TrailRax Modular Roof Rack Development & Details

[Blueroach]

Now check to see which ones have Pax Rax selected.

Also from the rack view page, starts with cheapest option, the 4 door has a half rack, therefore showing the cheapest price for it.

Much more helpful than just "try again"

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[We_Love_Tacos]

Much more helpful than just "try again"

I mean you could try taking a second on the website to figure it all out, or you can just go to a forum and let a non lazy, comprehensive person do it for you. I’m glad it worked out for you!

 

[TrailRax]

Why is the 2 Door significantly more expensive than the 4 door version?

It has been mentioned, but the reason you see the 4 door “cheaper” than the other is becuase it states the lowest price point of each. The 2 door does not have a half rack but the 4 door option does have a half rack. Thus the 4 door’s starting price of the rack will be cheaper than the 2 doors because you are getting half the rack. The half rack is a quick and easy option for those that do not want a full size rack. The half rack does not offer a ton of area to mount things.

 

[TrailRax]

Do I see a bow in this area?

No. This will be a very strong section that has no movement, we designed it to make sure it had no flex or play at all (it is unacceptable for a rack to flex, to us). This “cut out” area is for the removal of your MIC panels giving you the option to remove them and enjoy some open air.

 

[FLOBBRONCO]

No. This will be a very strong section that has no movement, we designed it to make sure it had no flex or play at all (it is unacceptable for a rack to flex, to us). This “cut out” area is for the removal of your MIC panels giving you the option to remove them and enjoy some open air.

Can you guys load the rack and put a level on top and see? Looks like is flexing to me.

 

[TrailRax]

Can you guys load the rack and put a level on top and see? Looks like is flexing to me.

We will have Fronco do that. The rack is very solid. Not sure where you are seeing it flex. It could be the angle of the camera at which the picture was taken.

 

[FLOBBRONCO]

We will have Fronco do that. The rack is very solid. Not sure where you are seeing it flex. It could be the angle of the camera at which the picture was taken.

Perfect. Thank you!

 

[fronc]

Can you guys load the rack and put a level on top and see? Looks like is flexing to me.

I'll take care of this later today! From my experience so far, there's generally no flex and I believe the "bow" is optical illusion from the roof lines, but I'll provide some video to clear things up.

 

[FLOBBRONCO]

I'll take care of this later today! From my experience so far, there's generally no flex and I believe the "bow" is optical illusion from the roof lines, but I'll provide some video to clear things up.

Thank you!

 

[fronc]

TrailRax "TRMRR" Bow/Flex Test:

So a few folks have asked about the rack's rigidity, flex and bow, both under load and without any weight on it. I'm hoping the following photos and videos provide valuable, real-world experience so you can see for yourself how solid it's built.

tl;dr - There's no bow, unless you're concentrating weight of 300+ lbs in the unsupported center of the aluminum beam. And there's very little flex under load except for that which, IMO, can be expected when loading considerable weight onto any roof rack. Nothing is going to be flex-free. Read on....

First question to address is whether there is a bow in the natural, unloaded state. Here's the question:

The answer is NO, and as far as I can tell, this is an optical illusion from the curvature of the roof and the cutout section. Also, just for clarity, I'll note that there was nothing in the Roam box in this photo, so we're talking just 25lbs... effectively no load. See below:

From this angle, it's easy to see that the roof is curved, with the highest point right where the front row of panels and the back row of panels meet. (Zoom to see the level indicating the slope at the front.)

But in case you're still skeptical of what your eyes are telling your brain, I overlayed some parallel, evenly spaced lines on top of this image to prove the rack is perfectly straight on top and bottom.

Without the truck there, here's the lines:

Validating this with a level, you'll see the rack is sitting level in the front row and level in the rear row, too.

So for this first question "is there a bow", I think the myth should be considered BUSTED. There's no bow in the rack when mounted and with no load.

But what about UNDER LOAD, right? I've got some findings there, as well. I did two tests, first with a distribution of 250lbs, then one with 350lb.

250lb maintained its level posture, no problem (zoom to see level, try not to fall for the optical illusion of the curved roof, again):

I also gave it a good bang with my hand to test how much vibration and play there was. It seemed perfectly reasonable to me in how it absorbed the impact. Watch the plates to see the amount of motion, because if you're looking at the rails you'll probably not even notice anything.

250lb Smack Test:




Next I upped the weight another hundred pounds, and finally saw a little bit of flex in the rails. At 350lb, here we were:

Considering the weight and the amount of space that these rails cover from the front mount point to the rear, I'd say you couldn't expect more from an aluminum rack, and it's very impressive to me.

I'll also note that the rear of the rack had no flex whatsoever, event at 350lbs... definitely something to keep in mind when distributing your weight across it:

The final test I did is in direct comparison to the "three-finger wiggle" I've seen on YouTube involving a competitor rack. I used all of my weight and force to move the rack up and down, and only saw maybe a quarter or eighth of an inch in flex, less than what these other guys see with just finger pressure. Again, I can't imagine it's reasonable to expect better than what we're seeing here:

Body Weight/Pull Test:




So there's no bow, unless you're concentrating weight of 300+ lbs in the unsupported center of an aluminum beam. And there's very little flex except for that which, IMO, can be expected when loading considerable weight onto any roof rack.

*** In the spirit of full disclosure, please know that I don't work for TrailRax, but I am now part of their affiliate program. I did receive a rack at a discounted rate, but the information I have put in this post is a true and accurate description and my own honest opinions. ***

 

[We_Love_Tacos]

@fronc iIt was pretty clear, to me at least, that the rack was straight and not under stress etc.

You went above and beyond for that reply.

 

[FLOBBRONCO]

*** In the spirit of full disclosure, please know that I don't work for TrailRax, but I am now part of their affiliate program. I did receive a rack at a discounted rate, but the information I have put in this post is a true and accurate description and my own honest opinions. ***

Thank you for doing this. Do you know if the manufacturer provides or have disclosed legitimate testing data?

 

[TrailRax]

Thank you for doing this. Do you know if the manufacturer provides or have disclosed legitimate testing data?

We are in the process of finalizing the exact number of load static and dynamic via a software. We should have those numbers finalized this week.

 

[Tents+Tread]

I'll take care of this later today! From my experience so far, there's generally no flex and I believe the "bow" is optical illusion from the roof lines, but I'll provide some video to clear things up.

SLATS compatible with FR equipment? looking to run the QD tent mounts on mine here when it comes in

 

[Lowdogg]

I just placed my order this AM. Looking forward to adding it. I appreciate the thoroughness of the answers to questions here.

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