roof racks for softtops

[Ga Yota 4x4]

Looking for ideas (pics) for homemade roof racks for Wrangler with soft tops. I really like the expedition & unlimited racks (mounts behind door) offered by Garvin industries, but was wondering if anyone has done thier own. I've seen some on the cherokees, but none on the wranglers. Long term goal is for storage & a roof tent.

 

[Mayne]

I've seen them made by a few people, but I really think you may be better off buying. That way you have a better possibility of a correct weight rating on the rack. That and the windshield pieces are raduis bent .25" thick steel. That makes it a we bit difficult for the home fab gang.
I have a Defender brand rack and basket on my TJ, but if I had to do it again, I would put a Garvin on it. The Garvin sits about 2" lower, and the way it tilts back won't booger the windshield with legs scrapping across, like my Defender rack.

 

[BigAl]

Looking for ideas (pics) for homemade roof racks for Wrangler with soft tops. I really like the expedition & unlimited racks (mounts behind door) offered by Garvin industries, but was wondering if anyone has done thier own. I've seen some on the cherokees, but none on the wranglers. Long term goal is for storage & a roof tent.

How does the soft top factor into the design? I'm picturing a roof rack for a wrangler to be the same whether it's a hard or soft top. Post up your design if you can, I'd really like to see it. I put a rack inside the back of mine which gets me by, but I'm also considering a home made roof rack. You don't have to compromise if you build your own

 

[OverlandZJ]

Al, i believe the center bow sits taller than a Hardtop would.

 

[cybercat]

I used the kargo Master Congo rack with a cutom made basket. holds 500lbs just fine.
I turned the horizontal pieces 90 degrees so the basket would sit flat.
The basket was made from an aluminium ATV ram rated 1200lbs.
example of atv ramps: http://www.discountramps.com/bifolding-atv-ramp.htm
Here is a pic of my set up.

 

[Gear]

Here are two different racks that I have had.

Custom rack for 97 TJ soft top. We used Sun Performance Billet Soft Top Disconnects to allow the top to slide past the rear bar.
http://www.sunperformance.com/html/jeep_accessories/Billet_Soft-top_Disconnect.html

This rack is on an 03 Rubicon. The cross bars are removable so the hard top or soft top can be put on.

I like full custom. You pay more but you get what you want. Here is the latest rack on an 07 Rubicon Unlimited.

 

[BigAl]

I like full custom. You pay more but you get what you want. Here is the latest rack on an 07 Rubicon Unlimited.

That is interesting, any more pics?

 

[Gear]

Not yet. The rack just went to powder coat. You can see some more early stages of the rack here. Look at the bottom of this page.

http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6947&page=4

 

[Ga Yota 4x4]

I used the kargo Master Congo rack with a cutom made basket. holds 500lbs just fine.
I turned the horizontal pieces 90 degrees so the basket would sit flat.
The basket was made from an aluminium ATV ram rated 1200lbs.
example of atv ramps: http://www.discountramps.com/bifolding-atv-ramp.htm
Here is a pic of my set up.

Cool idea! I've got one of those laying around that I haven't used in years since I got a trailer for my 4-wheeler. I'll just need to weld a 3 or 4 inch frame around the top to keep the stuff from falling off.

 

[Lynn]

No pix, but how 'bout an attempt at describing what I am planning on attempting to build for my dream Jeep?

My wife and I really like the 'open' feeling of having the top down, but I want a roof rack. I also want it to be able to hold a lot of weight on a rare occasion. After all, I might get back into elk hunting one day... plus I want to be able to open or close the roof fairly easily.

So what I want to build is a half rack (reaching from the stock roll bar to the back) with a a solid floor, permanently mounted.

The rack floor would double as part of the Jeep roof. Then I want to basically cut the soft top into panels (back, sides, and ‘targa-section’), and attach them to the roof rack using awning rails or something, in much the same way the CJ soft top attaches to the top of the windshield (not sure how it works on Wranglers).

That way I could roll up or remove the sides and/or remove the ‘targa top’ section above the front seats, and still have a heavy-duty roof rack. With the soft panels off, the roof rack would be like a bikini top over the back half.

To support the back of the rack I am planning on building a ‘full cage’ extending from the stock roll bar to the back of the Jeep.

Does that make sense?

 

[Grim Reaper]

I used the kargo Master Congo rack with a cutom made basket. holds 500lbs just fine.
I turned the horizontal pieces 90 degrees so the basket would sit flat.
The basket was made from an aluminium ATV ram rated 1200lbs.
example of atv ramps: http://www.discountramps.com/bifolding-atv-ramp.htm
Here is a pic of my set up.

Ingenuity is the mother of invention....What a great idea!

I'll just need to weld a 3 or 4 inch frame around the top to keep the stuff from falling off.

...why? what purpose does it really serve other then cosmetic and making more wind drag? If you need the rail to keep the gear down you are not strapping it down the way you should.
I'm making a small wind deflector for the leading edge of the rack I will build and keeping the rack as tight to the roof as possible to try to limit the MPG loss most people complain of.

 

[Ga Yota 4x4]

Ingenuity is the mother of invention....What a great idea!
...why? what purpose does it really serve other then cosmetic and making more wind drag? If you need the rail to keep the gear down you are not strapping it down the way you should.

Agree, but the railing just seems to add an extra level of security being on top of the vehicle. (Plus I think it looks cool) Hoping the aluminium will save weight if I add to it. I'm thinking the tabs used from hanging on the bed should be able to be used to mount some lights.

 

[cybercat]

The best thing about this design is that one person can remove the rack. Just stand on the back bumper and pull back the whole thing just flips back. Four bolts connect the unit to the Jeep.

 

[grahamfitter]

I also have a congo cage with cross bars instead of a basket or platform. Since installing it I've never folded down the entire soft top because its a PITA to hinge the heavy rack back. I just remove the side and back windows and enjoy the shade. There's less to do when it rains too

Cheers,
Graham

 

[ox4mag]

Looking for ideas (pics) for homemade roof racks for Wrangler with soft tops. I really like the expedition & unlimited racks (mounts behind door) offered by Garvin industries, but was wondering if anyone has done thier own. I've seen some on the cherokees, but none on the wranglers. Long term goal is for storage & a roof tent.

I've got both the Garvin roof Wilderness rack and the rack bumper system and I am extremely impressed with the setup in relation to my soft top use. The nice thing about the roof rack is that, as previously mentioned in another post, the arm mounts on the front are attached to side of the windshield so no scraping of the windshield itself occurs when pulling the rack back to remove the soft top. Also, the rear mounts use anchor in at the frame where the body mounts sit so I feel comfortable hauling heavier loads. The only complaint that I have is that the rack itself doesn't have a cross member to support weight in the middle of the rack system. It'd probably be easy to have one fabricated so that's always an option. Also, I would suggest replacing all nuts with wingnuts to make for easier/quicker removal of the rack when preparing to remove your soft top.