Prinsu Vs Sherpa

Prinsu Vs Sherpa Roof Rack Review & Comparison Guide

By now you’ve probably learnt that Sherpa and Prinsu are two of the best roof rack brands in the world. One is manufactured out of Colorado (Sherpa), the other one in Idaho (Prinsu), with a similar style and design. It’s not easy to choose, and as such you ended up here: reading a review of both roof racks to try and understand which one you should buy and what are the differences.

In this Prinsu vs Sherpa roof rack comparison guide we go over each brand, what sets them apart, some of the “minor” design differences between each, as well as their product lines. We’ll show you pictures and videos and explain each one in detail. You’ll also find a comparison table at the very end.

The goal: you’ll have all the information and answer you need to draw your own conclusions and buy the rack you really want.

Table Of Contents (Click To Jump To Section)

 

Prinsu Design Studio: Revolutionizing The Market

Let’s begin by quickly analyzing Prinsu and who they are. Initially they were a Utah based company manufacturing their racks in house. Later bought out by another USA based rack and vehicle accessory company: CBI Offroad, they ended up moving to CBI’s headquarters in Idaho Falls. Since then, they’ve become perhaps the biggest and most recognized platform roof rack in America.

Prinsu is well known for being the company that revolutionized the market of roof racks. They were one of the first, to introduce the fully modular roof rack at an affordable price, with a simple design of side panels and slats, getting rid of the heavy rack frame. That way they could come up with a rack that was cheaper to make, as well as easier to “mix and match” by the user depending on their needs. It also maintained a lower profile design, and was much lighter in weight.

A smart design, well priced, that changed the roof rack market forever. Where they pioneered, others followed.

 

Prinsu Roof Rack: The Basics

As mentioned above, Prinsu crafts their roof racks with pretty much 3 very clear features: 

  • Two aluminum side panels
  • Slats that go from side to side of the panels
  • A wind deflector in the front which can be pre-cut out for led light bars 
prinsu roof rack

With these three simple features, we now go onto the specifics. The classic Prinsu roof rack is made of two 3/16 inch 5052 aerospace aluminum side panels, laser cut for maximum precision, to which you can bolt 2 x 1 inch extruded aluminum slats or crossbars. These crossbars have a c-channel on all four sides, allowing you to very easily attach all sorts of gear and accessories. These crossbars have on each short end two “entrances” for two bolts to securely fasten them to the side panels. Finally, each Prinsu roof rack has a 1/8 inch 5052 aluminum wind deflector that sits in the front, which you can choose to have it as a full deflector, or pre-cut out to add a 40 inch light bar to it.

That said, the racks also have. A few extra features. For example, they include all the necessary hardware to install them over your rig’s roof: spacers, washers, nuts and bolts. The side panels of each rack come with the specific “mounting feet”, which are essentially a bottom plaque with pre-drilled holes for you to bolt the panels onto the roof’s mounting points.

On Some vehicles, you might need to remove raised side rails, or even drill holes onto the roof to install the rack. However, most of the racks are specifically made to be 100% drill free, and just bolt onto the existing factory holes which most vehicles have.

When it comes to other Prinsu roof rack features, you will find that each rack is fully powder coated in black, and that includes the hardware, such as nuts and bolts. On top of that, the Prinsu racks have a 600 lbs dynamic load rating (when you are driving), and a 1000 lbs static load rating (when the vehicle is parked). Meaning, you can mount whatever you need over them.

In case you’re asking yourself what modular means, to quickly explain it’s essentially that you can remove the slats or crossbars without having to remove all the rack. As a matter of fact, one of the great advantages of Prinsu racks (or modular racks), is how easy it is to remove or add the slats through the spaces offered by the side panels. This allows you to sometimes remove slats to “free” the space for the sunroof, or to add more slats to mount heavier or larger accessories. 

Finally, Prinsu has been designing a huge amount of rack accessories, which makes their racks one of the best and most popular choices in the world! 

 

Prinsu Pro

What is Prinsu Pro? The more rugged, stronger line of their racks. Prinsu Pro roof racks have 44% stronger crossbars than regular Prinsu roof racks. How? Well, they crafted stiffer cross bars, made of a thicker and stronger aluminum: 6063 aluminum. 

