Nomad's Lexus GX 460 - aka - Land Cruiser Prado 150

Full size roof rack mounted, a time consuming DIY My goals with this rack: DIY, full roof size, able to stand on, as low profile as possible, can connect to stock rails and be quickly removable.  The heavy duty cross bars I made work fine for hauling beach items and lumber from the 'Depot. I was planning on making a fairing to eliminate the little bit of wind noise and adding flat platform material to it. The larger issue I ran into was they were not long enough to support a full 8' sheet of material, leaving the front to bend down toward the roof, and the curve of the roof track made them uneven for a flat cover.  Reality is I felt the itch to do a project and weld more. I want a solid platform to mount items to that are odd shapes or heavier, like max tracks, an awning, or a spare 5 gallons of gas for offroad excursions in this thirsty truck.  But really, who doesn't want to look like they are on a safari, rolling curbs in the Target parking lot? After looking at severa...

"I welded, it helded." I was thinking about  adding rock sliders. Not to hit rock gardens and pivot around obstacles or grind over boulders, but as a 'just in case" measure as even mild trails can reach up and grab those low hanging plastic steps the GX came with.  I had a few options: Several suppliers have bolt on designs for $600-1,000 Trail Gear DIY kits are around $350-400 Raw steel tube would cost $250 (still need to buy a bender) I researched and watched used markets for take offs... As I looked at used parts, I noticed how much cheaper the Jeep JK stuff was. DIY kits are basically sliders welded up but you do the fitment, mounting plates, and extensions. Weld it and finish it. Well, my catalog of poor ideas keeps growing... I had another one. I picked up a set of Smittybuilt rock sliders for the Jeep JKU (4 door) for $80 locally. Cheaper than I can buy the same amount of raw tube steel... Jeep sliders for the Lexus? Just my style. Stock sideskirts are 74...

As seen in a previous post I've removed the 3rd row seating and installed a flat tray for hauling materials and a more functional rear space, along with removing 200+ lb from the rear for daily use. But I want versatility...  I've been planning on making a low set-in tray for the rear with drawers so that I can store some basic items like tow straps, gear, and tools out of the way, as well as transport smaller flatter items out of sight. It'll be a lighter drop in that can be easily lifted out. Unfinished mock-up I'd still want to be able to load larger items in the flat space, and not just rely on the retractable cover (which you have to find space for with an unexpected load).  For a family of 4 this has been great. THEN, we decided to go to the beach... with some family. 6 of us.  Uh oh. I removed the rear seats so now we're looking at two vehicles just to go?  I now realized I can improve on this idea. I removed the rear deck, grabbed passenger 3rd row seat and...

  I need to occasionally haul things back from the HD store for projects and a nice solid roof rack would be a great addition that would allow me to haul long items and 4x8 sheets with ease. Granted it'll be relatively light weight use but attaching some roof boxes, accessories and an awning will also be easy in the future. There are companies selling heavy duty crossbars but they blow what I'm willing to spend for something so basic. I may eat my words later... or just remove them and go on with life... First iteration: Superstrut The factory rails, while much maligned for being low profile, only need a J hook clamp and a top flat surface. So the design is relatively straightforward. While I should have built with straight cuts as proof of concept I went ahead and complicated things by doing 45 degree ends and filler plates right off the bat. I want a nicer, streamlined look (if that's even possible) More progress: The superstrut has J shaped bottom section and 2" pie...