Mount Storage Cases and Cargo Boxes To Factory 4Runner Roof Rack Cross with LFD Aluminum Crossbars Using a Pelican Vault Case
You may have seen rigs around town (and definitely all over Instagram) with large cases mounted to their roof racks. The main benefit is obvious: storage space, and what people store in them vary widely. In my case, I will be storing recovery/utility-related items.
The need for this extra storage stems from a recent family trip that we took and I found that all of my recovery gear took up a lot of valuable cargo space in the trunk. This seemed especially wasteful to me, given they were all items I wouldn’t likely need to access frequently.
Overview of the Pelican Vault V730
When it came to deciding on which case I would mount to my roof, a couple of obvious options came to mind.
Find the options online:
Since I only have the LFD ruggedized crossbars on the factory rails, the useable length behind the front wind fairing was only about 50″. I knew my OCD (and wind noise) would bother me having a case hanging over and past the wind fairing, so I started looking at some shorter options. I ended up on the Pelican Vault V730 (linked above), which is the middle size in their Vault case line coming in at just a hair over 47″ in length. Price-wise, the V730 can be found for around $190, which sits right between the two case options listed earlier.
This case aims to give some of the basic weather protection (including weather stripping) of the Pelican Storm, but loses the waterproofness (submerging) and indestructibility of its more expensive relatives. From a value perspective, I was perfectly fine with this as the case will just be sitting on my roof – not thrown around a war zone. It also includes tons of foam padding should you choose to use it, but note that it isn’t the pluckable kind, so you will need to cut it manually. I ended up just keeping the top foam piece to provide a little heat protection in the summer.
Hardware & Tools Needed
This hardware is specific to the LFD crossbars, please take a look at your setup to adjust as needed.
- 3/8 x 1in Hex Bolts (4)
- 3/8 x 13/16 Neoprene Washer (4)
- 3/8 x 1.5in Neoprene Washer (4)
- 3/8 x 1/2in Bonded Sealing Washer (4)
- 3/8 Split Lock Washer (4)
- 3/8 Flat Washer (8)
- 3/8 Nylon Locking Nut (4)
- Drill w/ 1/8in and 1/4in drill bits
- 14mm socket-wrench
Planning & Measuring
Since you will be drilling holes into a brand-new (and not cheap) case, it’s extremely important to figure out where you would like to position it on your roof. “Measure twice, cut once” definitely applies here. I positioned the case exactly where I wanted it to live for the foreseeable future and also left the liftgate open, making sure the case cleared the top of it.
Once I was satisfied with the positioning, I used some masking tape and pen to mark where the rails and bolt slots I would be mounting to were relative to the bottom of the case.
With the case off the roof, I picked a reference point on the bottom of the case to measure the distance of the pen mark relative to it. On the Pelican Vault, there just happened to be a raised edge that squarely ran the width of the case – perfect.
The distance from the plastic edge ended up being 5 & 5/8″ and I then decided to place each hole 3″ from the side edges, using a drill bit to etch a mark on where I would drill my pilot holes.
Drilling & Mounting Hardware
Using a 1/8″ drill bit, I drilled 2 pilot holes on the back of the case. I followed this with a 1/4″ drill bit to put the bolts through. After the holes were drilled, I test fit a bolt to make sure they went in snuggly.
Leaving the first two bolts in the case, I then placed it back on my roof. This was to make sure the opposite side’s set of markings was still lined up correctly with the crossbar slots.
The bolt/washer assembly is as follows, going up from under the crossbar:
- Bolt
- Split lock washer
- Flat Washer
- 3/8 x 13/16in Neoprene Washer
- Crossbar
- 3/8 x 1.5in Neoprene Washer
- Bonded Sealing Washer
- Case
- Flat Washer
- 3/8 Nylon Locking Nut
Getting all 4 bolts through the crossbars and case can be tedious. Once done, I secured everything with a flat washer and nylon locking nut inside the case using a 14mm socket. With the amount of friction provided by both the neoprene and split lock washers, there wasn’t a need to secure the bolt from underneath the crossbar as I tightened the nuts from inside the case.
