Weigh Your Decisions Before Buying a Roof Rack

[T_Pomp]

If you are struggling to decide which roof rack to purchase, you are not alone. Whether you're looking at Sherpa, Westcott, Prinsu, etc, there are a lot of choices available on the market.

I ended up purchasing the Westcott Designs low-profile roof rack. They have a lot of strong advertising and confidence in their product, which is deserved. This being my first 4Runner, I didn't consider the mounting options, design, and flexibility that a lot of their competitors have. I previously owned a Rhino Rack Platform and just assumed I would have no problem finding hardware, brackets, etc for this new rack. As I am ordering parts in mounting brackets, etc., on my roof rack, I'm now regretting my decision for a few reasons. I'll tell you why....

1. Mounting. Westcott designs roof racks require you to remove each cross member when mounting anything. If you look at some of their competitors' cross members/supports, you will see that they have notches on the cross bar, which makes it easier to slide in the mounting bolts or nuts. I knew this was going to be required when I purchased this roof rack, but I didn't realize what a pain it would end up being. This has proven to be excessively time-consuming. Not to mention that the bolts that hold the crossbars to the side rails are starting to strip due to having to remove them so many times to run my light and install the mounting brackets.
2. Product availability. This is one of the things that has become a headache. Trying to find the right mounts, whether it's for traction boards, cargo boxes, or awning brackets, this has really become a hassle and made me have to look at numerous stores online and make phone calls or send emails to companies and wait days for responses before being able to order the parts I need. It seems Westcott is similar to Prinsu in channel width and shape, but again, I cant tell you how frustrating it has been trying to find (heavy-duty!) hardware and parts for this thing. Lightbars-what a pain in the a$$ this was. Trying to figure out which light bar I could use, and pairing that with the specific light bar brackets they offer, was a hassle. When I ordered the roof rack, I wasn't intending on purchasing a light bar right away, as I wanted to do a little bit of research on them. What I quickly found out was that since I ordered the low-profile roof rack with a 41" cutout, I was extremely limited on which light bars I was able to use and ended up having to go with one of the light bars that Wescott recommended, since it was previously tested by them to ensure a proper fit. Choosing a light bar that was not fitted by them and their warehouse could have caused me to order the wrong brackets and be stuck with parts that did not fit properly.
3. Design. All roof racks are essentially the same, but it's the little details in some that have better design and build than Westcott, which make them more appealing after the fact. Prinsu and DV8 roof racks have a feature that a lot of the others don't, an added slot on the longitudinal supports that run front to back. It might not seem like a huge deal, and maybe you don't think you need them, but I guarantee you would find a use for them at some point (like I could have used one to mount my mobile radio antenna instead of taking up crossbar space!). I wish I had done my research before ordering a roof rack.
4. Compatibility. My previous roof rack was a Rhino Rack platform. I have mounts for my kayaks, canoe, mountain bikes, and now I am going to have to figure out how to mount these on my current roof rack, which probably is going to require me to purchase multiple sets of new hardware. This roof rack has no options for any of these, and I really don't think I would purchase them in the first place since I have mounts for my previous rack. Why spend the extra money?
5. Price/Shipping. Let's be honest, price matters. As I stated previously, most of these roof racks are around the same price. I am a veteran and first responder, and one of the things that matters to me is the amount of money I can save by using these types of discounts when I purchase from various retailers. Westcott charges for shipping, while a lot of other manufacturers offer free shipping with their products. It might not be a huge deal to some people, but it could run you hundreds of dollars when ordering products like this. I don't mind paying shipping for a quality product, but when ordering numerous parts like most of us do for our 4Runner, this could really add up over the long run. Most of us don't order all of our parts at the same time, so paying shipping costs to the same retailer over and over as we order parts during the course of our build doesn't really appeal to me.

By no means am I an expert on the topic, although I have owned multiple Rhino Rack platforms for my previous two vehicles and have had some experience with purchasing and mounting equipment on them. One of the reasons I really liked the Rhino Rack platforms was due to the availability of different mounts, light bar brackets, kayaking/bike/canoe mounts, etc. There was never a question of if the Mount would be compatible since they sold and made their own.

Sponsored

 

[AmericanAdventureLab]

Thanks for taking the time to put together such a detailed and thoughtful write-up Anthony. You’ve highlighted a lot of the real-world considerations people face when choosing a roof rack, and your perspective is genuinely valuable for anyone navigating the current aftermarket landscape.


