Prinsu Pro roof rack installed - video

[dirtwheeler]

I received my Prinsu Pro roof rack yesterday (2025-12-29) and got it installed. I started while it was still light out, knowing it would be dark when I finished, but I wanted to take advantage of the relatively good weather (for this time of year in Colorado). Installation took a while (as expected), but I got it done. I decided to setup my Insta360 to record the process. It wasn’t too exciting, but I’m sharing the video anyway. The installation was pretty intuitive. I referred to the instructions (a PDF on Prinsu’s website) and a video they had posted on the installation process.



I installed this rack primarily to add roof top tent (RTT) — which I’ve had sitting in my garage for a while now. The next step is to get the RTT installed “soon”. Some pics from this morning (now that it's light out)...

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[ToYoDaMan]

I received my Prinsu Pro roof rack yesterday (2025-12-29) and got it installed. I started while it was still light out, knowing it would be dark when I finished, but I wanted to take advantage of the relatively good weather (for this time of year in Colorado). Installation took a while (as expected), but I got it done. I decided to setup my Insta360 to record the process. It wasn’t too exciting, but I’m sharing the video anyway. The installation was pretty intuitive. I referred to the instructions (a PDF on Prinsu’s website) and a video they had posted on the installation process.



I installed this rack primarily to add roof top tent (RTT) — which I’ve had sitting in my garage for a while now. The next step is to get the RTT installed “soon”. Some pics from this morning (now that it's light out)...

Thank you for the video! Looks great!

appreciate seeing the process.

impressive how you did that alll on your own and using what ypu had to get it up on the roof with minimal to no scratches on your roof.

when you get the chance. I had a question.
I know some people had problems getting the rack squared and the install was not correct where the rack actually scratched the roof paint.

After you got it on the roof, did you have to
Make any adjustments to make it fit exactly how you wanted it? Also did you leave a gap for the front end wind fairing?

What do you think were the major challenges on installing this roof rack.

I watched the Sherpa Capital install video and they assembled the rack piece by piece on the roof and did not assemble on the ground. Not sure what is the better approach..

Your install looked good to me. Thanks again for sharing.

 

[dirtwheeler]

Fair warning, I write long responses!

TLDR: Yes I had to make some adjustments. No I didn't leave a gap between the wind fairing and the vehicle body. There were no major challenges -- it was just time-consuming and cumbersome doing this by myself. I didn't think about installing piece by piece on top of the vehicle, but that might work fine.

And now for my long-ish write-up for folks that are all about the details....

I know some people had problems getting the rack squared and the install was not correct where the rack actually scratched the roof paint.

After you got it on the roof, did you have to
Make any adjustments to make it fit exactly how you wanted it?

I made a mistake using a socket extension that was too wide and pushed the bracket to one side while tightening, making the rack mount a little off center. I just had to loosen everything up, recenter, and tighten back down with a normal "short" socket and socket wrench. In retrospect, this was pretty obvious, but I was doing this at night. I also left the brackets on the rack a little loose and tightened them all the way after the brackets were tightened to the vehicle. In any case, I'll check centering and retighten everything after I've driven it a bit.

Also did you leave a gap for the front end wind fairing?

The seal that's pressed onto the wind fairing rests against the body. I know some people are concerned about this leaving a mark, but it's not something I'm too concerned with. If I was really concerned, I think there are adhesive products that can be applied to the body first. I'm also not sure how much wiggle room there is with this rack if you're trying to leave a gap.

The main thing I'm concerned about right now is how much noise this will make a freeway speed (related to the wind fairing, etc.). I'm still not sure if I'm going to leave my rooftop tent on most of the time, or attempt to store it most of the time (this might effect, noise, etc. too). I don't have a lot of storage space.

What do you think were the major challenges on installing this roof rack.

It was pretty straightforward, just time-consuming, and a little cumbersome moving it and positioning it. There's always the question in the back of my mind about whether I've done something wrong that will require disassembly and wasting a lot of time. The instructions were OK. There were a few places where some clarification would have been nice.

I think it was right around the freezing point, maybe a little warmer when I was doing this. So, the wind fairing seal was really stiff. I'm guessing it would have gone on easier if it was warm out. I had one bolt that was defective (couldn't fit the allen wrench into it because it was warped, but they sent enough extra bolts that I was fine).

