Mix in a few buddies, man’s best friend, camping gear and essentials for a weekend in the mountains, and suddenly you realize just how cramped an 80 Series can be. While not 2 Door JK tight, space is still at a premium under full load. Over the years I have downsized my gear – trying to take as close to a backpacking load out as I could – but I still struggled to get cargo secured in an efficient and safe way.
The solution to date has been to either do without or use a hitch rack that kills the truck’s departure angle. Till now, I’ve avoided roof racks on the 80 for a few reasons. One – it already has a high center of gravity and lacks any sort of stability control – and two – I have to park in a garage with a 7’ limit. This is a problem because currently most commercial offerings are a modular solution that sort of work for an 80 but they are usually heavy, too tall or crazy expensive.
The Prinsu Design Studio ROOFRAC addresses most of these concerns. The ROOFRAC is custom designed for an 80 series out of lightweight laser cut aluminum. It tips the scales at about 55lbs – close to the stock setup. It also hugs the roof, adding just 3 inches to overall height.
My first impressions are very favorable: Fit, finish and build quality are excellent, with stout and overbuilt being the first two words that come to mind. The powder-coating is thick and the supplied hardware is high quality. Overall the install was straight forward as seen on the time lapse above – but a set of instructions would be nice as none were included (at least in our set). Total install time from basic assembly to fine tuning took us about 90 minutes. The fit is scary precise – in some instances clearances are mere millimeters such as on the wind deflector. This should not be a problem – but I will keep an eye on it.
The rack will see some good use this summer – primarily carrying a ground tent and MaxTraxs as needed. Long term impressions to follow after the rack gets a proper break in on the trail.
Specs:
- 2 1/4″ 5052 Aluminum Plate Siderails
- 9 2″X1″ Aluminum Extrusion Crossbars
- 8 (4 per side) Heavy Duty Rain Gutter Mounts
- 1/8″ 5052 Aluminum Wind Deflector
- 4 Tie Down Rings
- MSRP: $765 – $865 Depending on Powder Coating (Shipping to DC was $75)
- Website: http://www.prinsudesignstudio.com
Tools Needed:
- Phillips Screw Driver
- 13MM Socket
- 11MM Socket
- 6MM Hex Socket
- 1 Friend to help lift it up
[…] 6 months have gone by since first cinching the Prinsu Design ROOFRAC on to the rain gutters on my 80 series. In that time the trusty Land Cruiser has seen a a half […]