Mars Expedition Roof-Rack Installed!

[dalton108]

It came in today and I was so excited I wanted to get it installed immediately so I did.

Just about three hours flat solo install. Great quality and fitment easy installation.

I’m gonna reserve my initial thoughts until daylight and I’ve got court in the morning, so prepping for that and then I’m going to bed. I’ll have more to say tomorrow afternoon, until then here’s some pics.

I’ll say this right now it’s the only rack I would put on my CB, besides the factory roof racks, which since they don’t provide a level surface don’t add a lot of utility (although they look cool in my opinion)!

I’m not sure that they had a exemplar before but I can confirm for those of you who are waiting for or have it, it works well (and looks nice with) the OEM light bar. See below.

Can’t wait to get my tent which has been pre-ordered this spring!

One thing I’ll ask the Mars team is it would be great if there was a way to quick release the bar at the very back because I don’t want it blocking any of the tailgate access when I’m not using it for the tent or something else. Are you working on that? If not can you?

Before:

Installing:

Complete:

OEM Lightbar Integration/fitment

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[REM]

It will probably be a few years before I jump in with overlanding mods. Glad there are people out there testing gen 1 stuff though!

 

[smcnaughton829]

So there is a gap between the front of the truck and the rack. Yeah I read there was and now I see it. TBH I don’t like the gap. They could have given some kind of pad to put between the rack and the top of the glass to remove that space.
Thanks for the pics. I have been debating to get this or not. But with the gap as it is, I just can’t

 

[dalton108]

So there is a gap between the front of the truck and the rack. Yeah I read there was and now I see it. TBH I don’t like the gap. They could have given some kind of pad to put between the rack and the top of the glass to remove that space.
Thanks for the pics. I have been debating to get this or not. But with the gap as it is, I just can’t

Yes and if you look at the profile pictures you will see that it isn’t as noticeable or pronounced as it is in the photo that I did to show the close-up of that interface between the roof light bar and rack.

I agree a pad to fill in the gap would make sense I care a lot about aesthetics which is why I said this is the only flat rack that I would even consider installing on my truck at this moment. It’s not perfect and I think it might be better if it was stainless steel or bare aluminum.

I may have mine stripped or powder coated if this continues to percolate. For now I’m going to try to live with it and really doesn’t mean anything until I get the tent which I guess will be coming sometime this spring. ?

 

[noobla3]

It came in today and I was so excited I wanted to get it installed immediately so I did.

Just about three hours flat solo install. Great quality and fitment easy installation.

I’m gonna reserve my initial thoughts until daylight and I’ve got court in the morning, so prepping for that and then I’m going to bed. I’ll have more to say tomorrow afternoon, until then here’s some pics.

I’ll say this right now it’s the only rack I would put on my CB, besides the factory roof racks, which since they don’t provide a level surface don’t add a lot of utility (although they look cool in my opinion)!

I’m not sure that they had a exemplar before but I can confirm for those of you who are waiting for or have it, it works well (and looks nice with) the OEM light bar. See below.

Can’t wait to get my tent which has been pre-ordered this spring!

One thing I’ll ask the Mars team is it would be great if there was a way to quick release the bar at the very back because I don’t want it blocking any of the tailgate access when I’m not using it for the tent or something else. Are you working on that? If not can you?

Before:

Installing:

Complete:

OEM Lightbar Integration/fitment

Why did you go with Mars AG and not urander? Was there a specific reason? From the pics I’ve seen, it looks like the urander fits better and is full length?

 

[RM Rilke]

I like the look of that rack. Fits the aesthetic. Nice work and good luck in court. it’s fun to see all the different solutions coming into view. I dry fit my tent today and am ready to order crossbars for the L track. Going with the Cybertruckco ones.

 

[dalton108]

Why did you go with Mars AG and not urander? Was there a specific reason? From the pics I’ve seen, it looks like the urander fits better and is full length?

1. Aesthetically, I don’t like Urander. The overall effect is a camper shell and it just makes it look like a work truck to me. My truck is not a work truck.

2. I really hate camper shells!

3. I don’t want to lose the ability to put tall things in the bed or to walk around in the bed. It’s a perfect platform for me and the dogs to go out and watch meteor showers, do some astrophotography or go to the drive-in with the wife.

I don’t lose any bed space with the Mars version if I don’t attach the rear most rail and even with that in place I only lose about 2ft of bed length with the overhang, instead of the whole thing. That won’t be an option once I attach the tent but then I know exactly how much I’m losing.

Another bonus is, with the platform not extending all the way into the bed, I can climb directly into the tent from the bed of the truck without needing a ladder going all the way down to the ground and I’m thinking that if the weather is nice, the dogs can sleep in the bed of the truck and me and the wife in the tent.

Or, I can just mostly have the bed full of gear and worry less about limited overhead clearance like @Cybergirl mentioned she has to contend with (even without her cool tire mount). Not that I really am going to want to have the tonneau opened while overlanding.

But honestly a lot of it is like I said aesthetics. I just think this looks better.

