TrailRax Modular Roof Rack For Your Bronco

[emulous74]

I finally got my rack installed on my 2-door and was able to mount my Roofnest Litewing 270 Awning (only 30lbs, it uses carbon fibre for the arms) using the TrailRax Low Profile 90 brackets. I did have to enlarge the holes on the brackets to use the Roofnest t-bolts. The TrailRax brackets come with drop/roll in nuts so you don't have to take the crossbars out to install the bracket. With the way the brackets are designed to sit on the ledge, the attached awning stayed in place while I bolted the bracket to the cross bars. I do think the 1/4 -20 bolts that come with the bracket are too short at 1/2" long, I tried 3/4" long ones and it seems to hold better.

And the rear glass can open fully without interfering with the Awning:

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[TrailRax]

I finally got my rack installed on my 2-door and was able to mount my Roofnest Litewing 270 Awning (only 30lbs, it uses carbon fibre for the arms) using the TrailRax Low Profile 90 brackets. I did have to enlarge the holes on the brackets to use the Roofnest t-bolts. The TrailRax brackets come with drop/roll in nuts so you don't have to take the crossbars out to install the bracket. With the way the brackets are designed to sit on the ledge, the attached awning stayed in place while I bolted the bracket to the cross bars. I do think the 1/4 -20 bolts that come with the bracket are too short at 1/2" long, I tried 3/4" long ones and it seems to hold better.

And the rear glass can open fully without interfering with the Awning:

Love the creativity and detail shots of your build. We are sure lots of customers would love to see these photos for inspiration.

 

[TrailRax]

Update 3/8/23:

Hey All!​

Our Roof Racks are available for pre-orders as of now! We have tons coming in and we are excited to continue to get them out to everyone. In the mean time, feel free to reach out to us via email ([email protected]) or PM if you have any questions!

We are soon opening our location for installs, if you would like to adventure your way up to the Salt Lake area, we would love to offer an install by us to save you shipping headaches and time.

 

[350vudu]

TRAILRAX FINALLY HAS A BRONCO!
​

Our team finally has a Bronco and we will be making a separate thread for those who want to follow the build, big things are coming! Is there anything content or video wise that you guys have been wanting to see? i.e. seeing how to remove both front and middle panels with the TRMR Rack still installed. Let us know, we want to use this Bronco to help support our customer's questions.

List of content already being planned:
1. How to remove both front and middle panels with TRMR Rack installed
2. Decibel rating before and after install of TRMR Rack

Did you guys ever make these videos?

 

[Destination Bigfoot Bronc]

what size roam case fits the half rack?

 

[BostonSasquatch]

I only want a rack to support a RTT. Can I pick and choose which crossbars to use, leaving the top mostly open when I don't have a RTT on the rack? There's more and more Broncos in the SLC area, but let me know if you need another for test fitting.

Yes, you can pick and choose how many cross members you want to use. The rack will come standard with a certain amount of T slot cross members for you to use. However, using all of them to distribute the weight of the RTT would be most beneficial.

We may take you up to test fit. We are in North Salt Lake.

I bought, off Craigs List, a generic Yakima-type box. The box's mounting points were not separated in 12-inch increments, which is the spacing for the TRMR's cross beams--if you use the paired holes. If you look at the TRMR's side rails, you'll notice a series of slots at the same height as the paired mounting holes. I simply relocated one of the cross beams to a slot, and was able to secure my cargo box.
Trailrax: I didn't see any mention of such use for those slots in your material or your website. They're perfect for repositioning, or adding crossbars.

 

[mikes781]

I bought, off Craigs List, a generic Yakima-type box. The box's mounting points were not separated in 12-inch increments, which is the spacing for the TRMR's cross beams--if you use the paired holes. If you look at the TRMR's side rails, you'll notice a series of slots at the same height as the paired mounting holes. I simply relocated one of the cross beams to a slot, and was able to secure my cargo box.
Trailrax: I didn't see any mention of such use for those slots in your material or your website. They're perfect for repositioning, or adding crossbars.

