RTT on a Tacoma Baja Rack Utility Rack

[yonah]

Forum,
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I'be got a Ironman 4x4 RTT and the PO of my truck had Leer install their industrial 400lb rails on the 180 camper shell. My only complaint is the tent sits so high with this setup (approximately 6" above the top of the shell - which is already taller than a standard shell). I'm not a big fan of all of that weight so high on the vehicle.
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I'm picking up a Baja Rack Utility (flat) Rack next week. I've seen some photos on the net of RTTs mounted on the Tacoma Utility Rack. Hell, even CVT ran this set up on one of their Tacos. I contacted Baja Rack regarding this set up and they said it could possibly exceed the 200lb weight limit from Toyota for the Tacoma's roof ( especially with two adults in the tent). My thought is the ladder of the RTT bears a majority of the weight when the tent is deployed and should take a lot of the weight off of the roof.
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What do you guys think? Is anyone running a RTT on their Tacoma's roof? If so, have you had any issues with the weight? I tried inquiring with CVT about their Taco and never got a response and I'm not a member on Tacomaworld, so I'd rather inquire here first before creating an account.
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Cheers, -Stephen

 

[yonah]

I did some more digging...
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Here is a thread I found through a lengthy Google search - I didn't find it at first as Tacoma was misspelled "tocoma":
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/78589-Roof-top-tent-on-a-tocoma-double-cab
There is some useful information in this thread.
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I also contacted a leading RTT manufacturer here in the US who runs this setup (RTT + Baja Rack) on a Tacoma. The rep I spoke with assured me they have had zero issues and no damage to the roof of the vehicle. Many of his points echoed some of the posts in the above link regarding the robust strength of the Tacoma Double Cab roof.
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Any further input from forum members would be greatly appreciated. I will be mounting my RTT next week once I get back in town - I will update with my experiences. Thanks,

 

[MJCake1]

I questioned the roof load limits myself and someone said or read somewhere that actually applied to moving weight limitations. Not the stationary limit. 😞

M&M Overland Adventures

 

[zscott]

I have seen various people do it. There is a guy on tacomaworld that has done it for sometime and hasn't have a problem Jlink is his user name. Like you mentioned, a good portion of the weight is transferred to the ladder and I also would think that the weight rating of the tacoma roof is in the middle. The sides where the rack mounts are going to be much stronger. The pinch weld for the roof is also right under those channels making them a pretty strong part of the roof.

 

[yonah]

Agreed. Great points guys.
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Hopefully I get next weekend off and I'll try it out. I'm convinced the roof can take it.
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I've also been brainstorming ways of buffering the metal to metal contact between the mounting rails on the tent and rack. I picked up a roll of garage door weatherstripping to act as padding. It should be thick and durable enough to save the powdercoat from being marred.

 

[calicamper]

Agreed. Great points guys.
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Hopefully I get next weekend off and I'll try it out. I'm convinced the roof can take it.
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I've also been brainstorming ways of buffering the metal to metal contact between the mounting rails on the tent and rack. I picked up a roll of garage door weatherstripping to act as padding. It should be thick and durable enough to save the powdercoat from being marred.

Use a bicycle tube as a gasket. Foam pading material wont hold up.

 

[mike2100]

I questioned the roof load limits myself and someone said or read somewhere that actually applied to moving weight limitations. Not the stationary limit. ��

M&M Overland Adventures

Bingo. Since it's a vehicle Toyota has to assume it will be moving at some point after you put a load on the roof. So the advertised weight limit is with the truck in motion over some unknown (to us anyway) terrain. "Dynamic load limit" vs static load limit.
As long as you don't drive around with people in the tent you'll be fine.

 

[yonah]

Use a bicycle tube as a gasket. Foam pading material wont hold up.

Great idea! Thanks!

 

[Aaron Wasson]

Any update?

I have a BajaRack Utility rack and was wondering the same exact thing. Ive contacted Baja and the person that I talked to didnt "approve" the idea.

 

[yonah]

Any update?

I have a BajaRack Utility rack and was wondering the same exact thing. Ive contacted Baja and the person that I talked to didnt "approve" the idea.

Honestly, I haven't tried mounting the RTT yet. I haven't had the time lately and never settled on a material to buffer the metal to metal contact. My biggest gripe with the rack is the powdercoat BR uses. It's not the most durable. I've had to touch up a few spots that were chipped during shipping as well as some rock chips on the front near the wind dam. Anyway, my current plan is to run the tent on the utility rack for Overland Expo East and a cross country trip my wife and I have planned for December. I'll try to test fit it sometime this month.

 

[Aaron Wasson]

I agree on their coating. I need to pull mine down and have it spray lined. Mine looks terrible.

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[yonah]

A professionally applied bed liner would fix the durability issue.
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My goal is to test fit everything this weekend.

 

[yonah]

Ok, I finally got around to mounting the RTT on my BajaRack Utility Rack. My wife and I camped in the tent for three nights this past weekend. I can say that the tent mounts on the rack easily and I noticed absolutely no issues with the weight of the rack + tent + two adults on my roof.
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Also, I normally mount my tent on top of the truck's camper shell via two load bars. This method is a lot more cumbersome to load and unload as the tent sits about 6" higher than the BR option. The higher mount also raises the center of gravity of the truck and creates considerable wind drag at highway speeds. I noticed that the Utility Rack + RTT is much more stable in terms of vehicle handling and the MPG loss is negligible (less than 1 MPG if any at all). The BR is now my preferred method of mounting the RTT hands down.
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Some photos:

 

[Aaron Wasson]

I noticed today that BajaRacks have updated the utility rack page to say you can mount tents on it.

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