semi-custom roof rack for my WJ
- Thread starter theksmith
- Start date
theksmith
Explorer
turns out the head and the foot were both rattling, the quick fix is shown below...
by moving the head of the jack up a bit before putting it on there, the cast part of the handle is pushed against the rack mount and therefore pushes the whole head of the jack tight against it's body so that it doesn't rattle.
the second fix was the little bungee cord to the foot of the jack which keeps the foot from rattling.
Last edited:
theksmith
Explorer
just and update that this rack is holding up great so far, thanks george for the solid welding!
we just did 5 days in canyonlands with it, over some pretty rough terrain, with (2) 5 gallon cans of fuel, (2) 5 gallon cans of water, a tent-cot oversize, a large tent, a chair, a camping pad, 3 sleeping bags, PETT toilet, ammo can, and some misc stuff all on the rack the entire time (and of course hi-lift/shovel/axe too).
we just did 5 days in canyonlands with it, over some pretty rough terrain, with (2) 5 gallon cans of fuel, (2) 5 gallon cans of water, a tent-cot oversize, a large tent, a chair, a camping pad, 3 sleeping bags, PETT toilet, ammo can, and some misc stuff all on the rack the entire time (and of course hi-lift/shovel/axe too).
buckshot500
Observer
Nice work & looks great!
OverlandZJ
Expedition Leader
How is this holding up? No issues with pulling nutserts up through?
Did you use anything between the strap along the roof and the roof itself to stop any chance of water instrusion? Or is it not needed?
Did you use anything between the strap along the roof and the roof itself to stop any chance of water instrusion? Or is it not needed?
theksmith
Explorer
has worked well - knock on metal - no issues, even with some pretty overloaded trips.
i just put some threadlock on each bolt going into the nutserts when i installed it, no other waterproofing.
lamontagne
Adventurer
Soooo......
Where did the bumper go?
Where did the bumper go?
theksmith
Explorer
this was done in 2009 and i had my first issue start to surface with it now (2012). one of the nutserts in the roof that it screws into started to come loose and so the rack was making a creaking sound when i would hit big potholes (because it could flex just a bit off the roofline).
i just took the rack off today and i'm going to add more nutserts to better distribute the load. i originally only used the 5 factory mounting points on each side, which are unevenly spaced and left a long un-attached gap. i'm going to add 3, maybe 4 more per side to remedy this.
also there is some rust on the bottom of the rack rails and the the roof-line where they sit together, nothing major, just going to rattle can it with a rust primer first and then the body matched coat.
i just took the rack off today and i'm going to add more nutserts to better distribute the load. i originally only used the 5 factory mounting points on each side, which are unevenly spaced and left a long un-attached gap. i'm going to add 3, maybe 4 more per side to remedy this.
also there is some rust on the bottom of the rack rails and the the roof-line where they sit together, nothing major, just going to rattle can it with a rust primer first and then the body matched coat.