I’m buying a new rack system for my new truck (2007 Toyota Tundra) and need some advice on which one to buy. I have narrowed it down to the Trac Rac Pro or the Yakima Outdoorsman300. I don’t want to use the roof mounted racks due to the permanent height of the truck, so I wanted something that was removeable.
The Yakima would work with all of my other Yakima gear and I would be supporting a company I like. The Trac Rac could looks to be a little sturdier, and also used to haul construction equipment and supplies, not a huge factor but something to consider.
Both are supposedly easy to put on and take off. Comments please from anyone who has experience with this.
I have a Prijon Touryak and will be adding another boat for the wife this year (yeah). I’m short at 5 1/2 ft tall.
thanks for any suggestions.
I have the Sportsman on my Tacoma
but I use a rack on the cab for the front. The rack on the bed is solid as a rock. I can’t imagine a more sturdy set-up than 2 of them.
I didn’t understand your comment about the cab rack. The rear rack is made high enough so the boats have clearance over the cab. If I had a longer bed, I would have both racks there.
Cab rack
Thanks Sing. I didn’t want to permanantly put the roof mounted racks (towers and bars) on my truck. Mainly because the height of the truck plus the racks would put it slightly over 7 ft so I was concerned with parking garages and branches. From a pure loading/unloading standopint the roof is better because you can stand in the bed and load the kayak at waist level.
slightly different
had a tacoma trd with all the bells/whistles and had a cap on the back with the rack on top of that…and that to me was just about ideal.
the cap opened on 3 sides and you could always reach gear or sleep in it if you were just too tired to set up camp after the drive.
had a yakima set up on top and could haul 3 boats…it was a nice rig.
The cab mounted racks are hardly
permanent. I can have my Yakima on in less than 5 minutes and off in less than one.The bed mounted system takes longer because you have to tighten the bolts with a wrench. I leave mine on, but getting them on and off should take 10-15 minutes.
String
Are you saying that you can get your Q Towers on / off your truck in 5 minutes? If that’s the case, then I’ll need to reconsider…
Yes, the towers and bar are off in less
than a minute. Unlock them, flip the latch cover, they’re off.
Design your own
and have an aluminum fabrication shop tig weld it for you. It will last a lifetime, and cost not all that much more than toy racks! Mine is over 400k old, and like new, and mass strong. No rust either!
At least explore this…I think you’ll be shocked at how much more you’ll get for your $.
I have a Tundra and the Outdoorsman.
On my Tundra I have the Yakima Outdoorsman (a set of 2). There are a couple of reasons I went with a set of two as compared with the one set and a roof mount. (1) I never felt that the roof rack combined with the Outdoorsman would be the same height. No one could say or prove either way. I didn’t want to guess.(2) I thought it would be easier loading the boats with 2 Yak Outdoorsman as compared to one roof and 1 Outdoorsman. Reason: It is easier to get in the bed of the truck and reach both bars as compared to trying to reach over you cab to reach one bar. When I’m loading one kayak or canoe I can do it all from the ground and never worry its going to fall off and crash into the roof of the cab. When I load more than one kayak. I get in the back of the truck after I load the boats against the stacker bar and strap them down. Easy task. Here’s the real test: First, I carried 4 16’ plus kayaks from Alabama to Savannah, GA (6 hours) without a problem. Then, after testing it a few more long trips we decided to utilize the rack on a rental truck (shhh, don’t tell) for our long haul trip from Alabama to Utah (26 hrs non-stop) and of course drove back (28 hours non-stop). We had not one problem.
Now, the negatives. Even though I am pleased and probably wouldn’t change products, on my Tundra there is a piece of plastic molding that runs the length of the bed rails where the rack mounts. I had to remove them so the mounts would sit properly. Removing said molding piece makes for and unsitely bed rail but I personally didn’t care. The only other negative is the fact that when loaded, the rack tends to want to rock back and forth a little. It was nerve-racking at first but after going to Utah, it’s never on my mind. You can ratchet strap the bar to the anchor points in the truck for extra rigidity but I no longer do that.
