What Roof Rack do I Need for My 2021 Toyota 4Runner Off-Road Premium to Use Hullavator?  

First I wanted to thank the different people I spoke to at ETrailer.com for their assistance. The issue I have is I am looking to install two Hullivators on the roof of my 2021 Toyota 4Runner TRD Off-Road Premium. Thule does not support or give much information on how to do or plan this but luckily I learned a lot when I did this before (well 10 years ago. I first called Thule and I have been using Thule equipment for over 10 year, although Yakima is good equipment also. Thule customer support was of little help and to use Two Hullivators on the roof of my SUV, I need a longer crossbar. The reason for this is that the Hullivator comes down on the side of the SUV and if the crossbar is not long enough, the Hullivator will hit and dent the side doors. Thule used to tell you what was needed. As an example previous to this 2021 SUV, I had a 2000 4Runner (I traded the 2000 in with a little under 250,000 miles). At the time Thule could tell me that for my 2000 4Runner I needed a 53" crossbar but if adding Hullivators, I needed a 58" crossbar. Thule no longer gives out that information so now it was a guessing game as to how long the crossbar on the 2021 needed to be. Secondly it seems every 5 years or so, Thule changes their equipment. The footpads for the 2021 4runner are different then the footpads for the 2000 4Runner that I had previously. I did get some good information from one Thule Support person, but that was limited. I spoke or wrote to a number of people here at ETrailer.com and all were nice and really tried to help me. It has been at least a week since I spoke to a few people and I wanted to thank them all for their input. I am not mentioning names as I do not want to leave out anyone. OK, issues I was dealing with. First some of the equipment that was recommended as fitting my 2021 4Runner would not work as it did not take into account the longer crossbars needed so the Hullivators did not hit the sides of the SUV and damage them. Second, the style of the crossbars needed to be taken into account as the Hullivator attachments were for Thule Square bars, and possibly the Yakima round bars. So this eliminated any of the aero style bars. Now the Hullivators may have fit with the different Aero bars, but would probably require a new attachment approach and I wanted to keep things simple. Third, and this was pointed out by one of the ETrailer.com experts (thank you) that some of the Yakima roof rack solutions being offered used Aluminum Cross Bars rather then steel. When I heard this, I decided immediately that I wanted to stay with Thule as I have always had quality parts with Thule and all of their Square Cross Bars are steel. OK a note here, what Thule calls a square bar is actually a rectangular bar, but why split hairs here. So what did I do? The Thule parts I need were the Thule 450 footpads (not the 450-R - there is a difference). I have the 58" Thule square crossbars but I do not think they are long enough. I found the exact Thule Footpads I needed, the 450 footpads, still in box on E-bay ( I hope saying E-bay is not considered vulgar language). I also found sellers selling incomplete Thule 450 footpads so be care when purchasing on E-bay. I also found a pair of 64" Thule Square crossbars, used on E-Bay, The footpads arrived yesterday and are still new in box and inspecting them they look new- never used. The 64" crossbars are arriving this Saturday or Sunday. I will install all on Sunday and wish me the best. If for any reason the 64" bars are still to short I have lined up a pair of 65" and one other longer bar. Now for the installation, I am using a E-Trailer.com video plus my own experience from over the past 10 years. https://www.etrailer.com/tv-install-yakima-timberline-roof-rack-2024-toyota-4runner-y42gd.aspx Now in watching the video, I wish Kurt had mentioned the length of the crossbars. but the video was pretty great. Now I will stop here and say figuring out what I needed to buy would not have happened if I were not dealing with ETrailer.com. I owe all the Support people a great thank you. They worked as a team and even corrected each other, like when I was told to stay away from aluminum Yakima cross bars. The setup I am going for is not a standard setup with the Hullivators, and especially since I am looking to install Two Hullivators on my 2021. In fact Thule does not recommend installing two Hullivators on the roof but over the past 10 years, when properly installed and properly tied down the kayaks it should be no problems. Also I am past the age where I need to drive 1,000 miles an hour. I also have found that when I needed a Thule part for installation, and when Thule did not have the part of was charging RETAIL, I always went to E-Trailer for this part or that. What I am writing is the actual thought process I went thru as I was asked to do so by one of the E-Trailer Support Experts. I am looking for a Thule Windshield which I plan to purchase from Etrailer.com and hopefully in the near future a Westin Brush Guard (here in Arizona they are Brush Guards - but my Canadian friends call them moose guards). I do need to get over the finances of purchasing an SUV that cost more then the first house I purchased back in the 1970's. I have no connection with Etrailer and can say that without their help, their ideas, etc, this would have been a lot harder to figure out. I will come back and post a picture when all is done. I have been kayaking and using roof racks for over 10 years so before anyone trys to do something novel like I am doing, the pro's here at Etrailer help a lot.