Second Generation Nissan Xterra Forums banner

[MPS] roXterra Drop-in Roof Rack with Vibration Dampening

FOR SALE 
38K views 143 replies 33 participants last post by  roXterra 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Plant Sky Vehicle Grille Automotive tail & brake light

RoxTerra Steel/Aluminum Drop in Roof Rack with vibration dampening
Info on the rack, prices, etc here:
Xterra Roof Racks, Molle Panels and accessories - roXterra Designs - Roof Racks and Molle Panels for Xterran Gen2 2005-2015 and Gen1 2000-2004

Features
  • drop in aluminum roof rack for Xterra 2005-2015 made from 1" aluminum tubing
  • 51 inches long, maximizing the available roof space
  • can carry over 100lb
  • the cushioned attachment to the roof rack is such that the mesh on top will not rattle off road, with or without a load
Installation
  • comes with all mounting hardware to your stock Xterra round bars
  • uses rubber padded attachment from stock bars, no drilling required
  • attach the rack to Xterra round bars, and tighten 8 nuts
  • vibration dampened roof attachment
  • U bolts with padding included, all you need is 9/16 socket to tighten the bolts
Usage
  • 6 heavy duty round luggage mounting spots (2 front, 2 back, 1 on each side) - 1 inch holes
  • enough room between roof and bars to run a securing rope without rubbing the roof
Delivery
  • ready within 3-4 days
  • free pickup in Tucson, Arizona
  • $30 once a week delivery to Phoenix
  • about $80 to ship
Following are the pictures of the steel model
Also showing here (in black color) are the Thule cross bars and Thule bike holders, attached because of the custom brackets (1) welded to the top of the rack
2) is a custom "wing" which allows attaching antenna with a magnet base to the roofrack , allowing for garage clearance.

Roof rack with mesh top - use any of the 100 or so holes for tying

2 Designs

Slim, U bolts face inwards:


Lowrider, U bolts face up:


Early days raw steel photos:
Raw steel pictures before powder coating - expanded metal mesh in first picture, and bars without that mesh in the following 2


Roof rack without mesh top
View attachment 123805
 
See less See more
1
#48 ·
Thule bars 78".... $87 on sale from $110 at EMS, only for another 5 days or less

hard to find... discontinued... cut it to whatever size you want.
Even 60 inch Thule bars cost $110 or $120 normally
 
#50 ·
Aluminum Lowrider weighed in at 18.19 lb today.
I thought it was over 20lb before, but I didn't use this scale, and I trust this scale. What I did before was use a bathroom scale with me and with and without the rack, and since then I have seen some discrepancies in its numbers for different items....... but not with this gravity scale!

127531


Following pictures with 4 bags of 40-50lb soil each:
I am not just the owner, I am also a customer : )
I don't put up 150lb of stinky dirt on the roof just for the show
127535

The white strip is an LED strip... work in progress. RGB colors with a controller, remote control, in the mail (this was step one, step 2 supplies are in the mail)


yes all that could go inside, maybe spill a little, but what if your inside was like this already:
127536
 
#52 · (Edited)
Transporting 2 steel racks to a powder coater over an hour away..... so a 4 hour deal eventually. Striking a balance between cost and time to complete.
Ideally I would go on a cross country trip just delivering all in person! I think 3 boxed ones would still be safe on top of each other. So a custom trailer with another 5-7? : )

Mine is steel, but when you load/unload them several times a day, you start appreciating the 18lb Aluminum version!
127720


Steel version is 43.67 lb vs 18.19 lb for Aluminum above.

127721
 
#54 ·
Thank you very much Brandon! Very nice scenery in the last photo!
I really appreciate the feedback. No matter how excited I get about my 100 roof rack uses, it's the buyer's feedback that matters even more.

You mounted an ARB awning with your own U bolts, I hope to address rack mountable ARB awning brackets sometime, as well as something for Trax boards, for those who want them angled within or outside the basket. Or some push-compress letgo-expand go-through-the-mesh clamp for easy on-off Trax boards.

I had the idea of putting Trax boards above the stock roof basket (wet box), for those rooftop-loaded users. It would flip up so then the wet box can flip up.... someday maybe.

From another what else can I carry on the roof episode..... Xterra stock bumper wrapped up. Worked fine at 80mph, and the Thule bars helped with more anchor points and contact area. The 20 lb lightness of the load was a concern here.
128068


A rare day with Arizona clouds, it's just blue skies during the month of June, but monsoons are coming in late July.
128069
 
#57 ·
Finally received my slim rack from roXterra!
I was able to install it this week and it's a perfect fit in between the roof bars, quality is top notch and so is the finish.

