Wanted to see what options there are for things to go in front of my camper (6ft access cab '08 Tacoma), from what I hear the GFC is a bit loud/inefficient. Plus, if I can make use of that space above the cab I’d like to. If you’ve found a simple/cheap way to reduce noise, what is it? Do you have a sherpa rack and feel that the fairing plate helps with wind? Or, do you have a sherpa rack and think it’s definitely worth it for other reasons? They seem pretty sweet, maybe a good place for some maxtrax or a solar panel or whatever.
Yes, I realize that I am contradicting myself by asking for a cheap way to decrease wind resistance and advice on an expensive product that is likely to increase it. I’m just trying to picture my build and get an idea of what I could put up there.
I have a Sherpa Animas. I like it. It looks cool and slightly reduces wind noise. Did a 6 week road trip this summer and mounted a pelican case up there for bonus storage. My truck has never been about efficiency, but I would definitely recommend the Sherpa rack. Bonus points for being a cool, small company that was started by a bunch of buddies who wheel their Yotas.
Oddball, thanks for the advice. I do like how the rack looks on your truck and I’m sure I’d like it on mine too. I like that they’re a small company, my current thinking is fewer upgrades from small local businesses > fully kitted out with amazon junk.
you may find that he does in fact have one, with all the variations of truck sizes and campers he has a few that are not listed, we have a martin offroad rack on our 2nd gen DCSB / vagabond drifter and 3rd gen DCSB / GFC - in general they help in strong head winds for sure
The Access Cab doesn’t have predrilled holes in the roof like the double cab does.
If @mjb11mjb wants a roof rack, Prinsu makes one, then you will need to drill and install rivnuts in your roof. You will probably have to cut the Prinsu in half if you want it to fit with the GFC. Because of this, i chose to seal all of the holes from my Prinsu, and put the drip rails back in. I still don’t know if its 100% waterproof, but i used plumbers tape on set screws and RTV silicone on top of that.
Besides above option you could also get a single clamp on roof rack cross bar, to help divert air over the front of the GFC. I haven’t looked at any other options.
Sweet, thanks for the tips guys! I’ve had the truck for a week and it’s been snowy so I hadn’t gotten on top of it yet, or read on the sherpa site that drilling is required. Not that that’s a problem, just something to consider.
Howdy;
Using some curved polycarbonate that I happened to have I fabricated a wind fairing for my V1 GFC on DCLB Tacoma. I had previously installed Yakima rack attachment points on the truck roof rails so I used a Yakima crossbar to support the fairing. Attached the fairing to the crossbar with bent aluminum bar. Use pipe insulation at the bottom of fairing / roof of truck intersection. The setup has worked well. Seems to have reduced wind noise a bit. MPG (driving conservatively i.e. 60-65 on back roads and 70-75 on interstates) yields 22 MPG.
Would you happen to know which size sherpa rack would fit well on the access cab LB with a GFC? I am picking up a used GFC soon and would love to get a rack installed first to help with wind noise.
I have the Martin version of rack as some others have also stated. I bought it with the hopes that it would pay for itself with +1 mpg over a few years and serve convenient storage.
I had a 3 inch taller wind fairing cut for the rack so it clears my recovery boards and better transition over GFC. This is not scientific but I was getting 17-20 before and now 18-22 mpg average. Could also be the new truck breaking in.
I am also curious about this. Sherpa says in their Animas fit guide that size D is for a GFC short bed, and size E is for a GFC long bed. But this is referring to a double cab. So, for our access cab trucks I can’t go by that. They also say the best way is to look at the overhanging portion of the camper in relation to the front doors. By this method, an ACLB Tacoma would take a size D, since the GFC stops just behind the door.
That’s the same as a DCSB Tacoma, which makes sense when you think about it. The 6’ bed plus the small back doors roughly add up to the same length as the 5’ bed and the big back doors. By this logic, I would be confident to order the Sherpa Animas D, since the C would leave a gap and the E would have no chance of fitting.
I think the Sherpa is a great option but I also like the DIY fairing. The sherpa at over $600 is abit out of my price range given all that I spent on the GFC but something to consider in the future - thanks for the mod details.
Chiming in as someone who has had a great experience with Sherpa - cannot recommend them enough. Beefier product than Prinsu (I had one for 3+ years before the GFC and sold it instead of cutting it to fit), I like their mounting system a little better, and they are awesome folks with super customer service. They have a newer size Animas specific for the V2 on a 3rd gen - fit is perfect.
They now have 6 sizes (I think) for the various configurations of tacos/campers. Check 'em out if you haven’t.