On top of that, the bottom shape, which isn’t flat anymore, is compatible with a few more accessories designed for aerobars, so yes, accessories from other brands too! Plus, these new crossbars have 6 drop points, as opposed to just the c-channels as before, this makes it a lot easier to install or secure rack accessories. 

Other changes are the stainless steel hardware which doesn’t rust,  15 times stronger side panels, and revolutionary bolt-on mounting feet which have two main goals: make the rack even more low profile and fit seamlessly with the roof, but also allow you to remove the entire rack a lot faster by just unbolting the feet from the side panels.

Oh, and well, an increased static weight capacity of 1200 lbs and 700 lbs dynamic. That’s quite a lot, isn’t it?

 

Sherpa Equipment Co: Built For Off Road Abuse 

Sherpa Equipment Co is a Colorado based company, that started thanks to a group of videographer friends that were part of 3rd Gen 4Runner community, which realized they could craft roof racks for that specific type of vehicle.

sherpa crestone roof rack

Well, they did the smartest thing: follow a design that already worked (the modular roof rack design) and improve it with new functionalities. And just like that Sherpa was born.

Sure, similar to Prinsu, many will say, but the truth might be invisible to the naked eye, Sherpa didn’t copy Prinsu, they followed a design that already existed and added their fair share of design, personal touch and even improvement on some areas.

For example, they came up with side panels made out of 1/4 inch aircraft grade aluminum, the thickest in the market, laser cut by a CNC machine, as precise as they can get. The side panels have built in grab handles for ease of use. You get the point. These guys got smart, it worked, and they craft high quality premium roof racks, which sit a slightly higher price point than the traditional Prinsu racks.

Now let’s dig a bit deeper on the Sherpa roof racks. First, as already mentioned, ¼ inch thick aircraft grade 6061 aluminum side panels. Then, they come with aluminum slats or crossbars which are also 2 x 1 inches, and a wind deflector which you can choose to be “half-height” (perfect to add a led light bar), or “full height” which fully covers the forn of the rack and reduces wind noise.

Then comes the nice part. These roof racks were built for tru off road abuse. That means that on top of the thicker side panels than any competitor, they come with mounting feet that include rubber seals.

Why? Well, simple, as you venture into tougher off road trails, with weight over the rack, the vibration can cause the feet to chip on the pain of your roof. With the rubber seals that goes away (more on that on the review video below). Installation is also drill-free on most of the racks, yes even on the Jeep Wrangler roof rack, drill free.

As to the load rating, Sherpa likes to keep things slightly more on the “safe” side, meaning they rate their roof racks to have a 300 lbs dynamic load rating (when in motion), and 700 lbs static load rating (when NOT in motion). However, from personal experience, these are very cautious ratings.

Finally, their racks come fully powder coated in black, just like their hardware. They’re built to last, and you can add a great deal of after market rack accessories which they also make in house in Colorado, USA.

 

Sherpa Roof Rack Review Video

 

Prinsu Or Sherpa Comparison Table 

 

Prinsu Roof Rack

Prinsu Pro Roof Rack

Sherpa Roof Rack

Side Plate

3/16” 5052 Aluminum

2-Piece 5052 Aluminum

¼” 6061 Aluminum

Wind Deflector

1/8” 5052 Aluminum

1/8” 5052 Aluminum

6/16” 6061 Aluminum

Crossbars (Slats)

2 x 1 Threaded 5052 Aluminum T-Channel

2 x 1 Threaded 6063 Aluminum T-Channel

2 x 1 Threaded 5052 Aluminum T-Channel

Rack Finish

Black Powder Coat

Black Powder Coat

Black Powder Coat

Hardware

Stainless Steel

Stainless Steel

Stainless Steel

Style Of Wind Deflector

Standard or Pre-Cutout for LED Light Bar

Standard or Pre-Cutout for LED Light Bar

Half Height fr LED Light bar or Full Height

Weight

40-55 lbs (depending on rack)

45-70 lbs (depending on rack)

45 to 70 lbs (depending on rack)

Dynamic Weight Rating

600 lbs

700 lbs

300 lbs (conservative)

