xj roof rack for roof top tent

[Worldcyclotour]

What brand and model are any of you using for a roof rack to mount a roof top tent on a '99 XJ? Needs to be large enough to accommodate additional gear on top behind the tent. Would like to have 3 or four mounts per side. I'm looking for something that I do not have to modify or at least not do any welding. What are you using and how are you mounting the tent? Looking to have the rack done by June 1st.
Thanks, Gary in San Diego

 

[XJINTX]

I had Nates 4x4 make one for me... it's not on the Jeep right now but it's solid and he will mod to your desires. It comes apart for shipping and therefore size can be adjusted ontop depending on parts used. The pic of the blue jeep is mine using for overland trip at Big Bend State park. I have since moved it to my 2000 XJ I use for camping and not off raoding as much as I do the blue one.

http://nates4x4.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=25&products_id=91

Nate designed the rack for me and now he produces them. He works well with the customer!

 

[Worldcyclotour]

Thanks for that. How are you mounting the tent to function with the basket side rails. I had a platform in front/ basket in rear sort type of rack in mind.but the roof rack/tent setup is new to me. I'm coming off of a Sportsmobile 4x4 for the last 5 years. Great rig but was too big much of the time.

 

[mb2xs]

I used a Yakima roof rack with 1A raingutter towers and 54" crossbars to mount our Camping Lab roof top tent. It was a simple setup and worked well for 4 months of cross country travel. Here are some pics and details from our trip blog: http://viaje-al-sur.com/about/ Hope that helps!

 

[gwayms]

I had a 2001 XJ with a full front runner rack and Ezi Aawn tent. IT was an awesome setup, kinda still wish I had it. The rack was very easy to install and really sturdy. I use to walk all over it.

 

[Worldcyclotour]

The frontrunner does seem to offer a solution for mounting roof top tents by not having any side rails. how many gutter mounts did you use per side? I saw an ARB rack that was a platform up front and side rails in back but their site says it is not compatible with the XJ.

 

[gwayms]

there were 3 on each side. the rack was awesome and the guy i sold the jeep to had it listed on craiglist a few weeks later. if i had know that i would have kept the rack, figured out something for the jk.

 

[Worldcyclotour]

gwayms, The Frontrunner looks to be right for the job. I haven't found any other option yet.

 

[Timgco]

GOBI or FrontRunner are two great choices that fit that platform well.

 

[OverlandZJ]

I recently found this company while researching a flat platform for the ZJ. They have a basket/platform combination..

http://www.diamondrax.com/

 

[yeha22]

I used a Yakima roof rack with 1A raingutter towers and 54" crossbars to mount our Camping Lab roof top tent. It was a simple setup and worked well for 4 months of cross country travel. Here are some pics and details from our trip blog: http://viaje-al-sur.com/about/ Hope that helps!

It looks like you only have two crossbars. Any ill effects from not having more support? Everything I see (rack or tent setup) has at least three mount points to support a tent.

 

[yeha22]

I wanted to bump this again. In checking the load limits for what Yakima says *should* work on the XJ, two supports would certainly carry the tent and would come really close to holding the tent, me, and my wife. Would I be putting my rain gutters under too much stress to only use two support bars?

 

[Topgun514]

I have a Thule setup for my RTT, 2 supports worked fine with me +1 on there and feel very sturdy.