Best Tacoma Roof Racks

The Toyota Tacoma arguably has the largest offering of Roof Racks compared to any other vehicle on the market. This is because the Tacoma is one of the most capable and reliable vehicles out there. It also helps that the Tacoma comes with factory mounting points so there is no drilling needed.

With so many roof rack options out there, you might be wondering, what is the best Tacoma Roof Rack.

That depends on a couple things including how you use your truck as well as what specific functions and features are most important to you.

Our team has extensive experience with many of the top Tacoma roof rack brands including Sherpa Equipment Co, Prinsu, upTOP Overland, Westcott Designs, RCI Offroad, Southern Style Offroad, Cali Raised LED, Front Runner, and more. Below you will find our hand picked favorites.

Sherpa Tacoma Roof Rack

Key Features:

• 1/4 inch thick aluminum side plates.
• Stainless steel hardware comes standard.
• No silicone needed for installation.

Sherpa Grand Teton Roof Rack

The Sherpa Grand Teton Roof Rack is considered an industry leading premium roof rack for the double cab 2nd Gen and 3rd Gen Tacoma.

According to Sherpa, their “racks are some of the toughest on the market and are designed to get your gear to the places that matter the most.”

There is no doubt that the Sherpa Tacoma Roof Rack is one of the tougher Tacoma Cab Racks on the market with its standard 1/4 inch aircraft-grade aluminum side panels and black stainless hardware.

Looking for a way to customize your roof rack?

The Sherpa Tacoma Roof Rack can be ordered with a bare processed aluminum finish (silver hardware) or with a powder coated black finish (black oxide hardware) and is available with a half-height or full-height wind fairing.

The half-height wind fairing is designed to work with a single row led bar. Overall, the rack comes in around ~45 pounds total and works flawlessly with Sherpa Roof Rack Accessories.

Prinsu Roof Rack Tacoma

Key Features:

• Thoroughly tested and considered to be "The Original."
• Custom designed crossbar with built in drop points makes attaching accessories seamless.
• Very customizable with Prinsu shield plates and wind deflector decal.
• Pairs flawlessly with a Prinsu topper rack.

Prinsu Roof Rack Tacoma

Prinsu roof racks are considered “The Original” as they pioneered the popular design you see today offered by many brands. Prinsu has maintained their popularity over the years by extensively testing and improving their racks and also offering the widest selection of Prinsu Roof Rack Accessories.

In terms of construction, the Prinsu rackfeatures two 3/16 inch laser cut high grade aluminum side plates with 1x2 inch extruded aluminum moveable crossbars. The rack can be ordered with a standard wind deflector or wind deflector with a light bar cutout. Prinsu offers a cutout that will work with most standard 40 inch LED lights bars as well as a deflector designed to mount 7 Baja Designs LP4 lights.

Weight is not an issue with the Prinsu Tacoma Rack as it comes in at around ~43 pounds. Don't let that lightweight of the rack fool you though. The Prinsu Tacoma Roof Rack can support 600-800 pounds of static weight and 300-400 pounds of dynamic weight.

Do you have a Tacoma with the factory installed desert intake? No problem, Prinsu has you covered with their Prinsu Desert Air Intake Roof Rack (2019-2023).

Maybe you are looking for a Prinsu Roof Rack for an access cab Tacoma. The Prinsu Access Cab Tacoma Roof Rack features all the same benefits of the Prinsu double cab Tacoma version, but for the access cab.

If customization is a priority? Or are you wanting to know how to make the Prinsu rack stand out from the rest? Some Prinsu Racks including the Tacoma Cab Rack can be ordered with options side shield plates. these shield plates provide additional strength, but also can be ordered in a color other than black to give your roof rack a unique and custom look. The Prinsu Wind Deflector Decal is another great option for customizing the look of your Roof Rack.

upTOP Alpha Tacoma Roof Rack

Key Features:

• Option to color match your Tacoma.
• 1/4 inch grooveTEK inner rails and 3/16 inch armorTEK exterior rails.
• (4) included grab handles.

