Stroked 550
Adventurer
I am looking to buy a roof rack for JK, what models are you running?
JK Roof Racks
- Thread starter Stroked 550
- Start date
Stroked 550
Adventurer
What aspects would you like to see improved?
For right now I'm looking to use it to keep gear totes on but in the future I would like to get a roof top tent
I never use the tilt / removable top feature, so that is wasted cost.
There isn’t a really great way to route wiring, and I added lights all around, so mine has a full accompnyment of zip ties.
I carry a lot of lumber and steel, so I added pipe insulation to the crossbars for a little more “spring” when tying stuff down.
The fact it is an expanded metal basket is awesome for hauling soft stuff, boxes, crates, loose stuff… but now I have full-time solar panels on it and they cover the basket.
I ran different RTT for years before moving to a trailer. The entire rack was basically wasted once you cover it with a tent.
The ladder looks really good, but my half-century old body has climbed it exactly once. Dangerous and ridiculous to try and use.
So, I love that it doesnt attach to the body. It is by far and away the best looking exo-skeleton type rack out there.
All things considered, it greatly expanded the utility of my jeep and has been an excellent purchase.
However, if I ever build my own, it will be similar, but different in a few key areas.
There isn’t a really great way to route wiring, and I added lights all around, so mine has a full accompnyment of zip ties.
I carry a lot of lumber and steel, so I added pipe insulation to the crossbars for a little more “spring” when tying stuff down.
The fact it is an expanded metal basket is awesome for hauling soft stuff, boxes, crates, loose stuff… but now I have full-time solar panels on it and they cover the basket.
I ran different RTT for years before moving to a trailer. The entire rack was basically wasted once you cover it with a tent.
The ladder looks really good, but my half-century old body has climbed it exactly once. Dangerous and ridiculous to try and use.
So, I love that it doesnt attach to the body. It is by far and away the best looking exo-skeleton type rack out there.
All things considered, it greatly expanded the utility of my jeep and has been an excellent purchase.
However, if I ever build my own, it will be similar, but different in a few key areas.
DCH109
Adventurer
I had two roof racks on my JK over time. First one was the Exposed Racks (got them used). This was the one built for the RTT. I did not like it. It mounted to the rain gutters on the hard top with reinforcement stands that pushed down on the hard top. I used it to transport my RTT about 20 miles home when I bought it, the confidence level was zero with these racks.
I then had the TrailFX roof rack. About the same as several others including the Smittybilt, Body Armor 4x4, etc..
What I liked It mounted solid in the front and the rear you had two options. 1 was drilling into your Jeep and mounting it that way, the other was swapping the crappy plastic rear bumper for a steel one and mounting it to the frame. I mounted mine to the frame.
Price was right as this would not be mounted year round I wanted it easy to take off and store.
It was solid and did not move at all. Cross members could be removed and then the hard top taken off. I had a RTT on mine and sleeping up there at my 250 lbs weight, I never had an issue and never felt like it was swaying or moving at all. Solid.
The biggest thing I liked was not having to drill into my hardtop or body. This was an absolute must for me.
What I did not like.
The mounts for the cross bars are crap, I replaced mine with some nuts and bolts so you needed a wrench to remove it.
It is bulkier than others. While not so bad over all it looks huge on the vehicle. I did bang mine hard on a tree and i think it saved my jeep body.
The lower rear mounts have no drain holes and you need to drill some and then paint as the tubes will collect water.
What you need to address, the wind noise.......it is brutal to the point of deafening. I picked up a wind deflector for the front that i had to custom install, it reduced the noise by 70% and that was acceptable.
If I were to do it again, I might go with a Gobi rack.
I then had the TrailFX roof rack. About the same as several others including the Smittybilt, Body Armor 4x4, etc..
What I liked It mounted solid in the front and the rear you had two options. 1 was drilling into your Jeep and mounting it that way, the other was swapping the crappy plastic rear bumper for a steel one and mounting it to the frame. I mounted mine to the frame.
Price was right as this would not be mounted year round I wanted it easy to take off and store.
It was solid and did not move at all. Cross members could be removed and then the hard top taken off. I had a RTT on mine and sleeping up there at my 250 lbs weight, I never had an issue and never felt like it was swaying or moving at all. Solid.
The biggest thing I liked was not having to drill into my hardtop or body. This was an absolute must for me.
What I did not like.
The mounts for the cross bars are crap, I replaced mine with some nuts and bolts so you needed a wrench to remove it.
It is bulkier than others. While not so bad over all it looks huge on the vehicle. I did bang mine hard on a tree and i think it saved my jeep body.
The lower rear mounts have no drain holes and you need to drill some and then paint as the tubes will collect water.