Is the bottom of you box flat or concave? Have a Bronco on order and am starting to look at rack options. I’d like to be able to mount a Thule box for family trips or to haul skis. The one thing that occurred to me is that most of the roof top boxes are curved at the ends and that mounting one on a rack like this could be a problem with their flat tops and the curve on the bottom of the cargo boxes. Was thinking that I might be able to get around that by adjusting the position of the load bars or possibly removing one or two to make space for the ends of the cargo boxes.

 

[BostonSasquatch]

Is the bottom of you box flat or concave? Have a Bronco on order and am starting to look at rack options. I’d like to be able to mount a Thule box for family trips or to haul skis. The one thing that occurred to me is that most of the roof top boxes are curved at the ends and that mounting one on a rack like this could be a problem with their flat tops and the curve on the bottom of the cargo boxes. Was thinking that I might be able to get around that by adjusting the position of the load bars or possibly removing one or two to make space for the ends of the cargo boxes.

This is an edit/rewrite;

I think I know what your issue is: the bottom isn't curved, rather, it has two levels: the front section is one "height", then drops or rises to a different "height" on the rear. Am I right? If so, I had that issue with my generic box: the front 1/3 was "higher" than the rear 2/3. Maybe it was designed this way to accommodate a different crossbar height on a sedan roof, you think?
The guy I bought from is also a mechanic, so we worked together to get it mounted strong and even, and relocating a crossbeam back a few inches to the sidebar slot was the solution.

So there's a lesson for everybody: take the model you want to buy out of the store and see how it "fits" on your roofrack! Don't accept the salesman's saying, "Oh, this fits every roofrack and crossbar!" I'd also make sure hardware that fits is included in the deal.

Hope this helps!

 

[mikes781]

Thanks @BostonSasquatch yep that is exactly what I’m talking about. The bottom of most boxes aren’t flat and seemed to be designed to mount on a rack with only two cross bars. They are probably shaped that way to be a little more aerodynamic. I just order my badlands this week so,I have a long time to figure this out lol. Sliding a crossbeam back may work but it will depend on the shape of the cargo box and how much room there is to work with.

 

[BostonSasquatch]

Alas, you have lots of time to poke around threads and learn, learn, learn! You might have noticed some threads with jokes about filling up the garage with accessories and junk while waiting for their Bronco to be delivered. If the cargo box is important, then keep checking eBay, Craigslist, and Facebook Marketplace until you find just the one you want. And yes, a completely flat bottom is a good idea. The manufacturers must have Subarus and not Broncos in mind. I'm very satisfied with the Trailrax (4-Dr with Heretic light).
As long as you're waiting, besides thinking through accessories and stuff, you can keep your eyes open for sales and special promotions. Be careful: this gets very addictive and very expensive very fast! If you're a veteran or first responder, be sure to ask for possible discounts.
Get acquainted with Bronco groups and see if you can ride shotgun on a trail ride. For that matter, if you pass through Boston, be sure to message me, okay?

 

[BostonSasquatch]

Still in the process of installing my TRMR rack on my 2-door and did an exploratory purchase at McMaster-Carr to see the largest and most robust mounting hardware I can use with/on the TrailRax. Hopefully my experiment will help some other folks out in time, money and frustration.

What worked:

• 93180A911- 316 Stainless Steel Square-Neck Carriage Bolt Super-Corrosion-Resistant M6 x 1 mm Thread, 20 mm Long, Packs of 10. This is a very tight fit and the tolerances of the carriage bolt are not exact, so about 1 in 10 wouldn't fit in the track:
  • 
• 94205A250- 316 Stainless Steel Nylon-Insert Locknut, M6 x 1 mm Thread, DIN 985, Packs of 50.
  • 
• 3061T26- 316 Stainless Steel Oval Eye Nut - for Lifting, M6 x 1 Thread Size. I test fitted this one and seemed a little loose, I think using a washer and blue thread lock would work here. YMMV.
  • 
• 47065T226 - T-slotted Framing. Drop-in Nut with Spring Loaded Ball, 1/4"-20 Thread Size. These allow you to drop these in through the top of the track (meaning you don't have to take off the side brackets and slide something in. The one caveat to this is the bolt is 9/16" which means it sticks up rather much, so you'll need something thick to get a tight fit, they do have 1/2" size that I will try out as it's 11% shorter.
  • 

