These days, there are quite a few players in the off-road roof rack game, but one name has been around longer than most and has an excellent reputation for quality: Front Runner. The South African brand remains a major player in the space even after its acquisition by Dometic. To help maintain that edge, it’s introducing the third generation of its very popular Slimline rack series.
The Slimline II was a great system — hell, I have one on my personal vehicle, and it’s been amazing — but the Slimline 3 seeks to improve upon that formula in a few meaningful ways. The first major change is increased modularity. Before, if you wanted to remove slats on your rack to reconfigure it, it took a good amount of disassembly. Now you can easily remove individual slats without pulling the rest of the rack to bits.
Other rad new features include redesigned slat profiles for increased strength and dual T-slots, making it even easier to add accessories for whatever you’re into. Speaking of accessories, Dometic Front Runner is releasing a ton of them alongside the rack. Most of the stuff for the older Slimline racks will be compatible with the new version, but there will also be some Slimline 3–specific stuff like quick-release awning mounts, axe mounts, and more.
One of the biggest appeals of the Slimline series in general (it was certainly true for me) was its low profile. The truth is that the more crap you put onto the roof of your vehicle, the greater its aerodynamic cross-section will be, and the more your fuel economy will suffer. A lower profile is also great for parking structure access and getting into your garage.
The rack’s construction seems pretty beefy with coated stainless sheet metal parts, coated stainless hardware, and more powder-coated aluminum extrusions than you could easily shake a stick at. If it’s as robust as the second generation (and it sounds like it will be), it’ll be awesome and should easily withstand years of abuse.
Initial fitments include the 2019-up Ford Ranger Double Cab, 2024-up Ineos Grenadier, 2024-up Toyota Land Cruiser 250, 2025-up Toyota 4Runner (6th Gen), 2021-up Ford Bronco 4-Door Hard Top, and the 2024-up Lexus GX 550. Pricing varies with application, but starts at $1,649.
The Slimline 3 is available for preorder starting today, with the first units expected to ship in October.
