When carrying in the appendix position, some holsters can interfere with the belt buckle. For instance, with wider attachments, the leftmost attachment might want to go right over my belt buckle, which often doesn’t work.
Here the belt buckle may interfere with the preferred appendix carry position. It also protrudes out further.Here, the belt buckle adds to the overall width of the beltline from the appendix carry position.
In addition to being in the way, sometimes the buckle sticks out. I have a number of belts with a cobra buckle, and even if I can center it without it interfering with my preferred carry position, it adds another 1/2″ or more to my waistline.
I have a simple tip to address these two issues that you may have already thought of.
Instead of changing how or where you carry, move your belt buckle. That’s right… it doesn’t need to be pointed straight forward. For a right handed shooter, move the belt buckle to the left to gain additional clearance for the holster clip. It’s simple and effective. Who says you must have your buckle straight forward on your centerline? Not me, especially when it affects my concealed carry!
Here the belt buckle is moved to the side, allowing me to carry the pistol exactly where I want and reducing beltline girth.Here the belt buckle is moved to the side, allowing me to carry the pistol exactly where I want and reducing beltline girth.
When we bought the 4runner, the dealer had the rooftop tent installed on the factory rack, with Yakima aero bars bridging the gap between the factory roof rack and the CVT rooftop tent. While it seemed reasonably secure, it sat higher than I wanted and I thought it probably wasn’t as strong as it should be. So I considered it my mission to come up with a stronger, lower solution.
While strength is a primary concern, I also didn’t want a solution that would put me well above the $1k+ territory. I wanted something lower, something stronger, something that fits the look of the 4runner, and preferably something that doesn’t make a lot of noise. Oh yes, it cannot cover the sunroof.
Toward that end, I called Rhino Adventure Gear, a Rhino dealer in California. They called me back later in the day, and we discussed options. After some measuring, the standard Rhino rack (not the backbone, but the rack itself) bar spacing would be a bit awkward versus the bars on the bottom of the CVT tent. The CVT bars would be half on/half off the Rhino bars. However, we did discuss the possibility of me just buying the backbone system and I would fabricate my own cross bars to mount the tent on. This is ultimately what we decided to pursue.
I also separately purchased 80/20 15 Series T-Slot aluminum extrusion 48″ long in anodized black. These are 1.5″ square extrusions, and I figured would be plenty strong. I wasn’t certain exactly how I would mount to the backbone when I bought these, but I thought it likely that I could mount them directly to the top of the backbone — this is ultimately what I did. I purchased 4, but ultimately only needed 3. They cost just over $13 each, plus shipping.
80/20 Cross Bar Attachment to Rhino Rack Backbone
To help reduce wind noise, I also purchased 40 feet of 15 series t-slot cover, which I threaded into the top & front & rear of the extrusions. I may also add to the bottom of the extrusions in the future. Cost $26.
Finally, I purchased black end covers for the 15-series. I ended up with more than I needed — 10 — but the cost was about $16 for these.
Backbone: $369, extrusions $13×3, t-slot cover $26, end covers $16. $450 for the whole thing, which is quite a bit less than the full systems including the racks.
With all the parts in hand, I proceeded with installation. First step is to remove the factory roof rack. Note that with this system, no holes need to be drilled in the roof. I popped the factory end covers, then loosened the two screws at each end gradually. Apparently, the 2 screws at each end have a bracket holding each of them together, so it’s best to loosen them gradually to avoid stressing that bracket. The factory roof rack removed easily.
Installing the Rhino Backbone was easy, and the included instructions were sufficient. Simply use the same mounting holes, apply the rubber “gaskets”, place the backbone, and then install using the included bolts with washers arranged appropriately. Once the 4 bolts are attached and torqued appropriately, the backbone is in place. Repeat for the other side.
With the backbone in place, it seemed reasonably strong. The steel isn’t overly heavy, but should hold weight well. I will say that the factory rack seemed to be more solid under side-to-side load due to the way the bottom was formed to the shape of the roof. Part of me wishes that the backbone did something similar to distribute weight on the roof a little better, which might help with side-to-side loading.
Installing the t-track was trivial. I already had some t-track brackets & bolts, and I used those to clamp the rack down on the roof. I paid special attention to spacing them evenly on the roof, and I made sure the split washers were in place, as I didn’t want them loosening up. Provided the t-track is tightly attached to the backbone, this will distribute the tent weight side to side better, helping keep things rigid. If they loosen up, I could see the weight of the tent pushing down and bending the backbone attachments.
Crossbars on the Rhino Rack Backbone
Finally, the backbone system provides for 3 cross bars. I’m utilizing all 3, with the intent that the middle adds strength to the overall system. However, the CVT tent uses only bracket mounts front and rear. I suppose I could add a 3rd set in the middle, but I don’t see a strong need for that.
So far, I’m happy with the mounting system and apparent strength. My wife does report more wind noise, which is not surprising since we had previously been running the factory roof rack without crossbars. The rack does look good on our all-black T4R, fitting the black theme and removing the factory silver.
Next step is to mount the tent and test!
Update 6/1/2018: After driving the T4R, I agree with my wife that the wind noise is significant. I’m pulling the crossbars off until we are ready to mount the RTT. I’m a bit disappointed at the amount of noise, but I guess that can be expected given the squareness of the 80/20 crossbars.
Update 6/8/2018: After removing the 80/20 crossbars, the T4R is back to being super quiet. Thank goodness!