 

[hemiarch]

Looks great. Hope this isn’t a dumb question but can you still open a cybertent with only the front mars stuff installed?
That’s what I chose to use my $2500 FS series credit on. I have an inflatable ground tent for the whole family but was thinking of using the cybertent for two person trips.

 

[aeroguy]

Looks great. Hope this isn’t a dumb question but can you still open a cybertent with only the front mars stuff installed?

You can - I have only the front portion of the mars rack and it doesn’t interfere with the cybertent.

 

[noobla3]

1. Aesthetically, I don’t like Urander. The overall effect is a camper shell and it just makes it look like a work truck to me. My truck is not a work truck.

2. I really hate camper shells!

3. I don’t want to lose the ability to put tall things in the bed or to walk around in the bed. It’s a perfect platform for me and the dogs to go out and watch meteor showers, do some astrophotography or go to the drive-in with the wife.

I don’t lose any bed space with the Mars version if I don’t attach the rear most rail and even with that in place I only lose about 2ft of bed length with the overhang, instead of the whole thing. That won’t be an option once I attach the tent but then I know exactly how much I’m losing.

Another bonus is, with the platform not extending all the way into the bed, I can climb directly into the tent from the bed of the truck without needing a ladder going all the way down to the ground and I’m thinking that if the weather is nice, the dogs can sleep in the bed of the truck and me and the wife in the tent.

Or, I can just mostly have the bed full of gear and worry less about limited overhead clearance like OP mentioned she has to contend with (even without her cool tire mount). Not that I really am going to want to have the tonneau opened while overlanding.

But honestly a lot of it is like I said aesthetics. I just think this looks better.

Thanks for the write up ?

I’ll have to think about my use case more before I consider one or the other. But this was helpful.

 

[dalton108]

Thanks for the write up ?

I’ll have to think about my use case more before I consider one or the other. But this was helpful.

I did forget an important one!

4. According to Mars, their design cutting off where it does is in part due to aero.

“Many of our customers and friends in the owner community have asked why we didn’t create a full-length rack system that extends to the rear of the vehicle. The truth is, we did. Back in April 2024, we designed and tested several iterations of a full-length rack. However, after running aerodynamic simulations and installing it on our engineering prototypes, we were led to some interesting discoveries . As our simulations showed, a full-length rack increases wind drag by 40%, leading to a significant range reduction of up to 11.6%. The rear most section also increases material usage by roughly 40% because of how tall they need to be. The added weight with a noticeable drop in aero didn’t convince us to move forward with production.”

https://marsag.co/blogs/news/cybert...gear-maximum-versatility-minimal-range-impact

 

[dalton108]

I like the look of that rack. Fits the aesthetic. Nice work and good luck in court. it’s fun to see all the different solutions coming into view. I dry fit my tent today and am ready to order crossbars for the L track. Going with the Cybertruckco ones.

Can’t wait to see your set up!

 

[hemiarch]

You can - I have only the front portion of the mars rack and it doesn’t interfere with the cybertent.

Do you perhaps have a picture or two with the rack on and the tent deployed.? Curious to see what that looks like.

 

[Urander]

1. Aesthetically, I don’t like Urander. The overall effect is a camper shell and it just makes it look like a work truck to me. My truck is not a work truck.

2. I really hate camper shells!

3. I don’t want to lose the ability to put tall things in the bed or to walk around in the bed. It’s a perfect platform for me and the dogs to go out and watch meteor showers, do some astrophotography or go to the drive-in with the wife.

I don’t lose any bed space with the Mars version if I don’t attach the rear most rail and even with that in place I only lose about 2ft of bed length with the overhang, instead of the whole thing. That won’t be an option once I attach the tent but then I know exactly how much I’m losing.

Another bonus is, with the platform not extending all the way into the bed, I can climb directly into the tent from the bed of the truck without needing a ladder going all the way down to the ground and I’m thinking that if the weather is nice, the dogs can sleep in the bed of the truck and me and the wife in the tent.

Or, I can just mostly have the bed full of gear and worry less about limited overhead clearance like @Cybergirl mentioned she has to contend with (even without her cool tire mount). Not that I really am going to want to have the tonneau opened while overlanding.

But honestly a lot of it is like I said aesthetics. I just think this looks better.

Thanks for the write up ?

I’ll have to think about my use case more before I consider one or the other. But this was helpful.

Ready to haul taller gear? Slide, tighten, and go! It's that simple.


You can just slide them together when you're not using them.

Or leave the last crossbar to help you climb into the tent.

With the full-length rack, just toss in a mattress, and you've got a bunk bed that’s perfect for the whole family.

Hope this helps!

 

[dalton108]

Ready to haul taller gear? Slide, tighten, and go! It's that simple.


You can just slide them together when you're not using them.

Or leave the last crossbar to help you climb into the tent.

With the full-length rack, just toss in a mattress, and you've got a bunk bed that’s perfect for the whole family.With the full-length rack, just toss in a mattress, and you've got a bunk bed that’s perfect for the whole family.

Hope this helps!

Cool!!!

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