What you need to address, the wind noise.......it is brutal to the point of deafening. I picked up a wind deflector for the front that i had to custom install, it reduced the noise by 70% and that was acceptable.
If I were to do it again, I might go with a Gobi rack.
ChasingOurTrunks
Well-known member
I ran a Gobi Stealth on my JK, and @NatersXJ6 summed up the pros and cons perfectly, but I'll add one more con: Weight. The Gobi Rack is heavy for what it does, partially because of it's advantages (tying into the frame) but also partly because of it's disadvantages (the ladder that doesn't work too good as he mentioned, and the tilt function which was never used). On a JK, every pound matters so a lighter design would be the only improvements I would make.
The other thing about the Gobi that I found minor but challenging was the way the rear part of the rack mounts to the frame (great) and the pinch seam (not great) - the location right behind the rear wheel meant I got a lot of corrosion on the pinch seam mount. If you go this route, generous and regular application of fluid film will help the longevity of the rack. This is a great design in terms of it's strength and utility, but it's a maintenance item that I skimped on so I'd do that differently next time.
I would never go with a gutter mount or any other type of mount that relies on the JK hard top, full stop, despite these being available from the likes of Yakima and Thule. It might be fine for an on-pavement transport of a SUP from the apartment complex to the city beach, but such a system is unsuitable for anything involving moderate weight or vibration.
The other type of rack I would consider is one that ties into the rollbar through the roof, but one thing about JKs is that the body does move a bit and so I'm not sure about the long-term waterproofness of anything that drills through the hardtop into the roll bar, so you would be wise to ask around for folks who have used these backbone systems a bit more.
If I were to buy a new jeep tomorrow, I'd be looking for a simplified GOBI design made out of aluminum. That may not exist but that's what I'd want.
The other thing about the Gobi that I found minor but challenging was the way the rear part of the rack mounts to the frame (great) and the pinch seam (not great) - the location right behind the rear wheel meant I got a lot of corrosion on the pinch seam mount. If you go this route, generous and regular application of fluid film will help the longevity of the rack. This is a great design in terms of it's strength and utility, but it's a maintenance item that I skimped on so I'd do that differently next time.
I would never go with a gutter mount or any other type of mount that relies on the JK hard top, full stop, despite these being available from the likes of Yakima and Thule. It might be fine for an on-pavement transport of a SUP from the apartment complex to the city beach, but such a system is unsuitable for anything involving moderate weight or vibration.
The other type of rack I would consider is one that ties into the rollbar through the roof, but one thing about JKs is that the body does move a bit and so I'm not sure about the long-term waterproofness of anything that drills through the hardtop into the roll bar, so you would be wise to ask around for folks who have used these backbone systems a bit more.
If I were to buy a new jeep tomorrow, I'd be looking for a simplified GOBI design made out of aluminum. That may not exist but that's what I'd want.
The zero confidence in the Exposed Racks is based on your gut feeling (and knowledge) or did you actually have a bad experience with the racks? I am currently building an overlanding set up for my 21 jeep wrangler. I am doing my research on the Exposed Racks after renting a Jeep Camper from Indie Campers and noticing they use these racks for their rentals. Their staff told me it works great and haven't had any issues with it in their 5 years in business. I see a lot of people using them with RTTs and haven't read anything bad. I don't want to drill or cage my Jeep. I like their Click-in system for quick tent set up and removal and the fact that I can convert the crossbars to soft top (or no top) racks. Also- weight distribution feet on the hard top seems like a good option and haven't read about any damages. All this being said- this is still a gutter mount system. Do I have any other options if I don't want to drill or cage?
DCH109
Adventurer
I moved a fairly light roof top tent with mine. I have the three bar setup and I felt the stress of the feet on the jeep hard top was not ideal. I think the ones designed for the soft top are better as they mount differently. On the JK it is mainly over the freedom panels and the rear part of the hard tops has no drip rails.
On the hard top they just did not give me the confidence that with heavy off road use they would not buckle and damage the roof. Add the fact that the plastic drip rails on the Jeep factory hard tops are not metal, I have my doubts.
This is coming from a someone who had FJ60's and Land Rovers.
My comments are based on the vehicle twisting and moving off road and the feeling with the noise, obvious stress and the fact that the drip rails are not really design for this type of weight.
If I was moving a canoe or kayak sure.
I think the main downfall of the Jeeps are the hard tops. Had they been metal or reinforced this would be different, but then that add an enormous amount of weight.
Drilling may be the best option if you do not want an external cage. I chose the external cage type and did not really regret it (especially after bumping a tree). That said, if I were to do it again, I would drill into my hard and mount a Rhino Rack or a Go-Rhino. these look cleaner than the external cage style and I would imagine quieter.