Alpha Tacoma Roof Rack

upTOP Overland claims their Alpha Tacoma Roof Rack has “longer, wider, and more bars than any rack out there.” We are not here to debate that claim, but will confirm that upTOP's overall design and construction of the Alpha Roof Rack is considered industry leading and is a premium rack.

The Alpha Tacoma Roof Rack is the most unique in terms of appearance and design. Unlike most Tacoma roof racks which have two standard side plates, upTOP Overland designed their Tacoma roof rack to also have two side plates in a sense but each side plate consists of two plates each.

The inner plate is known as the grooveTEK rail and is constructed out of 1/4 inch aluminum. The outer plate is referred to as the armorTEK rail and is constructed out of 3/16 inch aluminum. This results in the total side plate being 7/16 inches thick.

While the side plates on the upTOP Alpha Rack provide a level of strength not found elsewhere, they also allow you to customize the rack in a unique way. You have the ability to powder coat either the inner or exterior plate to any of the standard 15 Tacoma OEM colors. This can be a fun way to enhance the look of the rack while also ensuring you have a strong foundation for a rooftop tent of any of the many upTOP Roof Rack Accessories.

Looking for a bed rack to match your upTOP Roof Rack. An upTOP Truss Bed Rack could be a great option.

upTOP Overland Bravo Roof Rack | Toyota Tacoma

If the upTOP Alpha roof rack is a bit our of your price range consider the UpTOP Overland Bravo Roof Rack which is more of an economy roof rack, but features many impressive benefits.

It does not quite live up to the upTOP Alpha in terms of customizability but it still can be a great option for those looking to increase their carrying capacity. The upTOP Bravo Rack comes with grooveARMOR side plates and six extruded aluminum cross bars. The Rack and cross bars come standard with a black powder coat finish – other colors are not available.

upTOP offers the choice of different windscreen cutouts for this rack including ones for Baja Designs S8 Light Bars, Extreme LED Light Bars, and a universal option that will work with most 40-inch Light Bars. If you are looking to run Baja Designs LP4 or LP6 lights, the upTOP Alpha Roof Rack would be best as a cutout for the Bravo is not currently available for those.

The Bravo comes in around ~50 pounds total and every order will come with all the necessary installation hardware for a drill-free installation. As with the Alpha Rack, upTOP's full accessory line-up will work with the Bravo Roof Rack.

Westcott Designs Tacoma Roof Rack

Westcott Designs in our view is one of the most underrated Tacoma roof racks on the market.

The Westcott Designs Tacoma Roof Rack, "has been tested to achieve just over 2mpg better than our competitors' offerings.” This is achieved because of the wind deflector that follows the angle of your windshield allowing wind to travel over the deflector and not through the deflector. In addition, the Westcott Designs Tacoma side rails are cut super close to the roof line allowing wind to travel alongside the rack and not under the rack.

These unique design features allow the Rack to be quieter and more efficient. Aside from these design features, the Westcott Tacoma Roof Rack features all-aluminum side plates and cross bars with steel mounting feet. Their steel mounting feet are bent and attached to the side plates as opposed to integrating aluminum feet into the side plates. Westcott claims this design feature allows the rack to handle more weight.

Wanting to mount lights on your Westcott Tacoma rack? Westcott offers different valence (also known as wind deflector or screen) options including: no cut out, cut out for a 40-inch LED light bar, and cut outs for six 6-inch round lights or ten 4-inch round lights.

A Tacoma Roof Rack is a Must

The truth is, you cannot go wrong with any of the racks listed above. Other brands including Cali Raised LED, Southern Style Offroad, and RCI Offroad offer impressive Tacoma Roof Racks that one should also consider prior to making a final decision.

We know the options can be overwhelming and it might be difficult to decide on what will suit your needs best. It is best to determine how you plan to use your Tacoma and what specific Tacoma rack features will align best with your specific use case.

If you have any questions or need some help deciding on a specific Tacoma Roof Rack, reach out to our U.S. based team who is happy to assist.