Sherpa Crows Nest vs Prinsu Top Rack

Does anyone have experience with Sherpa Equipments Crows Nest or a Prinsu Top Rack? I am going to be pulling the trigger on one of these in the near future and would love to hear some real world experience (good, bad or ugly - share your thoughts!). I will be adding some additional lights that I have laying around and a roof box. I'll maybe strap my recovery boards and a shovel up there. Maybe add solar for a fridge. All depends on the future projects and needs.

The Basics:
The Crows nest is $1,100 and the Prinsu is $710. Crows Nest looks a little better than the Prinsu in my opinion. It also has nice grab handles and additional holes in the side rails. The Prinsu has cut outs in the aluminum extrusion crossbars to easily drop in bolts without having to take apart the entire rack (huge benefit). Both are all aluminum, including the mounting brackets.

I was dead set on the Crows Nest because I have heard great things about the Sherpa racks, but I have had 2 Prinsu's (4Runner racks) and loved them both. Seeing the $400 price difference is leaning me towards Prinsu, especially since they are virtually the same rack from what I can see online. Thoughts?

Thanks!

 

I have the Prinsu for I believe two years now. It's an excellent canopy platform rack and quite strong. I have had everything from roof top tents, paddle boards, wood, kayaks and kids up there. Well made and although it's pricey in Canadian dollars, it's a good investment. The feet are well made and came with six of them to balance out the load well.

I only have one really small issue and maybe just my use case. The design of it purposely has a the side plates of the rack create a small 1/4" lip where it attaches to the bars. It means that if something is wider than the bars, it can't lay flat across the bars. It's not a true flat platform like some other manufacturers.

Normally I have zero issues with this and I actually kind of like it. However with my roof top tent (an Eezi Awn), if I mount it directly to the bars and centred on the truck I have trouble fully opening the tent. The aluminum channels on the opening side (bottom) of the tent hit that lip and prevent it from opening fully.

It's easy to resolve with purchasing Prinsu tent mounts, but I literally have 1" left of clearance space in my 8' garage door when the tent is bolted directly to the rack. No room for the mounts.

Other than that one item, it's an excellent rack.

 

Six feet sounds like a great way to distribute the load! Good note about the lip on the sides - I remember that on my previous Prinsu racks now that you mention it.

 

I considered switching just to try something new. However, the racks really don't look all that different!

 

One item to note, is the side plate is slightly thinner on the Prinsu. 3/16" vs 1/4" for the Sherpa. You can also purchase the Sherpa bare aluminum if you want to color match the powdercoat yourself.

 

These pictures may have made the decision for me. This is the first picture I've seen of a Prinsu and it sits so high above the roof of the topper. The Sherpa side plates are lower and sleek running along the roof. Does anyone have more pictures of the Prinsu to confirm this fitment? I redact my original comment about looks...the Sherpa looks way better from these pictures!

Prinsu:


Sherpa:

 

both look good. I agree Sherpa does seem a bit more low profile but price is up there now.

 

you could probably run the Prinsu and get the Sherpa adjustible feet to bring it down a bit and still save $$$... maybe? https://sherpaequipmentco.com/collections/components/products/adjustable-track-mounting-feet

I'm now using these on my DIY rack for a while and they bolted fine to standard 80/20 extrusion

 

Great idea!

 

My Prinsu:

 

Thank you!

I think I can live with the higher rack for $400

 

have you considered rhino rack pioneer system? I like them a lot. low profile, beefy and light weight.

 

I've checked them out. I'm not a huge fan of how the bars run parallel with the truck. I feel like it is harder to attach things to the rack. I am a big fan of 80/20 and how easy it is to work with.

 

wow that is a lot of weight on that fiberglass cap. How does it handle? Any shifting, cracking?

 

Fiberglass caps are stronger than people think. It's like a boat hull - it can take a huge amount of weight as long as it's balanced. However if you hit it with a hammer it will make a hole and the boat will sink.

As long as the load is balanced, especially with 6 mounting points, 300 lbs dynamic and 600+ static is very doable. That Eezi Awn tent is a heavy.

Cracks do come from vibrations though. Personally in 15 years of tents on a canopy, I have never had one crack or break. It happens, but it is pretty rare. But I also Overland and fire road mostly vs true rock crawling with constant extreme flex.

 

Thanks for the input! I have have a fiberglass cap and wanted something that is more lightweight and less prone to shifting/cracking when I do go offroading multiple times a year, that is why I was concerned with them. I love my fiberglass for what it is, it just itches me that there are something stronger and lighter option.
For example, here is an interesting watch recently released by GFC about their canopy/topper vs fiberglass alternative.

 

GFC is in a different league. It's an exoskeleton with a tent. If my life would allow me to use my tent more I would have already replaced mine with one.

 

Yea and they just come out with a cap only version, I am very interested in.

 

They aren't giving them away ($4,200 before options). Hopefully an OBS truck falls out of the sky onto my fiberglass topper so I can upgrade

 

LOL yea I am also looking at alucabs but they are not offering full size canopy for now.

 

Honestly, if I could roll back I probably would get a GFC. Back in 2018 it was really hard to get one in Canada.

 

What do you have on the cab in the front?

 

The more I think about this, the better this idea gets. I think this would be the ticket. Lower profile and still save money!

Off topic, but how do you like that WeBoost antenna?

 

For the stand up paddleboards I just use foam blocks like these. Since they are inflatable, I only have it strapped on for slower speeds like campsite to the lake.

 

Mixed. It’s the best out of the boosters but the technology will be outdated in two years given the increase in satellite.

It also cannot magically create signal. It can only boost what is already there. So in some campsites it has allowed me to work remote, others it has made zero difference.

 

Great idea. Distributes some of the load off the topper and onto the roof as well! Less stress on your cap.

That is basically the review I see 95% of the time. I think I am going to hold off on WeBoost and wait for Starlink to make a smaller dish for vehicles. We just got Starlink for our cabin and it is amazing - I can't imagine how nice it would be for camping and remote back country situations!