I have found the perfect roof rack for my Toyota Prado — a Rhino-Rack Pioneer Alloy Platform Rack (42102). (See my photos here.)

Some time back I did some calculations. I wanted to raise my Prado and fit a roof rack, while also staying under 2 m in overall vehicle height. I wanted to add some ground clearance to the 4WD and increase the luggage capacity for camping, all while maintaining the vehicle’s other role as a shopping trolley able to fit into most shopping centre car parks that often have height limits just over 2 metres.

The Rhino-Rack Pioneer Alloy Platform Rack is the best rack I have found given these criteria. It is aluminium, meaning that it is relatively light (25 kg), allowing me to carry another 55 kg of gear before reaching the Prado’s roof load limit of 80 kg. Importantly, the platform rack sits on its own leg kit, rather than sitting on top of a separate roof rack. This minimises the overall height, which will help to keep my raised Prado still below 2 m.

Rhino-Rack Pioneer Alloy Platform Rack (photo used with permission)

Rhino-Rack‘s standard range of accessories fit the platform rack, meaning lots of options for securing gear.

While it would be nice to have this roof rack for our next planned camping trip in April, realistically I probably will not be able to purchase the Rhino-Rack Pioneer Alloy Platform Rack until our next big camping trip in the middle of the year. I will then be able to carry my bulky Black Wolf Turbo Plus 300 tent and my two Burke & Wills Ironbark swags on the roof, allowing the other small, heavy gear to be carried in the boot of the vehicle.

Update: I have purchased the Rhino-Rack Pioneer Alloy Platform Rack and had it fitted to my Toyota Prado. Photos and review comments are here.