Is this an OEM or aftermarket hardtop?

namunyoska

namunyoska

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Joined
Dec 30, 2019
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MD
Is there a way to distinguish a factory hardtop vs aftermarket? The picture with the red arrow has a panel on the side that seems to be a factory top feature.

I'm looking to buy a hardtop to permanently install a roof rack (https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/yakima-roof-rack-setup-on-tj-hardtop.7106/) for an upcoming cross country trip. Is it true that only the OEM hardtop can sustain the weight of a roof rack and RTT setup?

Both sellers claim it is OEM.

Thanks!

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Those both look OEM. There were certain years that the OEM had vents. IIRC, the hard tops without vents came in later model years.
 
LukesfirstJeep said:
Those both look OEM. There were certain years that the OEM had vents. IIRC, the hard tops without vents came in later model years.
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Thanks this is helpful as I was almost convinced it wasn't OEM because of the missing vent, panel thingy on the sides. It's in better shape than the other one for a similar price
 
Unsolicited advice warning: There are more stout and potentially more affordable options like this, which includes everything you need including the tracks. I’ve used both and its a night and day difference. I would be suuuper cautious off-road with a RTT on Yakima rack (I had a similar setup fail on me and cause tons of damage to the roof of a mint FJ60 and now won’t trust Yakima racks with anything more than a couple surfboards or set of skis).

You can call em and custom build a kit based on track and load bar length. https://www.frontrunneroutfitters.c...front-runner-1165mm-load-bars-canopy-kit.html
 
RFC said:
Unsolicited advice warning: There are more stout and potentially more affordable options like this, which includes everything you need including the tracks. I’ve used both and its a night and day difference. I would be suuuper cautious off-road with a RTT on Yakima rack (I had a similar setup fail on me and cause tons of damage to the roof of a mint FJ60 and now won’t trust Yakima racks with anything more than a couple surfboards or set of skis).

You can call em and custom build a kit based on track and load bar length. https://www.frontrunneroutfitters.c...front-runner-1165mm-load-bars-canopy-kit.html
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Appreciate this since I was not super stoked to spend the price of a hardtop on the roof rack kit. Is the link you provided the setup you have in terms of load bar length? It looks like it is a full kit which is a good price, but doesn't specify weight limit. My RTT is a bit lighter than most at 80 lbs. so I should be ok.
 
I don’t currently have this setup on my wrangler (plan to in the near future once the Jeep savings account fills up a bit 😂) but did on the FJ after the Yakima failed, and have also run it on a Tacoma with canopy. I wouldn’t order this kit as is, I’d first measure your hardtop and decide how long of tracks and how wide of load bars you want. Also figure out how much space you need between the roof and bars for RTT mounting hardware. Then call em up and they can build a kit based on your needs. It’s seriously stout stuff and you’d be hard pressed to overload. The strength of the hardtop will be your limiting factor. Another reason a track system like this is a good idea is that it’ll distribute the weight across the roof.
 
L J said:
I don't think the factory top is engineered to be load bearing.
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Agreed on this, but it’s decently thick near the outer edges so might be ok with a distributed load. I’d keep the tossing and turning to a min if you catch my drift 😜
 
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