In 1975, ARB began producing high-quality accessories for backcountry explorers, starting with a roof rack. Through the subsequent decades, ARB refined their rack line, making it stronger, lighter, and more refined. Their racks have always been considered expedition grade, robust to a degree that the vehicle’s roof would nearly always fail before the rack. Their engineers took everything they learned from four decades of rack development and focused it all on their new BASE system.
BASE – Build. Attach. Set. Explore.
There are a few things that make the BASE rack notable, including the all-welded construction, model-specific side rails and air dam, along with an extensive line of accessories. The rack is available in several lengths and widths and features a robust extrusion that also permits running wiring down the length of the profile for lights and other electrical accessories (like solar). There are numerous accessories that complement the system.
The BASE system is all about being configurable, easily removable, and extremely low profile. The system will accommodate upper rails, and even a full basket or front and side rails. The rack can also be dead-flat, with no raised weld bead or hardware to mar lumber or your favorite Pelican Case. The accessories mount with a unique dovetail attachment system that can be clamped and removed without needing to slide hardware down an extrusion. Each beam can support about 50 pounds, but accessories and the mounting system are designed to help spread that load out across multiple slats.
This rack is an exciting new offering from ARB, and retains the heavy-duty legacy of their previous designs while adapting to both modern vehicles and the wide-ranging needs of their owners. For the overlander, the light weight is critical, as is the low-profile and highly configurable design. The air dam ensures low noise, which is also a huge benefit when traveling across the Autobahn en-route to Mongolia. arbusa.com