On the roof-rack topic, we do plan to build our own system for the 6th-gen 4Runner down the road. When we get there, our goal is to approach it from a different angle rather than releasing another version of the familiar designs already on the market. Companies like Sherpa, Prinsu, and Westcott have put significant work into the standard styles, and we have no interest in simply duplicating that. We’ve worked with the Sherpa team multiple times and have a ton of respect for their engineering and consistency. We’ll likely run a Sherpa rack on our 6th-gen for a period while we study fitment, mounting conventions, accessory ecosystems, and pain points across the category as a whole. They make a fantastic product, and that’s exactly why it’s a good benchmark for research.


You also brought up shipping, which is a tough one for almost every manufacturer right now. Freight and parcel rates have climbed to the point where “free shipping” is usually just shipping that’s been baked into the retail price. We’ve chosen not to hide shipping in our pricing because it isn’t fair to customers close to us. Someone in Salt Lake City shouldn’t be paying an average shipping cost that also accounts for sending that same rack to Maine. Charging the real shipping cost keeps things transparent and ensures customers only pay for what it actually costs to get the product to them. We fight these costs every day, but passing them through honestly is the only sustainable approach that still allows us to build and innovate without compromising quality.


I really appreciate the level of detail you put into your post, especially around mounting challenges, accessory availability, and compatibility. Those nuances matter, and they are exactly the kind of factors we pay close attention to as we plan future products. If you haven’t seen it yet, we maintain a sponsor forum here on 4Runner6G where we share R&D updates, solicit feedback early, and involve the community in the development process as much as possible. Your input would be extremely valuable there.


Thanks again for taking the time to lay all this out, as it helps both us and the community make better decisions going forward.

- James
Chief Design Strategist
American Adventure Lab

 

[T_Pomp]

Thanks for taking the time to put together such a detailed and thoughtful write-up Anthony. You’ve highlighted a lot of the real-world considerations people face when choosing a roof rack, and your perspective is genuinely valuable for anyone navigating the current aftermarket landscape.


On the roof-rack topic, we do plan to build our own system for the 6th-gen 4Runner down the road. When we get there, our goal is to approach it from a different angle rather than releasing another version of the familiar designs already on the market. Companies like Sherpa, Prinsu, and Westcott have put significant work into the standard styles, and we have no interest in simply duplicating that. We’ve worked with the Sherpa team multiple times and have a ton of respect for their engineering and consistency. We’ll likely run a Sherpa rack on our 6th-gen for a period while we study fitment, mounting conventions, accessory ecosystems, and pain points across the category as a whole. They make a fantastic product, and that’s exactly why it’s a good benchmark for research.


You also brought up shipping, which is a tough one for almost every manufacturer right now. Freight and parcel rates have climbed to the point where “free shipping” is usually just shipping that’s been baked into the retail price. We’ve chosen not to hide shipping in our pricing because it isn’t fair to customers close to us. Someone in Salt Lake City shouldn’t be paying an average shipping cost that also accounts for sending that same rack to Maine. Charging the real shipping cost keeps things transparent and ensures customers only pay for what it actually costs to get the product to them. We fight these costs every day, but passing them through honestly is the only sustainable approach that still allows us to build and innovate without compromising quality.


I really appreciate the level of detail you put into your post, especially around mounting challenges, accessory availability, and compatibility. Those nuances matter, and they are exactly the kind of factors we pay close attention to as we plan future products. If you haven’t seen it yet, we maintain a sponsor forum here on 4Runner6G where we share R&D updates, solicit feedback early, and involve the community in the development process as much as possible. Your input would be extremely valuable there.


Thanks again for taking the time to lay all this out, as it helps both us and the community make better decisions going forward.

- James
Chief Design Strategist
American Adventure Lab

Thank you for that response, James. It's all valid and appreciated. I actually just got off the phone with Victory 4x4. I offered to drive out to them to attempt to fit a full steel skid (minus the gas tank) on my rig since I have a hybrid, and they cant verify proper fit. Of course, I didn't ask first prior to ordering, so they are putting my order on hold for now! (Completely my fault.)

updated 11/14/25
I ended up canceling my order with Victory 4x4 and found all the pieces I needed at RCI Off Road (minus the transfer case).

Sponsored