I thought lifting it onto the vehicle was going to require some extra hands or be really difficult by myself. But that wasn't too bad either. I'd still recommend having someone help unless you're used to moving things like this by yourself, getting creative, and being cautious not to get injured or damage anything. You see in the video where I used some thick/soft packing material the protect the vehicle. Moving blankets would probably work better. I thought all of my moving blankets were in storage, but then I found one after I already got the rack in place.

I was worried that lining up the rack on the mounting hardware was going to be really difficult -- especially needing to support the weight at each corner before attaching. It's probably hard to see in the video, but I just propped up each corner (rolling up some of that foam padding I used earlier). This allowed me to seal and prepare the hardware before removing the foam roll and setting down each corner. I left each corner loose as I did this to maintain some wiggle room until I was ready to tighten everything down. Of course, I had to loosen, adjust, and retighten some brackets as mentioned earlier.

I watched the Sherpa Capital install video and they assembled the rack piece by piece on the roof and did not assemble on the ground. Not sure what is the better approach..

I didn't see that video, but that might have been a better approach to avoid having to lift the entire rack up in one piece. I didn't think of trying that but I would have certainly considered it if the thought crossed my mind (or if I tripped across the video you mentioned beforehand).

One thing I did a little different was assemble it upside down on the ground so it would set flat and I wouldn't have to hold up each crossbar end when I tightened them. It might be obvious to some, but when you're trying to line up hardware like this, it helps to look right into the frame hole and line up the bar by eye rather than try to move around the crossbar and just try to "feel" for where the bolt is supposed to go. You can also use a small screwdriver to help line up the first hole, but I think just getting down and looking at it works best. This might be easier to see assembling piece by piece on top of the vehicle, but you'll probably need some way (or a helper) to hold up the other side as you get each crossbar in place. In any case, you would want to install all the bolts loose first. Tightening down on one side while letting the other side "hang" would create stress on the bolts and rack.

Your install looked good to me. Thanks again for sharing.

Glad you liked it. I figured somebody might find this useful. I also figured I was just as likely to get flamed for posting a boring, long video of me assembling a roof rack! I'm also certain that if I did anything wrong, someone will let me know!

 

[NotApplicable]

Great job! Doing this solo looks like it was a feat.

Random question. How was the camera panning to follow you?!

 

[dirtwheeler]

Great job! Doing this solo looks like it was a feat.

Random question. How was the camera panning to follow you?!

Short answer:

I use an Insta360 camera to record 360 video. Then I edit the video, setting key frames to pan between, creating the illusion of a narrower field of view (FOV) camera panning.

Long-ish answer:

Technically, it's not panning at all! ... let me explain (because it's kind of cool and fun)...

I'm using an Insta360 X5 (there are other kinds of 360 cams, but this is the only one I've ever owned). It records a spherical perspective (all angles at the same time, using two cameras with a 180 degree FOV, then stiches the hemispheres together using software). You can do a lot of really cool things with 360 footage, but what you see here is just me converting the 360 footage to more normal FOV views, focusing on whatever direction in the 360 video is of interest. The illusion of panning comes from using the editing software (I use Insta360 studio) to select key frames at different times, allowing the software to pan between key frames over time.

I bought this as a better way to film off-road rides since what I want to focus on isn't always directly in front of the vehicle. However, I've found a bunch of other uses for this camera since I started using it -- including filming myself doing things like you see in this roofrack video, with the illusion that I have my own personal camera man that follows me around.

As I've been doing this, I've learned how to throw these videos together relatively quickly, leveraging editing software features, understanding software and processing power limitations, and how to work around those limitations.

 

[NotApplicable]

Short answer:

I use an Insta360 camera to record 360 video. Then I edit the video, setting key frames to pan between, creating the illusion of a narrower field of view (FOV) camera panning.

Long-ish answer:

Technically, it's not panning at all! ... let me explain (because it's kind of cool and fun)...

I'm using an Insta360 X5 (there are other kinds of 360 cams, but this is the only one I've ever owned). It records a spherical perspective (all angles at the same time, using two cameras with a 180 degree FOV, then stiches the hemispheres together using software). You can do a lot of really cool things with 360 footage, but what you see here is just me converting the 360 footage to more normal FOV views, focusing on whatever direction in the 360 video is of interest. The illusion of panning comes from using the editing software (I use Insta360 studio) to select key frames at different times, allowing the software to pan between key frames over time.

