, I'm enjoying the beauty and luxury aspects of the LR4. I like the way it looks and there are little upscale features that I would have never known were available or bothered to order in a new vehicle. It kind of gives me the opportunity to experience second-hand how the other side lives, a chance to appreciate the finer things in life. That said, that's not who I am at heart. It's not a trophy I'm going to go around polishing with a cloth diaper. Plus, it's getting older and it's showing its age. Little dings and scrapes. A still strong motor that at 100,000 miles may be a bit too loud or taps a bit too much to be in its prime. Bottom line, it's future isn't as a show horse, but as a workhorse. Not sure I'm going to throw a grill guard and a winch on it quite yet or wrap the rear tail lights in steel cages, but I do want to enjoy it by using it rather than sitting back and admiring it. There's a bit of that in me, but that gets old real fast. I'd rather have the kids eat fast food in the back and the dog shed on the rear carpet while getting out in the world and having real family adventures together.

Plus, the girls would go absolutely nuts for sleeping in a tent on top of the car!
 
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Jimmy Brooks

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I currently have a front runner roof rack. at first I had it without the wind deflector (big mistake) bought the wind deflector and it was pretty quiet till about 90ish. I run a light bar on the rack as well and a bit of my wind noise comes from that. over all wind noise isn't an issue as long as you have the wind deflector. that is assuming you don't have crosswind, its pretty noisy if you do. I think the biggest draw back of the front runner rack is just how high profile it is, it definitely takes a toll on gas milage at higher speeds especially when head wind is strong you can tell the powertrain is working a lot harder. It also makes the vehicle roll a lot when turning corners around town. so if your barely using this off road and barely using the rack in general then a low profile rack might be a better option. However the versatility of the rack is almost unbeatable especially with front runners accessories. you can mount things on top underneath (massive advantage over other low profile options) on the sides etc. if you also want to go down a similar path to mine you could buy a single row light bar and mount it flush with the rack, it fits perfectly. if you buy the wind deflector you will have to bolt the wind deflector underneath the mounting points and fill the gap with silicone so you don't get a high pitched whistle. But if done correctly it looks like it was meant to be there. here are a couple of photos, I can take a close up if you are interested.
 

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