Video Transcript for A Two Year Review On The Front Runner Slimline II Platform Rack

Howdy. John with etrailer. And if you're wanting a way to maximize the amount of space on your roof for different accessories, and I mean really maximize the amount of space on your roof, then getting a platform rack like the Slimline II might be a way you wanna go. But whenever it comes to platform racks, they're going to be a permanent solution. That's gonna be a lot of time and effort you're gonna be putting in to get something on top of your roof. You wanna make sure that you're gonna be using it, and it's going to be able to hold up the test of time.

Now, whenever it comes to this specific Slimline, I've actually had it on my 4Runner for about two years now, so I've gotten to test it in a ton of different situations. And I'm gonna go over some of the things that I've used it for and what I've seen the best case use for it, both in my daily and then also whenever I take it on trips. And I'm also going to show you how it's held up, along with some of the stuff I may have wanted whenever I first got this installed. Now, when it comes to daily use, I've had so many situations where I'll need to pick something up from the hardware store or the lumber yard, and I can just throw any of it on there and not have to worry about how much space I'm taking up or the weight of the thing that I'm putting up there. It's a double-edged sword, though, because whenever you have this on here, your friends are going to notice that you're gonna be able to help them with moving or any kind of thing like that.

It's going to cause where you may wanna have a couple extra ratchet straps on hand or tie-down points. Another thing that's really useful is the ability to be spontaneous with it. Whenever we had the aurora borealis about a year back, we had a situation where me and my wife actually drove out into the middle of a field, and we got up on top of the Front Runner rack to be able to get good pictures and just watch the actual night sky. When you do that, though, I would recommend probably having some kind of pad or board underneath you because while it can hold your weight and maybe even a couple people's weights, having something underneath that's going to distribute your weight is gonna be a lot better, especially for the slats themselves. It's gonna be uncomfortable for you, but it's also going to put a little bit too much weight on those individual slats to where you start to bend in.

The reason that you're probably looking at a platform rack is because you happen to do a lot of sports and rec stuff. Whenever it comes to that, you can use it for anything from kayaks to maybe you go on trail rides, or you happen to use it for some unconventional stuff. When it comes to that, Front Runner has a ton of different accessories here at etrailer.com that you can look at that will fit your needs. I've used it for moving kayaks here and there, and it's been very useful for that. Something that's really nice, though, is as long as you have M8 bolts, you can actually DIY your own stuff, which makes it basically limitless what you can do, and you can actually use other companies' different types of accessories.

I actually use the Yakima SkinnyWarrior to be able to have some different types of pads and blankets up on top of my rack, so I didn't have to worry about not having the space inside of my Front Runner. And all I had to do was put it around the actual slats its selves, and it worked the same way as it would for any kind of crossbar on this vehicle itself. Now, when it comes to how it's held up over the years, in the past two years, I haven't noticed any kind of damage that's been done to it or a breakdown of the actual powder coat. It still looks really, really good, and actually, the only little bit of breakage of the powder coat is right here, and as you can notice, there's no rusting, and it doesn't look that bad. All I really have to do is go over it with a paint pen, and then it's gonna look fine. When it comes to the bolts themselves, there's no rusting. They've kept pretty well the same as whenever I first put them on there. And whenever it comes to the actual top of my roof, I've noticed because we're out in the Midwest, it's been very useful for protecting my vehicle from any kind of hail damage, which is nice. But if we happen to ever get snow or ice, it'll actually build up underneath because I tried to get this all cleaned off, and there was just a thick layer of snow underneath that I had to work really hard to get out. So I'd say just grab a tarp whenever you know that there's going to be winter weather moving in. And then during the spring and summer, you're gonna get a lot of pollen and dust building up. So I would say take it through a carwash every once in a while to make sure it gets cleaned up, and you don't have grime kind of building up underneath. Now, when it comes to some of the stuff that I wish I had off the bat when I had the Slimline put on the 4Runner, eye bolts, this is probably the thing I use most out of everything accessory-wise. It's really simple, but I would recommend getting a ton of them. I've lost a couple here or there, but if you happen to be close to any kind of hardware store, you can get them from there, and just make sure it's an M8 bolt, and you can make that work. Another thing I wish I had is a light bar. Whenever it comes to the light bar, and then, also there's a wiring harness from Front Runner that you can get it all set up and have it ran inside your vehicle. It just makes it easier if you do it the same time that you're putting your Front Runner rack on there because you're gonna be doing all the installation anyways. You're gonna have to run the wiring; might as well do it just at one time. And it just really is a cool thing to have on top. It gives you extra light, and everybody wants to be able to have those off-road lights on top of their Front Runner. The last thing that I wish I had was actually an awning for the side of my Front Runner. Whenever it comes to going out on trails or meeting friends over for a hike, it's something that we usually just hang around the 4Runner for a little bit, and having that extra bit of shade makes it a lot better. I will say whenever it comes to my choice when it comes to awnings, I would get the bracket that's the adapter from Front Runner for the Rhino-Rack Batwing. That's the one that I've seen that has the most space that you can use underneath, and it just looks the best, in my opinion. When it comes to my overall opinion on the Slimline, after two years of having it on my vehicle, I'm still in love with it. I use it all the time, and usually, I'll just leave it bare so I can add different accessories on whenever the need hits me. I haven't had a situation where it's let me down, and that's gonna be one of the best things about it. It is one of those things where it does have a wow factor being a platform rack of having it up on top of your vehicle, so you wanna make sure that you're spending the time and money to make sure it's something that you're not gonna have buyer's remorse with. And I can say the Slimline is going to exceed your expectations. If you are a little bit worried about the installation, don't worry, we have tons of videos showing the install of different types of platform racks. And if it's still something that you've watched those and you're a bit hesitant to jump into it, check out our dealer locator. We can get you set up with a dealer close to you to get it up on top of your rig. And if I've sold you on getting a Slimline, leave a comment below and let us know how you're using it and share some of your experiences. I hope that this video helped, and have a great day.