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Frontrunner Slimline II roof rack selection and install
Thought I'd share my experience on how I selected a roof rack for the G, and how install went. Had some time this last weekend and finally got it on, and learned a few pointers along the way. Frontrunner (like most roof rack companies) don't offer a G-specific rack, but it's modular enough to fit just about any vehicle. I liked the Frontrunner because of that, and all the accessories you can get for it. My first choice would have been the M-Rack offered by KC Hilites, but after several emails back and forth they just don't plan on making one for the G.
So first point is to decide how long of a rack to get... if you go to the Frontrunner website, their G-Wagon 'full length' roof rack is 2.16m or about 85 inches long. However, that length doesn't cover the entire length of the W463 roof, it falls short about 10 inches. Not a bad thing, and that's a fine option, but if you want to maximize your carrying capacity you can go longer. If you go to G-Wagen Accessories website, their G-Wagon 'full length' roof rack is 2.37m or about 93 inches long. In talking to Frontrunner, they stated that G-Wagen Accessories get those as a special order. I don't know why Frontrunner don't offer that size on their own website, but they don't (maybe you can order over the phone, but they didn't offer that to me). So, I opted for the longer truly full length roof rack and ordered through G-Wagen Accessories.
Second point is to decide if you want the "tall" legs or the regular "low" legs. I opted for the low legs, based on clearance/height issues and also my next point....
Third point is that when researching and deciding on the Frontrunner, I did some research and there is information out there that states that a potential weak link on the Slimline II rack design is the legs. A well-known and respected off-roader fellow hinted that there have been a fair amount of failure for the racks based on leg failure. Apparently, forward to rear motion and stress is fine on the legs, but it's the side-to-side rocking motion with a heavily loaded Slimline II roof rack that can cause leg failure. Based on this, I decided on the regular or "low" legs, and decided that I would add as many legs to the rack as feasibly possible (without going overboard). You can order extra legs due to the modular design of the rack. The full length rack for the G Wagon usually comes with 4 pairs of legs, and I ordered 2 extra pair of legs for a total of 12 legs to support my rack. Maybe overkill, and maybe the hints are unfounded, but since I'll be adding a rooftop tent, it's added peace of mind.
Fourth point is now that you have the rack and legs, what is the best configuration to attach the legs? (Legs attach to any crossbeam member). The rack is gutter-mounted, and the gutter is mostly flat, but curves up and/or has joints which makes it not conducive to clamping a leg too close to either end of the gutter on either side. For example, with the longer 93 inch rack you CANNOT add a leg to both the first and the last crossbeam, no matter how many legs you have. With the 93 inch rack there are 12 crossbeams (11 crossbeams on the 85 inch rack), so ideally with 6 legs on both sides of the vehicle I'd want to have them every other crossbeam. I decided to start with the first crossbeam (front of vehicle) and do just that... add a leg every other beam. The only minor issue was with the first crossbeam, since it curves at the ends with the corner pieces of the rack, and making sure the 2 legs are wide apart enough to straddle the roof. For this rack, for each crossbeam you need to have the legs at just about the furthest apart you can get them on the rack, which is right around 58 3/4 inches apart, to sit properly in the gutter on either side.
So, here are pictures of the finished install. Some may call it overkill, but I think I've ended up with the optimal Slimline II rack arrangement that I could get:
Hope that all helps someone else in the future.
Last edited by Limey Hooligan; Mar 30, 2020 at 03:01 PM.
It looks like it added 4-6 inches to the overall height of truck.
How much room did you have left to clear your garage opening ? Assuming your opening is standard height...
It actually adds 8 inches of height from the rain gutter, or around 4-5 inches from your roof. Given my 3 inch lift and 33 inch tires, the top edge of my rack is now right about 7’1” from the ground.
That combo won’t fit in a standard residential garage, which I think the garage door opening is typically around 6’10”. I actually planned ahead and had my garage opening raised to a height of 7’3”. So I have about 2 inches to spare.
Great planning on the raising of the garage height. In my case I have stucco finished exterior wall so that may be more complicated and expensive to do versus wood siding.
Your truck is looking good with the complete package!
Thanks! Yes, I did plan ahead as much as I could. Did a LOT of research on rack options and rear bumper options, since I want to carry a hi lift and fuel cans. Now I'm looking at roof top tents and mounting options for them...
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