I bought this as a better way to film off-road rides since what I want to focus on isn't always directly in front of the vehicle. However, I've found a bunch of other uses for this camera since I started using it -- including filming myself doing things like you see in this roofrack video, with the illusion that I have my own personal camera man that follows me around.

As I've been doing this, I've learned how to throw these videos together relatively quickly, leveraging editing software features, understanding software and processing power limitations, and how to work around those limitations.

Very cool, thanks for the explanation!

 

[MikesSR5]

I really like your wheels. Could you please share what wheels tires and tire sizes you have on. Any mods required and if not, any rubbing?

 

[dirtwheeler]

I really like your wheels. Could you please share what wheels tires and tire sizes you have on. Any mods required and if not, any rubbing?

Here's my lift/wheel/tire setup right now:

• ReadyLIFT 2.5” SST Lift Kit 69-55250
• Method Racing 703 17X8.5 6X5.5 +35 Matte Black MR70378560535
• BFGoodrich KO3LT285/75R17/E MSPN 30398

I had these professionally installed at a shop and I don't believe they did any cutting or other mods. I haven't had any rubbing (that I've noticed) and I'm sure I've had it at full articulation a few times (two-wheel balancing). I'm running stock PSI (33) but I should probably run a little lower. I haven't done a chalk test. The last time I took it on trails I dropped to 13 PSI which seemed about right for what I was doing.

 

[lockwoodjd]

I received my Prinsu Pro roof rack yesterday (2025-12-29) and got it installed. I started while it was still light out, knowing it would be dark when I finished, but I wanted to take advantage of the relatively good weather (for this time of year in Colorado). Installation took a while (as expected), but I got it done. I decided to setup my Insta360 to record the process. It wasn’t too exciting, but I’m sharing the video anyway. The installation was pretty intuitive. I referred to the instructions (a PDF on Prinsu’s website) and a video they had posted on the installation process.



I installed this rack primarily to add roof top tent (RTT) — which I’ve had sitting in my garage for a while now. The next step is to get the RTT installed “soon”. Some pics from this morning (now that it's light out)...

Thanks for sharing this. I'm expecting my Prinsu Pro in Jan sometime and dreading having to install. I'll definitely be referring back to this video. Appreciate, HNY!

 

[kzrman]

I received my Prinsu Pro roof rack yesterday (2025-12-29) and got it installed. I started while it was still light out, knowing it would be dark when I finished, but I wanted to take advantage of the relatively good weather (for this time of year in Colorado). Installation took a while (as expected), but I got it done. I decided to setup my Insta360 to record the process. It wasn’t too exciting, but I’m sharing the video anyway. The installation was pretty intuitive. I referred to the instructions (a PDF on Prinsu’s website) and a video they had posted on the installation process.



I installed this rack primarily to add roof top tent (RTT) — which I’ve had sitting in my garage for a while now. The next step is to get the RTT installed “soon”. Some pics from this morning (now that it's light out)...

I'm assuming by the cowling antenna that you have a GMRS radio. Would you please show me a picture of where you installed it and what problems you had doing so. Thanks.

 

[dirtwheeler]

I'm assuming by the cowling antenna that you have a GMRS radio. Would you please show me a picture of where you installed it and what problems you had doing so. Thanks.

I assume you're seeing the hood-mounted GMRS antenna. The one you see on top of the vehicle, toward the rear, and under the roof rack -- the shark fin -- is just stock equipment (I assume the cell antenna for vehicle tracking and communication services).

I posted this a while back, which has some details about the radio: https://www.4runner6g.com/forum/threads/my-gmrs-radio-mounting-location.2650/

The power wires and antenna were just fished through the firewall pass-through on the passenger side. I don't remember having any issues with this. It probably took me a little while to find a convenient place on both sides of the firewall pass-through to route cables. The antenna is not optimally placed (no ground plane and not elevated above the vehicle. But it has worked fine for our needs in small off-road groups.

My plan was to see how this does (so far, so good), then re-evaluate after I get the roof rack and RTT installed. TBH, it works fine for my needs right now and I probably will not be moving it for a while -- mainly due to time and everything else I need to get done first. But ideally, I'd like to have it mounted higher with a proper ground plane eventually.

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