I’ve seen a lot of posts about roof racks, and I found a good solution that I haven’t seen posted.
I need a roof rack because I can’t carry my wife and dog and camping gear all inside the vehicle on an offroad trip. For a while I just used roof bars and a rooftop bag, but it was difficult to get stuff in and out of. If you don’t need a rack, or you’re happy drilling into the hard top, this isn’t for you.
My main requirements were that the rack had to have universal (t-slot) attachment points and that it not have a big exoskeleton and not require drilling.
This setup has two parts. The first are roof bars, made by a California company called Surco. The Surco bars attach to the rain channels above the doors in front, and then for the back they hook under the hard top and also press down on the top’s rounded corners. The back bar is obviously more secure than the front, so I’m considering adding a third bar in the rear, to reduce the stress on the channel.
The rack is a Yakima LockNLoad. It fits together like most racks. But unlike most, it will attach to almost any roof bars. Basically it has clamps to attach to the bars (two in front, two in back), and each clamp attaches at a pivot point to a small piece of platform, and that piece attaches to the rest of the platform with two bolts. The idea behind the pivot point is that it accounts for the curve of the roof.
I learned that the GoRhino rack (different than the Rhino Rack) has a similar attachment system, but you can only use it on the smaller racks—they won’t sell you a larger rack with the same attachment points.
This rack has some drawbacks. The main one is the weight limit, due to how it’s attached and supported. Surco says its basket and crossbars together weigh about 36 lbs and can hold about 150 lbs, so I’ll assume a similar weight limit for this setup. (Both the Yakima rack and the Surco basket are all aluminum, but the Surco doesn’t have those attachment points for gear.) I need to carry far less than that, and I have no need for a rooftop tent (I do carry my ground tent on the roof); if you want a rooftop tent, this probably won’t work for you. My estimate is that I won’t exceed 75 lbs.
The next drawback is the height. The roof bars rise about five inches above the roof, and then the rack adds another three to four. Then the gear. So the Jeep will end up a bit more top-heavy than before. That’s true with all racks, but the super-low-profile models, which require drilling into the hard top, probably make a big difference there.
Finally, this isn’t the easiest to remove and replace, because you need to lift the hard top just a bit to slide out the attachment points. On the other hand, if you drill into the hard top, you probably can’t remove those parts either.
Overall, the Yakima rack is pretty versatile. It’s compatible with attachments from a bunch of other companies, and it has several of its own. The whole thing is as solid as you can expect from a rack that partially attaches to the rain channels. It feels sturdy, and now I can easily fit all of my camping gear—sleeping bag, mattress, tent, etc.—on the roof, outside the Jeep. The heavy stuff fits inside, and the dog doesn’t mind sharing the rear seat with a little gear.
These are 52” bars and a 54” by 60” rack. I waited for a big sale and got it at REI, which also has a generous return policy (because I wasn’t totally sure it would fit). If price and the return policy were no issue, I would’ve chosen the 72” version, because my LJ has that space available up top.
I need a roof rack because I can’t carry my wife and dog and camping gear all inside the vehicle on an offroad trip. For a while I just used roof bars and a rooftop bag, but it was difficult to get stuff in and out of. If you don’t need a rack, or you’re happy drilling into the hard top, this isn’t for you.
My main requirements were that the rack had to have universal (t-slot) attachment points and that it not have a big exoskeleton and not require drilling.
This setup has two parts. The first are roof bars, made by a California company called Surco. The Surco bars attach to the rain channels above the doors in front, and then for the back they hook under the hard top and also press down on the top’s rounded corners. The back bar is obviously more secure than the front, so I’m considering adding a third bar in the rear, to reduce the stress on the channel.
The rack is a Yakima LockNLoad. It fits together like most racks. But unlike most, it will attach to almost any roof bars. Basically it has clamps to attach to the bars (two in front, two in back), and each clamp attaches at a pivot point to a small piece of platform, and that piece attaches to the rest of the platform with two bolts. The idea behind the pivot point is that it accounts for the curve of the roof.
I learned that the GoRhino rack (different than the Rhino Rack) has a similar attachment system, but you can only use it on the smaller racks—they won’t sell you a larger rack with the same attachment points.
This rack has some drawbacks. The main one is the weight limit, due to how it’s attached and supported. Surco says its basket and crossbars together weigh about 36 lbs and can hold about 150 lbs, so I’ll assume a similar weight limit for this setup. (Both the Yakima rack and the Surco basket are all aluminum, but the Surco doesn’t have those attachment points for gear.) I need to carry far less than that, and I have no need for a rooftop tent (I do carry my ground tent on the roof); if you want a rooftop tent, this probably won’t work for you. My estimate is that I won’t exceed 75 lbs.
The next drawback is the height. The roof bars rise about five inches above the roof, and then the rack adds another three to four. Then the gear. So the Jeep will end up a bit more top-heavy than before. That’s true with all racks, but the super-low-profile models, which require drilling into the hard top, probably make a big difference there.
Finally, this isn’t the easiest to remove and replace, because you need to lift the hard top just a bit to slide out the attachment points. On the other hand, if you drill into the hard top, you probably can’t remove those parts either.
Overall, the Yakima rack is pretty versatile. It’s compatible with attachments from a bunch of other companies, and it has several of its own. The whole thing is as solid as you can expect from a rack that partially attaches to the rain channels. It feels sturdy, and now I can easily fit all of my camping gear—sleeping bag, mattress, tent, etc.—on the roof, outside the Jeep. The heavy stuff fits inside, and the dog doesn’t mind sharing the rear seat with a little gear.
These are 52” bars and a 54” by 60” rack. I waited for a big sale and got it at REI, which also has a generous return policy (because I wasn’t totally sure it would fit). If price and the return policy were no issue, I would’ve chosen the 72” version, because my LJ has that space available up top.
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