How hard is it to remove a Gobi roof rack?

[Longtallsally]

For a number of years now I've poo-pooed the idea of a roof rack and roof top tent. To be frank, I still really don't like the idea from a comfort/economy perspective.

Well, the reality of renovating a house in the Bay Area has really put a damper on available funds for "modifications" and other such nonsense. Therefore, after we sold out Evo 1 pop up camper in search of something smaller/lighter, I had my mind set on a tear drop. Although the Socal Teardrops and the like are super cool, I'm not paying regular RV prices for a teardrop and was leaning toward a Little Guy Rough Rider. Anyway, without going on a total diatribe, the bottom line is that we've decided she gets a new kitchen before we buy another camper (the last big ticket item for the house).

This leaves us to going back to tent camping now as a family for the time being, which kinda sucks as my wife likes comfort and we have an infant as well as a very young one. I've thought about the Ursa Minor J30. Love it. Hate that it costs about as much a Little Guy. So now I'm actually contemplating a Gobi and a RTT as it would be well under half that of a J30 and a quarter of a Rough Rider.

However, the noise and economy penalty of the Gobi are unacceptable to me for permanent use. Not to mention putting the top up and down, or taking the hard top off becomes a total pain (yes I like that it takes less than 5 minutes to put the soft top up).

So this brings me to my question: As the Gobi does not require drilling, for those that have one, would it be a total bear to remove it (or the lion's share) for the majority of the time? Don't try to sell me on keeping on all the time as I had a Garvin on my YJ and full well know the benefits and all that. The JK is fairly comfy and quiet (for a Jeep) as a daily driver and I'd like to keep it that way, but have the utility when I need it.

Or should I just say heck with it and be patient for a year at which time we can decide on a longer term plan? Saturday morning ramblings....

 

[NatersXJ6]

If you leave the rear bumper brackets in place, 2 people could probably mount or remove a Gobi in 15 minutes. the tent is probably 15 more.

you don't want to hear about leaving it on, understood. So, I think you might want to think about these questions:

1) how much risk to paint and windshield glass comes each time you move/remove/attach that front light bar?

2) where will you store it when removed?

3) have you seen actual data on the noise of the rack?

I would challenge that someone riding with a decibel meter in a JK with a Gobi would record a significant change in noise level over one without. I have not seen actual data, but I have thought about testing mine... except that it is a PITA to remove the rack! 😜

 

[Longtallsally]

All good questions.

1) A light bar up there is utterly useless to me and have no intentions of mounting lights. LED headlights and a light bar in front the winch are more than sufficient for the rare occasion I'm out after dark. Are you just referring to the hoop that attaches to the hinges? If so, That's only a couple bolts, so I'm not really worried about that.

2) Hang from the ceiling in the garage. Also the tent. Shouldn't be a problem.

3). Yeah, my own. I have a Yakima deal that is quite utilitarian and hooks to the rain gutters and has a basket. I even have a fairing on it. Takes a minute or 2 to put on and it comes off immediately after use. Even that little deal pulls the Jeep all over the place in windy areas and costs 2 MPG by itself. I throw a couple gas cans up there and all bets are off.

Like I said, I had a Garvin on my YJ. Loved it. Exceptionally useful. But that was a soft top only YJ that I could put the top down without removing the rack. I know that's not an option for the JKU and I don't want to deal with.

All that aside, 15 minutes is fully acceptable to me, so I might think harder about this. Thanks a bunch for the input.

 

[wADVr]

- Longtallsally

I'm in about the exactly the same spot. I do not have a rack and to be honest find it hard to drop $4k on a rack and RTT being just a compromise to get by.

Interested to see the points of view as this thread developed.

 

[NatersXJ6]

yes, when I say light bar I mean the front support hoop that comes down the A pillars.

I had to install mine twice, due to some shipping damage not discovered until I tried to install it. I was worried about paint scratches and came really close to breaking the windshield before I got someone to help.

we ended up holding it in place while standing up through the top while the other person bolted it down.

good luck and have fun.

 

[Longtallsally]

Exceptional point on the frame for the A pillar. I found a time lapse install video and totally see what you mean.

As we've got a spiderweb shade, crawling on the inside isn't a simple option, which leaves it strictly to a 2 man operation it seems.

However, all this aside, I just got a Quadratech catalog yesterday and there is a new free standing, 1 man hard top remover from Lange that my wife wants me to get to eliminate the pulley setup in the garage that I think could be adapted for pulling the rack as well. So this is getting more and more popular as an option.