Securing The Case
The Pelican Vault has 4 points for padlocks. I only ended up using 2 since it would drive me crazy to unlock 4 of them every time I needed to access the case contents. The choice of padlock is up to you, just make sure it has an extended shackle and is weather resistant as it will be sitting in the elements.
End Result
Overall, I’m very happy with how the storage box looks mounted on my roof. The case sits just under 7″ tall, which brings the highest point of my rig to 7 feet. This means that I should still be able to fit in most parking garages without issue.
The main benefit is as stated in the beginning, gaining all of my trunk space back. I am now able to fit way more travel-related items for our family trips while still being able to have all of my recovery and emergency gear in tow.
Wind noise is slightly more prevalent, but that was to be expected with a rectangle box now disrupting the airflow. One side benefit is a mild correction to the driver-side lean from the gas tank. This is due to having this case and gear sitting on the far passenger side.
What are your thoughts on roof-mounted storage boxes and cases? Do you prefer the look of other storage such as a Thule-style case? Leave a comment!
As always, thanks for reading and I’ll see you all in the next one!
hello, were you able to avoid wind noise by moving the case to the second bar?
i got a TRD ORP and opted for the LFD rack also. Any recommendations on general hardware to use for tie downs when loading bulky items? Particularly keeping wind noise minimal
For larger items, I just used standard ratchet straps. You shouldn’t hear too much wind noise since these already sit behind the driver’s seat on the roof.
Hey man, just got my vault and was about to install it when it occured to me that I had from the first crossbar to the last one about 1/4 inch gap between the bar and the botyom of the vault. Did that happen to you as well?
Yeah I had a gap as well, so I just slid the first bar back a little to sit flush the box!
Do you have a measurement from the roof line to the highest part of the box? I trying to figure some height number to make sure I can clear the garage still.
I can’t recall exactly, I think it was about 8ft – sorry for the late response!
Hey Ryan.
What made go with the LFD rails instead of something like a Prinsu? I’m leaning more toward the LFD rails as I have no desire to mount a roof top tent, but would like a few more options of being able to mount stuff to the roof. The cost is one thing holding me back, four rails and the wind deflector is just over half the cost of a 3/4 Prinsu by the time I get them to Canada.
Sorry for the late response – at the time, I just didn’t want to spend the money or mess with the factory seals of the roof rails. I mainly wanted a little more versatility to strap large items and a cargo box, so these fit the bill.
Hi Ryan! I did the install as noted and have a couple things to note. 1) the 1/4 drill was not large enough. I had to use a 3/8” for the 3/8” bolts. 2) the 3/8 x 1 bolts were barely long enough. a 3/8 x 1 1/4 would be ideal for install. I understand the extra bolt proud of the lock nut may not be ideal so it’s a trade-off. If I did it again I’d go with a longer bolt.
overall pretty clean install with patient measurements, adequate hardware and a cold soft drink.
now to dry run it for a couple days, check fasteners then load it up!
cheers!!
Those are great points! I agree, a slightly longer bolt would definitely make the install a little easier and provide more peace of mind!
Ryan, going this route in 2022. Can you share what you load in the case and some images?
Here ya go! Excuse the doggo, she was curious. Misc recovery gear, air compressor, tire repair kit, etc.
Thank you!
Ryan, I have the same crossbars and tried to do this a couple of months ago. I was unsuccessful. How do you get the bolts to stay in place on the crossbars. I can’t get my hand under the box after the first bolt is in place. Thanks.
Hey Kevin,
I was able to get each bolt to stay in place using the neoprene washers as pictured in 4th from the last pic. Then I carefully placed the holes of the box over those. That was by far the most tedious part. You could alternatively use a low-profile nut to sandwich between the crossbar and box to lock the bolt in place.
Once that’s done, the split lock washer + the neoprene washers come into play – they provide enough friction where you shouldn’t need to secure the bolt from the bottom with a socket while tightening. I felt I was able to tighten the nylon locking nut enough from inside the box before I saw the bolt start to spin on the bottom. For what it’s worth, I took this on a shake-down run on the trails and didn’t even air down – got home and rechecked that everything was still tight.