ARB Awning Install: 3rd Gen 4Runner

[JL Rockies]

It was time to move my awning from my Jeep to my '97 4Runner but all I have is the stock roof rack. I bought some ARB brackets from Cruiser Outfitters and went about the business of figuring out how to mount them to the roof.

The first thing I did was remove one of the thumb screws to determine which bolt would fit into the stock rails; what I found was M6x1x25mm would work. Then I lined up the bracket with the rail and drilled a hole to add a 2nd nut & bolt.

I added this bolt because I thought I needed it to level it out but it wasn't needed so I deleted it.

It's very solid, in fact, you can grab the awning and rock the vehicle back and forth. The beauty of this is I can remove the factory thumb screws on the other side, remove my bolts and either put it into storage when not being used or reverse everything and put the awning on the passenger side pretty easily.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

That did work out nicely!

 

[JL Rockies]

A successful project like this starts with a good outfitter.

 

[SLC97SR5]

I'm impressed that it is that solid, it looks a bit flimsy for 85mph slogs. I assume it's already been freeway tested?

I have considered one for my 3rd Gen, ballpark price??

Looking forward to updates and pics of it deployed!

 

[JL Rockies]

Well... I don't know anywhere around here that 85mph is legal so I can't offer that information. I did drive home on the freeway @ 65mph during the storm last night and had no issues. The ARB brackets are quite beefy (and spendy). There are pics of it deployed on my Jeep on here somewhere.