Static Weight Rating

1000 lbs

1200 lbs

700 lbs (conservative)

Sunroof

Functional removing slats

Functional removing slats

Functional removing slats

Integrated Grab Handles

Add-On

Add-On

Included

Accessories

Aftermarket Prinsu Accessories

Aftermarket Prinsu Accessories + Other Brands

Aftermarket Sherpa Accessories

Warranty

Limited Lifetime

Limited Lifetime

Limited Lifetime

Price Point

$600-$1100

$900-$1400

$900-$1500

  

Prinsu Pro Vs Sherpa Crestone

This will be just a quick comparison section between two of the racks for you to better understand. We will compare the Prinsu Pro roof rack for the 4Runner 5th Gen vs the Sherpa Crestone for the Toyota 4Runenr 5th Gen, that way you can see side to side the differences between both roof racks.

The Prinsu Pro 4Runenr 5th Gen has the following features:

  • Installed Weight: 70 lbs
  • Overall Length: 92”
  • Overall Width: 47”
  • Height Added To Roof Of Car:5”
  • Dynamic Weight Capacity: 700 lbs
  • Static Weight Capacity: 1200 lbs
  • ¼” 6061 Aluminum Side Panels
  • 1/8” 5052 Aluminum wind deflector
  • 2 x 1 Threaded 6063 Aluminum T-Channel Crossbars
  • Limited Lifetime Warranty 

Learn More About The Prinsu Pro 4Runner Roof Rack

 

The Sherpa Crestone 4Runner roof rack has the following features: 

  • Installed Weight: 50 lbs
  • Overall Length: 95”
  • Overall Width:5”
  • Height Added To Roof Of Car:5”
  • Dynamic Weight Capacity: 300 lbs
  • Static Weight Capacity: 700 lbs
  • 2-Piece aluminum side panels for increased strength
  • 6/16” 6061 aluminum wind deflector
  • 2 x 1 Threaded 5052 Aluminum T-Channel Limited Lifetime Warranty 

Learn More About The Sherpa Crestone

As you can see, both roof racks are quite similar in dimensions, strength and quality. The Prinsu Pro has a much higher weight capacity, mostly because Sherpa likes to be very conservative. But the truth is that both are closer to weight capacity, with the Prinsu Pro being a tad higher.

prinsu pro roof rack

The Sherpa rack does have in its favor the “advantage” of the rubber seals and integrated grab handles, which make it a bit more user friendly and slightly safer for the roof of your 4Runner. Prinsu Pro does have more roof rack accessories for you to choose from, and on top of that the new slats fit more accessories from other brands.

With that said, the choice comes down to a few factors:

  • Load rating or weight capacity
  • Weight of rack

If you want expert advice, in our opinion these should be the deciding factors. The Sherpa rack weighs 20 lbs less, consuming less fuel, as well as being 1” lower in height, which could be a make or break whether you can, or not, park inside a garage.

The Prinsu Pro roof rack has a higher weight capacity. Sure, as we mentioned numerous times in this Prinsu vs Sherpa roof rack review: Sherpa likes to be cautious and conservative on their load ratings. The truth is both racks are a lot closer in weight capacity. Nonetheless, the Prinsu Pro with the double side panel, does slightly get the edge. So, do you need a rack to carry heavier weight? This one might be the answer. 

And if not, whatever choice you make, you’ll be fine.

 

Sherpa Vs Prinsu: What To Choose? 

What to choose? Sherpa or Prinsu? The answer to this question comes down to you. Both companies make their platform roof racks in USA. Both are fantastic quality and craftsmanship, both have innovated in their respective fields, and both keep innovating. Both have built a plethora of after market rack accessories, both have a similar design, and an undeniable quality.

It comes down to small details: weight, height of rack, ease of installation, additional features, weight capacity. These are all minor things that can vary in preference from one person to another.

Sherpa likes to name their roof racks to offer some storytelling and creativity. Prinsu has more roof rack options for more vehicles.

As you can see, there is no right or wrong. Honestly, both roof rack brands are amongst the top 5 in the entire world. Prinsu or Sherpa, you’re in safe hands. Just go and explore.