You couldn’t rock the bed rack on my
Tacoma with a sledge hammer.
I have been to Florida and back 3 times with nary a wiggle.BTW, for kayaks I use J cradles and for the canoes the rack brackets, all Yakima.
Wish ah’ had dis rack…
http://www.handirackuk.com/viewthe.asp
Ah' know... it's been posted before, but wa'da'hell!
FE
Best rack I had
was a lumber rack I purchased for $60 at the junk yard. Best spread for my boats. More secure than anything else out there.
Thanks for the heads-up
I also drive a Tundra (03) and currently use 2 Yakima crossbars on the roof. I was considering getting the Outdoorsman this summer, but did not realize that I would have to lose the plastic moulding on the side of the bed. Hmm, not sure about that…
I can have my racks on/off in about 2 minutes, but normally leave them on March-November. Easy to load 2 boats from the back of the truck, plus other equipment. With bow/stern tie downs, nothing moves!
BTW, it has been said that I love my truck more than wife… lol
Rob
trac-rac
I have a trac rac on my 06 Tundra and I love it, I had it on my old T100 before the Tundra,
The Trac Rac is more money but it will support 1000lbs and it can just slide forward if you putting something large in the truck bed. I’ve also used the sliding feature to help secure cargo in the bed, just slide the back rack forward until the cargo is secure between the two racks. THe sliding thing works great if your putting an atv, riding lawnmower, etc… into the bed too.
I’ve had 4 fiberglass kayaks on the trac rac and they were very secure, $700 isn’t much $ compared to $10000 to replace the kayaks.
You also don’t have to drill or remove anything to install the trac rac.
I have a Trac Rac on a Tundra
...though I have the "regular" TracRac and not the TracRac Pro. Only difference is that when you remove the Pro, there are no "rails" left on the truck bed, I believe.
That said, it serves me extremely well and looks as new as when I bought it over a year ago. It's tough as nails and has an enormous carrying capacity - you will never need another roof rack if you buy this one, as it is the industry standard. I think it's probably tougher than I will ever need for simply hauling boats, but it's nice to know I can haul anything that I want, basically being limited only by what's too heavy for me to lift up on top of it.
It's also easy to remove and put back on. T-Rac Pro is probably even easier, though I would check out where the screws attach because you may not be able to get it extended all the way to either end: I had the Thule X-Sporter previously and this was the problem I had. Because of where the screws made contact with the underside of the bedrails, it wouldn't sit flush with the cab or even with the tailgate, but rather a couple of inches towards the center of the bedrail on either end. That's why I went with the regular TracRac and not the Pro - because the length of the "rail" allows the load bars to extend all the way to the end in either direction. Now, I have the 2006 Tundra and not the 2007, so the beds are obviously different, but I'd make sure you buy from a place like RackNRoad, where you can actually look at it and try mounting it before you buy. Or just buy from somewhere that allows returns.
Ditto on the ease of being able to climb in the truck bed to lash stuff up top. I have Thule saddles on top and only needed to buy a couple of longer carriage bolts at Home Depot to make them fit. Thule's were just a bit too short to span the extra width of the TracRac crossbar. I'm considering adding a snowboard carrier for my Greenland paddles.
I looked at the Outdoorsman, but didn't like the attach points/screws, though the rack, itself, seemed pretty solid to me.
Nice truck, by the way :).
Ron
This is exactly the kind of post…
…bowler1 was talking about.
I’m outraged.
I’m flabbergasted.
I’m incensed.
I’m overacting.
Go start a paddlers’ club.
Trac Rack
I had a track rack on my previous truck and loved how rugged it was. If you get some extra T Bolts, you can use them to attatch Yakima saddles like the hully roller etc. I also had Thule J saddles on there with the longest size bolts (Nissan Xterra size) It is a spendy but super nice rack. It also looks a lot better (for what that is worth) than the outdoorsman.
Mike
I think matt black looks good on my
silver truck.
Trac-Rac on my Nissan Frontier
very sturdy. No round bar “hum”. I fabricated some stainless steel adapters for my Thule Hullaports that utilize the T-Slots. On or off in