I'd definitely recommend anyone that is looking for a rack to reach out to Robert, he was very helpful with any question I had, and suggested a way to have removable Thule holders made.

I might post pictures later on if I'm able to take them during the day.

Thanks Robert!
 
#60 ·
Finally got mine temporarily installed and pics taken. Gotta thanks Robert for packing it so tIghtly. Could’ve survived a tac nuke! Very nice textured powder coat too. I did buy some stainless u bolts to replace supplied ones. A customer of mine runs a powder coating business and offered to coat the bolts in black. Thanks again Robert.
129137
129138
 

Attachments

#61 ·
Looks great SpacemanSpiff!
Powder coaters know to sandblast the U bolts before powder coating, but stainless is trickier to powder coat, make sure they have experience with stainless (some places don't want to do it). When trying to match color with U bolts, the rack color is 60% semigloss black textured.
 
#62 ·
So I was in the market for a rack and stumbled across roXterra's on this forum. A quick discussion with Robert sealed the deal for me. I went with the aluminum lowrider rack and am more than pleased with it!






A quick before and after. (Added 285s too)





I needed the rack somewhat quickly in time for a hunting trip. I asked Robert if he could expedite the fabrication and he agreed. I sent payment on July 29th and the rack was here for pick up on August 17th! Robert maintained constant communication throughout the transaction. A+ customer service. Highly recommend Robert and any of his products!

Hopefully I'll have a picture to post of me hauling a nice set of elk antlers on the rack from Wyoming all the way back to Mississippi!
 
#63 ·
Looking good in Mississippi! Nice and green around, and the powder coated U bolts match your X. Thank you for your review Nathan 😀

Let's see your rack when it’s loaded on the trip! And with antlers too.

Zip ties have their uses up there. 8” or 20” sometimes. I carry them and ropes on the Molle.

129420


Pre-knotted rope, cuts down tying by half count.
129421
 
#65 ·
Triple decker..... no 4-decker experience yet, but with the extra width of Thule bars, I would be ok with that load, especially if all are aluminum. Need to watch overhead limit bars then!

Here at the top is aluminum rack and under it steel. Steel has a darker layer on top of it from factory, it comes off during sandblasting/sanding before being painted.
Both materials would be bad news if not painted, they get really hot in the sun, and even raw aluminum develops oxidation discoloration, raw needs to be painted, no matter how it's painted, it needs that layer of protection.
130176


2 aluminum racks on top of each other, both in same black semi-gloss powder coat, but the top looks different due to the sun angle
130178


Permanently attached Thule holders (left),
vs the removable Thule holders with a hole on the bottom
130177
 
#66 ·
Just got back from a ~3,600 mile elk hunting trip. Somehow I managed to fit all my gear without using the rack for the commute out there and back, but the rack came in EXTREMELY useful while actually out hunting/camping. I neglected to get many action shots of the rack doing its work, but here's a couple with ~75lbs of double bagged elk meat (meat itself in game bags, then wrapped in contractor bags to keep dust off). The first meat haul had 2 elk hindquarters on the rack for a total of ~120lbs.





The rack was used a lot for throwing garbage bags, dirty gear, etc. on top to try and keep the interior cleaner.

Love the rack and others do as well! I've lost count of how many compliments and questions I've gotten about it. A few more shots from the trip.








Leave it to me to get stuck in drought/red flag fire conditions! Learned my lesson...If you see a wet spot out there during a drought, avoid at all costs!!


Thanks again to roxterra for such an awesome product!
 
#70 ·
That's a great photo with snow, where is that exactly?

Thanks for the review Nathan, I am happy to see the rack used in different ways, but it looks great empty too : )
Awesome that it turned heads!
Were the comments from other Xterra people or non-Xterra ones too?


Just got back from a ~3,600 mile elk hunting trip.
 
#68 ·
Question about the hitch rack and all that weight you carried on it. Were you hitting the bump stops or do you use airbags on the rear? I used a hitch rack for camping a few weeks ago and was bottoming out on the bump stops a lot! Almost made it scary to drive it. Had one cooler and 10gal of water back there.
 
#69 ·
I hit bump stops a few times while on the washboard roads but it wasn't an issue. I rarely could travel over 20mph due to road conditions. On the highway, the hitch rack was fine. Had ~250lbs or so on it. My stock leaf springs are still in decent shape, that may have something to do with it?
 
You have insufficient privileges to reply here.
Top