 

[jjohnson1892]

If you have a garage tall enough, you could consider making a hoist and it would take under 15 minutes for the whole kit to come off. That's my plan come this fall (when my house is done being built). I have it on full time right now and it would definitely be nice to pull it off, between the noise and fuel economy hit I really want to have some system set up. Consider making an outdoor post with hoist to pull it off in the mean time. (just saw that your wife wants to be done with the pulley setup... maybe not a good option).

I can tilt it back to go soft top down pretty easily though, so that's not a complaint on my end. Removing the hard top will prove to be a different issue... I'll tackle that one soon enough.

 

[dstock]

I bought an $80 harbor freight electric hoist and use that to remove my gobi and the hardtop. Makes it pretty easy. I don't leave mine on either, the noise isn't so much the issue but you do lose about 1 mpg at freeway speeds with the rack on. I can do whole thing in about 30mins, but I have the old design of the stealth so I have to unmount and remount my windshield lights otherwise it would be quicker.

 

[Longtallsally]

Great input guys! Thanks!

So I'm now leaning pretty heavily on doing this. Sadly, our garage barely clears the Jeep to enter with a paltry 2" lift and OEM tires, but I can get the hard top off in the garage with the current pulley setup.

This is the Lange deal that I think just came out:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NGz1HjGd_1k" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I don't see why this couldn't be used for the rack as well. Admittedly, we typically only do the top swap once a year, but since this covers removal and storage in one deal, honestly I think it's worth $500. I know that's a lot of $$$ for a hoist and cart and I could fabricate something myself pretty easily, but the reality of having 2 small children and the career and house stuff, I just don't have the time right now. Frankly, I'm not sure how much cheaper I could make it as well.

 

[jjohnson1892]

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I don't see why this couldn't be used for the rack as well. Admittedly, we typically only do the top swap once a year, but since this covers removal and storage in one deal, honestly I think it's worth $500. I know that's a lot of $$$ for a hoist and cart and I could fabricate something myself pretty easily, but the reality of having 2 small children and the career and house stuff, I just don't have the time right now. Frankly, I'm not sure how much cheaper I could make it as well.

I feel you on the time and reality of projects, currently facing the lack of time and space for a camping/utility trailer of my own.

All that said, I'm not sure how I'd feel about the cart. Would be nice to have a compact space for your top and all, but it may be difficult to mount/remove the rack if the top is on there. You could use that cart for your top, and then use the garage hoist for the rack? the front support and rear supports come off easily, so you could stash them on top of the rack during storage so it sits pretty close to the ceiling.

 

[Longtallsally]

I've already made a cart from scrap wood and have a hoist in the garage already, but as you can see, ceiling height is limited.

Total investment ~$20

However, the garage door doesn't go up high enough to get the Jeep with any sort of rack in there. In addition, my wife just got a new car and I got kicked out of the garage (at least the bikes get to stay) so I have to use the space beside the house to park the Jeep. I'm sure I'll be able to store the top in the garage, but actually removal with the Lange setup would greatly simplify things. And if I can adapt it to do a rack as well, all the better. I think if I just disconnect the light bar up front and remove the back part, I can't see that being any harder than pulling the top.

The way we had the side of the house paved, it's very level and would be super easy to pull everything there and then the cart would be able to roll the top around and in the garage.

That Lange setup is essentially a free standing hoist, which it is a REALLY good idea I think, and since it doubles as a cart, it wastes no space.

 

[dstock]

Yeah that new Lange setup is pretty cool, I saw that as well. It some ways it would be easier I think then the garage hoist, as I have to move a bunch of stuff every time I want to use it. Sounds like you have a good plan.

 

[Longtallsally]

I just came up with an even cheaper/better solution I think. The lead time on the Gobi is pretty long, and they are awful proud of it for the limited use it would get in my world.

As I've done more research on racks, the Kargo Master Congo cage or whatever seems like a great match for my needs. It hold the weight, I think would come off much easier than the Gobi and is less than 1/3 the price. With that in mind, anyone have and experience with them? I actually think they look kinda goofy, but on the occasion it will actually be on the Jeep, I don't much care. I could get the tent and rack for less than the Gobi alone, probably get it a month sooner, and take it off easier. Saving a grand+ is the main thing I like, though.

 

[Tombstone17]

Hey Longtallsally, Did the guy on the Wrangler forum ever get back to you!

 

[Longtallsally]

Hey Longtallsally, Did the guy on the Wrangler forum ever get back to you!

Nope, I figure he either sold it or just hasn't seen. If he comes back and it's still available, I'd probably go that route, but as its been around a month, I'm not holding my breath.