roofrack for a wrangler?

[XXXpedition]

as some of you might know,i've been doing some work n my xj but onlynow start on my jk.
i'd like to have a roofrack and there are a few available BUT
one thing that makes me wonder is the attachment of those racks...
i have a bad feeling bolting a roofrack into the sheet metal and then put weight on it, or what if i slide into a tree???
wouldn't it tear up the body panels?

or is there a tough reinforcement behind it?
anybody has any opinions/knowledge on that?
thanks
sven

 

[TheGillz]

I plan on getting some Warrior Products or AEV rear corner guards first and then getting the Wildboar roof rack and feel pretty confident in my research that that would easily carry the 1000lb stationary and 400 lb moving wheight limits because there isn't any tough reenforcments behind the sheet metal that I have heard of.

 

[XXXpedition]

i'm wondering about hitting a tree or rock with the rack and if it wouldn't tear the metal anyhow... (???)

 

[BIGdaddy]

i'm wondering about hitting a tree or rock with the rack and if it wouldn't tear the metal anyhow... (???)

i have the congo cage and i can pretty much assure you that it would be almost impossible to do damage from leaning against a tree

on the front the bars mount to a bracket tied into the windshield, much like a light mount bracket, only beefier...

in the rear, the bars sit behind the jeep, not next to it, and are closer to the body than the rear bumper or even the taillights...

i know they may not make one for the jk yet, but its a simple design that wouldn't be hard to duplicate.

i'll post pics if needed, but you can google congo cage, too.

-Brian

 

[XXXpedition]

looks like they have a jk rack already but in the back it seems to sit on the bumper...
sven

 

[leftygun]

Jeep JK Rack

I saw a nice one on "Off Road Logic Warehouse" site. They claim it is a drill-free installation, the rack tips back for access and nice low profile design.

 

[zigsrig]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/GOBI-JEEP-WRANGLER-JK-STEALTH-SAFARI-ROOF-RACK-4-DOOR_W0QQitemZ120261341655QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item120261341655&

 

[TheGillz]

Warning about off road logic. They have quite the terrible rep around the jeep forum I frequent. PM for links or details. Great looking product though.

 

[FourByLand]

That rack looks awesome!

 

[hrjaw]

nice rack! :sombrero:

 

[XXXpedition]

nice rack, but nice price too.
for that i can make one custom

 

[WFTW]

While the Gobi rack looks decent, I don't like how small those lights above the windshield are...I mean really, what good will those tiny things do? Also, I don't like how it attaches to the rear bumper. What if you have a stubby bumpers or an aftermarket bumper?

I'd recommend you take a look at the Wild Boar rack (www.wildboarproducts.com). It's a bit less than the Gobi rack, holds 4 normal sized lights and attaches to the frame of the Jeep rather than to the plastic bumper. In fact, if you get some AEV rear corner guards, that may save you the damage to the rear corner if you hit a tree.

Speaking of hitting a tree, that would be best to avoid. With the Jeep having a removable top, you don't really have much of a choice on where to mount the rack. I suppose you can remove the top completely and mount it directly to the roll bar. But, while that would be ideal, it would leave you without a top unless you do some fabrication such as putting some holes through the roof and the sealing them up. But even then, you'd have to remove the rack each time you want to take the hard top off or put it back on.

Best of luck to you. If you fab something up, I'd like to see pictures!