Ok, so my main reason for going with this setup was because I have a few cross-country road trips planned and this seemed to be the best thing for me. I go with Yakima because I have always used and liked their stuff, is good quality, and setup is self explanatory for the most part. It is also a little expensive so there is a downside to going this route. (I used a bunch of gift cards I had towards the cost so it wasn't that bad for me in the end).
For this setup I used:
For my specific setup I was going to be using a RocketBox Pro 14 with a 40" crossbar spread (I did this for the widest possible footprint and load dispersion), and would be mounting my Landing Pads in a fixed location. So as people know the TJ Hardtop has a "taper" to it front to back, so I chose to mount my RocketBox to the Crossbars with the Towers and Landing Pads attached. That way you can basically set the entire completed roof rack on the Hardtop, then center/adjust the towers+landing pads to the exact place you wish before its permanently done.
(One nice thing about the TJ Hardtop is that it has these 6 grooves molded into the top, the 2 outermost grooves are too far out to use as a guideline for centering and not where you want to be drilling through. Of the middle 4 grooves that all look the same, use the outer 2 as you can see in my pictures). Measure off those grooves the distance you wish for idea roof thickness and Landing Pad placement. Make sure you stay away from any seams that may be on your Hardtop especially on the inside of the roof and towards the rear.
Once you have the towers+landing pads spread apart on both crossbars where you want and everything has been centered, I drew an outline around each Landing Pad with a pencil. Then from the top there are spots to mark 2 holes in each one, you color that like a bubble sheet. Then remove the entire Roof Rack from the Hardtop and you are left with 4 footprints. Those footprints are where you will now permanently mount the Landing Pad 6's. You drill through each of the 2 circles you've made on each footprint, so 8 total holes.
With all 8 holes drilled out you can then apply Black Loctite around them all and fully complete the Landing Pad install. Once they are all bolted down and snug, you simply lock in the SkyLine Towers and your base Roof Rack is done. All the basic install info with generic pictures are included in the links above.
Weather guards are included to cap off the Landing Pads for if/when the Roof Rack is not needed or not being used at that time. They also give a nice finished look, and protect the hardware and seals from the elements.
Here are a few shots of the final base Roof Rack setup.
And last but not least, a shot of the RocketBox Pro 14 mounted and fully loaded up on its 1st cross-country move fro FL to NY.
Surprisingly no noticeable decrease in mileage on that 1400 mile trip (though i'm sure there was some). I had no problem hitting speeds of 75-80mph with this up there, and did really well. I was very impressed. It rained a ton on the drive and nothing leaked through the roof, no water got inside the box, and it couldn't have gone smoother.
The entire roof rack setup I have weighs in at 50lbs total with all 4 components I have here, and I had a good 75lbs of gear inside the box. So 125lbs total on the TJ's Hardtop across the country is confirmed to say the least.
Any questions, please feel free to ask.
For this setup I used:
- Yakima Landing Pad (Size 6)
Installation Instructions (PDF)
- Yakima SkyLine Towers
Installation Instructions (PDF) - Yakima CoreBar (50")
- Yakima RocketBox Pro 14
Installation Instructions (PDF)
For my specific setup I was going to be using a RocketBox Pro 14 with a 40" crossbar spread (I did this for the widest possible footprint and load dispersion), and would be mounting my Landing Pads in a fixed location. So as people know the TJ Hardtop has a "taper" to it front to back, so I chose to mount my RocketBox to the Crossbars with the Towers and Landing Pads attached. That way you can basically set the entire completed roof rack on the Hardtop, then center/adjust the towers+landing pads to the exact place you wish before its permanently done.
(One nice thing about the TJ Hardtop is that it has these 6 grooves molded into the top, the 2 outermost grooves are too far out to use as a guideline for centering and not where you want to be drilling through. Of the middle 4 grooves that all look the same, use the outer 2 as you can see in my pictures). Measure off those grooves the distance you wish for idea roof thickness and Landing Pad placement. Make sure you stay away from any seams that may be on your Hardtop especially on the inside of the roof and towards the rear.
Once you have the towers+landing pads spread apart on both crossbars where you want and everything has been centered, I drew an outline around each Landing Pad with a pencil. Then from the top there are spots to mark 2 holes in each one, you color that like a bubble sheet. Then remove the entire Roof Rack from the Hardtop and you are left with 4 footprints. Those footprints are where you will now permanently mount the Landing Pad 6's. You drill through each of the 2 circles you've made on each footprint, so 8 total holes.
With all 8 holes drilled out you can then apply Black Loctite around them all and fully complete the Landing Pad install. Once they are all bolted down and snug, you simply lock in the SkyLine Towers and your base Roof Rack is done. All the basic install info with generic pictures are included in the links above.
Weather guards are included to cap off the Landing Pads for if/when the Roof Rack is not needed or not being used at that time. They also give a nice finished look, and protect the hardware and seals from the elements.
Here are a few shots of the final base Roof Rack setup.
And last but not least, a shot of the RocketBox Pro 14 mounted and fully loaded up on its 1st cross-country move fro FL to NY.
Surprisingly no noticeable decrease in mileage on that 1400 mile trip (though i'm sure there was some). I had no problem hitting speeds of 75-80mph with this up there, and did really well. I was very impressed. It rained a ton on the drive and nothing leaked through the roof, no water got inside the box, and it couldn't have gone smoother.
The entire roof rack setup I have weighs in at 50lbs total with all 4 components I have here, and I had a good 75lbs of gear inside the box. So 125lbs total on the TJ's Hardtop across the country is confirmed to say the least.
Any questions, please feel free to ask.