Did NOT Fit:

• 3136N399 - T-slotted Framing, Drop-in Hammer Nut, Button Head, 30mm High Rail, M6 Size
• 5537T72 - T-slotted Framing, Drop-in Hammer Nut with Button Head, 1/4"-20 Thread Size
• 6000N312 - T-slotted Framing Fasteners, Drop-in Spring Loaded Ball Nut, Stainless Steel M6

Emoulus70, thanks for doing this research on fittings. I also admire your canopy installation (post, March 7). I want to keep a small box with various fittings of T-nuts, threaded eye nuts, and various-length bolts, that I can slip in and out of the extrusion slots depending upon my cargo and gear needs, and not have my TRMR cluttered with plates and fittings when I'm on daily drive. Besides, all those mounting plates and fixtures = more weight and $$.

For my recovery boards, I'm thinking: (Four) 1/4-20 hammerhead bolts, 4-5 inches long (in the slot), a washer and a locking nut (to keep them in place in the slot), thus creating 4 upright studs for my (TrickyDick) boards, drilling holes as necessary. Then secure the boards with a nice, wide fender washer and either large wingnuts or maybe a turn-knob. This way, I can install and remove these mounting studs at will.

The longest 1/4-20 hammerhead bolt I can find is 3.5 inches, but McMaster-Carr has a full-threaded 18-8 carriage bolt at 4.75 inches which might be long enough. I'm thinking I can grind down two sides of a carriage bolt to create my own hammerhead to slide in and out of the track.

Trailrax: Love the product (4Dr/Heretic+PakRax), bought last November, but didn't get to installing until February. We noticed my build-buddy (Delli555) got Loctite, I didn't. Then I noticed that somebody posted his observation that fittings needed a little tightening after a rough trailride, so you included that in the 2023 shipments. I'll spend a little time re-fastening the bolts with the Loctite Blue.

Researching fittings for the extrusion slots has been a chore, so thanks again, Emoluous70. Trailrax, I really suggest that you consider either (1) including an accessory fixtures package with your product, or (2) Assembling a few varying packages and making them available as an acce$$ory, or (3) Including in the TrailRax system instruction literature an info sheet specifying what bolts, hooks, nuts, and eyebolts fit, and recommending sources.

Lastly, Trailrax, my install-buddy and I noticed that he, being left-handed, was more efficient on the passenger side (front roof-mount especially) and me, being a righty, on the driers side. Two more ideas: (1) label your parts package with where they will be installed in addition to their size, and (2) provide more study allen wrench than a piece of bent metal. You can probably volume-source something like this for not much money.

Enjoy your videos, your images, and especially your roofrack. Is TrailRax privately or publicly owned? To think that I was visiting a friend in Centerville last year, and didn't think to stop by your digs!

PS: Very lastly, whoever handles this customer forum does a great job with information and product enthusiasm--a pleasure to read. But please, please, as a writer I beg you to ease up on the exclamation marks. Bad form.

 

[josh1121]

Has anyone installed the KC Gravity LED Pro6 with the full TrailRax rack? I like the round lights, but they use the same mounting point on the windshield as the roof rack.

 

[BespokeBronco]

Has anyone installed the KC Gravity LED Pro6 with the full TrailRax rack? I like the round lights, but they use the same mounting point on the windshield as the roof rack.

I’m in for the same information. I figured I’d have to custom fabricate something to make them work as I have them already.

 

[Trees]

Will the 2 door half rack be compatible with the besttop sunrider?

 

[TrailRax]

Will the 2 door half rack be compatible with the besttop sunrider?

We will have answers on that very soon.

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