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THE FRONT RUNNER STORY
Travel. Dream. Design. Build. Test. Evolve. Repeat.
Legend has it that Front Runner was conceived between a 1988 Land Cruiser 70 and a 1992 Mercedes G-Wagen in Botswana, around a campfire, near a majestic Baobab, amongst elephant tracks, by a handful of friends from South Africa with backgrounds in engineering, design, manufacturing and off-road racing. After suffering through numerous equipment failures on their expeditions around the world, they decided to take their shared passion for vehicle based adventure travel and dream up new, smart gear and build it stronger than… well, as they put it, “stronger than the elephants at the watering hole 1 klick over.” And just like that, before the moon gave way to the sun, we were born. With the gruelling African bush as a testing ground, we at Front Runner focused on a tough love approach to developing products. With both feet facing the future and little sentimentally for mediocre ideas of the past – common approaches to off-road vehicle product design were quickly jettisoned in favor of innovation, new materials, and superior manufacturing practices. Today our products have a well deserved reputation (if we don’t say so ourselves) for quality, intelligent design, and durability. Our manufacturing facility just outside of Johannesburg, South Africa features in house laser cutting, bending and powder coating. Our CAD designed products by a team of engineers and built by skilled craftsman in our ISO-9001 : 2015 Certified factory. Our roof racks, water tanks, tents, awnings, drawer systems and camping accessories are enjoyed, used and abused around the world by casual campers, the U.N., overlanders, NGOs, outdoor enthusiasts and extreme athletes. That's our origin story. Share it with your friends and family. Around a campfire. And for full effect, make sure you’re sitting in our chairs, by our tents, with our roof racks on your vehicles. Just sayin’.
Camping
Front Runner has a reputation for designing and manufacturing best in class vehicle organizing systems. Applying this mission of thoughtful engineering and quality craftsmanship to campsites has resulted in a line of innovative, space saving, and durable camping products that stow easily on Front Runner rack systems and/or inside vehicles. Shop now for light and low profile roof top tents, instant 2 person ground tents, compact stainless steel camp tables, chairs, cooking accessories and more.
Rack Accessories
Browse and shop Front Runner’s off-road tough gear transport solutions. Front Runner’s simple bolt on system makes arranging accessories across the top, bottom or sides of the rack effortless. Secure bikes, surfboards, wakeboards, SUPs, skis, fishing poles, snowboards, canoes/kayaks, kite boards and more. A few clicks is all it takes to design and customize the perfect sport gear carrying system.
Racks
This is the moment that the adventure gear in your garage has been waiting for. The sleek, low profile, easy-install Slimsport Roof Rack is form fit to your vehicle, making it equally perfect for the daily commute or the escape to nature. Quickly add on accessories to build your own adventure. All hardware components needed to install the tray on a specific vehicle are included. Installation guides are available in the INSTALL tab of each product.
Load Bars
If you don’t currently need a complete Front Runner Roof Rack but still want off-road rated, durable cargo space for a bicycle, roof top tent, kayak, and other gear carrying accessories, consider a Front Runner Load Bar Kit. A smaller footprint, lower profile, lighter load capacity, limited accessory range, and entry level pricing distinguish Front Runner Load Bars from Front Runner Roof Racks.
Storage
Arguing with travelling companions about how to fit too much gear into too little space is a terrible way to start a road trip! Front Runner engineers have designed relationship saving organizing systems. Our boxes, drawers, sliders, safes, and gullwing panels provide easy access, security, and above all, innovative space saving alternatives to traditional vehicle based storage solutions.
Water
Comprehensive water storage is an often overlooked necessity when travelling. Front Runner manufactures a range of heavy duty poly water tanks and flexible water bags in a choice of sizes and shapes for almost any vehicle related application. Designed to withstand 4x4 off-road conditions and made from food grade polyethylene, Front Runner’s water storage systems are BPA free, do not taint the taste of water and can be easily cleaned.
Power & Lighting
Extreme terrain, remote locations and long-term expeditions call for appliances and tools that typical adventures don't. Battery systems, brackets, portable power packs and more can be an overlanding game-changer, and you can find them here.
Coolers
Keeping your perishable items fresh on a long trip can be a daunting task. Even the most insulated coolers require ice replenishment after a few days. Here, you can find a range of Dometic’s sleek, rugged coolers and vehicle-powered refrigerators, engineered to keep food cool and/or frozen regardless of the temperature outside. Front Runner also designs and manufactures off-road tough fridge and cargo slides compatible with all popular portable refrigerators.