Roof rack on Jeep Wrangler

[El Chupacabra]

Anyone have a Yakima or Thule rack on a Jeep Wrangler hardtop?

I've got a Yakima raingutter setup, but the raingutters on the fiberglass hardtop slope (shallow in front, deeper in back), which makes installing the raingutter mounts a little odd. Also the Yakima towers are pressing against the roof when installed, which doesn't seem right either.

-Karl

[Free Range Lobster]

I put the ones that you need to drill thru the top on (the fake rain gutters) to overcome the messed up wrangler hardtop gutters.

worked like a charm, but i had to buy longer bolts.

[matt]

Drill through is the way to go. Worked well for me. Or instead of drilling you could just buy my top with the rack

[Blatant]

why??

get one for the rear tire. In the summer, if you bike, just get some yak trays and nig them onto the roll bars, pretty pimp actually.

or you can go legit and get a garvin wilderness rack set up, but those are bucks

[El Chupacabra]

For drill through -- did you put the Yak/Thule roof rack channels through the top of the hardtop? If so, did you mount them on the "ribs" of the roof?

I'm thinking about taking measurements off my hardtop over to an auto junkyard, and buying a factory roof rack that uses channels that bolt straight to the roof. All I'm going to put on the roof will be skis, since I don't really trust it to hold much weight. Something like this setup off a Ford Explorer:

[Blatant]

coming from a long time jeep owner, under no circumstances drill your hardtop, that will be the bonehead move of the year...especially when you realize you want to sell it and are fucked due to your ingenuity.....

[El Chupacabra]

why??

get one for the rear tire. In the summer, if you bike, just get some yak trays and nig them onto the roll bars, pretty pimp actually.

or you can go legit and get a garvin wilderness rack set up, but those are bucks

Sorry 'bout the size of that Explorer pic -- but you get the idea.

The reason I want a roof rack for skis is because I'd rather have the skis up and out of the slush that coats the back of the Jeep in winter, instead of coating them in slush & road salt when I driver. I already have Yakima crossbars & a spare ski rack, so I just need a way to attach them to the roof. (Also have a hitch-mounted bike rack for summer.)

-Karl

[Blatant]

dude, i have no solution...you know my take...i've never had a terrible problem with them on the back, a non abrasive alcohol solution will clean them right up with out compromising the integrity of the wax or the binder grease...

peace

[Lurch]

The best solution in a cage rack like the Kargo Master http://www.kargomaster.com/item.asp?id=62

It connects to the windshield and rear bumper allowing you to have a roof rack even when you take the top off. You can attach a basket to the cage witch you can then attach any Yakima or Thule accessory.

[Arty50]

Lurch beat me to it. I have the old style Congo Cage (not much different from the new model) and I absolutely love it.

Another option is this:
http://www.garvin-industries.com/expedition.htm

I went with the Congo Cage because I had no need for the basket. The Congo Cage sans basket was cheaper than the Garvin rack. With the basket, they're about the same price. Both are bomber though, and I wouldn't look at anything else. I've read reports on Jeep forums of people rolling their Jeeps without wrecking these racks.

Also, you don't need the special Accessory brackets for the Congo Cage (you do for the Garmin). Yakima and Thule both make mounting brackets that attach to round bars like the ones on the Congo. I have a Yakima setup on mine.

[LaramieSkiBum]

Anyone have a Yakima or Thule rack on a Jeep Wrangler hardtop?

I've got a Yakima raingutter setup, but the raingutters on the fiberglass hardtop slope (shallow in front, deeper in back), which makes installing the raingutter mounts a little odd. Also the Yakima towers are pressing against the roof when installed, which doesn't seem right either.

-Karl

I'm in the same boat only I have the OEM spare tire mount, which BLOWZ, bad. Nearly all my rubber straps are broken and nothing over 90mm will fit. You could cut it to fit wider waists, but it is a flimsy bitch already. It also was damaged in an accident (prob. saved my tail gate though).

I was considering the yakima #300 setup - is this what you are running? What exactly are you having trouble with? Is it only odd puttin it on? Mine will stay on all winter so thats not an issue. Is it the integrety of the top your worried about or the rack just slipping off?

I don't want to drill either - the top is flimsy enough as it is, I'm currious to see how any setup would do in a wyoming 50mph cross wind. I'm leary of the rack solution because you have to drill your quarter panels dont you?

edit: maybe there is no drilling...hurm

[Arty50]

I don't want to drill either - the top is flimsy enough as it is, I'm currious to see how any setup would do in a wyoming 50mph cross wind. I'm leary of the rack solution because you have to drill your quarter panels dont you?

edit: maybe there is no drilling...hurm

The scary thing is that my rocket box actually improves the aerodynamics of my CJ. Sans box, it feels like I'm driving a brick wall through the wind. With the box it actually feels like I can make progress...sorta.

I can only speak for the Conga Cage regarding drilling. I didn't drill a single hole to install mine. The front mount plates attach using the existing windshield bolt holes. The rear mount plates attach between the tail lamp assembly and the body using the existing tail lamp holes. If you want to carry a heavy load on the cage, then you need to drill two additional holes for the rear plates. The holes are relatively small and the process is extremely easy. To prevent rusting, I would seal the edges of the hole with silicon or some primer after you drill them. Like I said, I haven't drilled these holes in yet, and the rack has held up just fine. I've had probably 6 pairs of skis in my box on top of the Jeep before, and nothing loosened or broke. I'd definitely drill the holes if you want to carry anything really heavy though, say around 300-500 lbs.

[El Chupacabra]

I was considering the yakima #300 setup - is this what you are running? What exactly are you having trouble with? Is it only odd puttin it on? Mine will stay on all winter so thats not an issue. Is it the integrety of the top your worried about or the rack just slipping off?

What's the Yakima #300 setup?

I have four 1A raingutter towers, two 58" crossbars, and an old buttondown ski rack. The raingutter tower mounts just seem to be fitting into the plastic hardtop raingutters at an odd angle, compared with what I was used to seeing when I had these 1A towers on my XJ Cherokee.

-Karl

[LaramieSkiBum]

oh and btw El Chupacabra , you have a YJ or TJ?

edit: looking for pic

edit 2: it was thule damn it...my bad:

[Arty50]

I know that YJ and CJ hardtops are interchangeable, so I assume the problem is the same for both vehicles. I used to have old Barrecrafters racks for my CJ which attached to the raingutters. The big problem is that the gutters slope downward. So the front rack sits higher than the rearward rack. This means that your skis will be slanted downward and bang on the hardtop while you're driving. Not only is it annoying, but it's also bad for your top since while you're driving the skis are creating lift and stressing the screws and rivets which connect the top to the windshield. Trust me, you don't want to damage that area of your top; especially the fiberglass. Fixing it is a pain in the ass.

[matt]

coming from a long time jeep owner, under no circumstances drill your hardtop, that will be the bonehead move of the year...especially when you realize you want to sell it and are fucked due to your ingenuity.....

You fawkin cock monkey..... just fawkin get the drill out and mount a rack that will hold skis or bikes so you dont have to worry about them falling off the spare tire by all of the chinky spare tire racks

[iceman]

You fawkin cock monkey..... just fawkin get the drill out and mount a rack that will hold skis or bikes so you dont have to worry about them falling off the spare tire by all of the chinky spare tire racks

Nice showing, glad you could join us.

[El Chupacabra]

oh and btw El Chupacabra , you have a YJ or TJ?

edit: looking for pic

TJ here. First plastic-topped Jeep I've had.

-Karl

[Blatant]

You fawkin cock monkey..... just fawkin get the drill out and mount a rack that will hold skis or bikes so you dont have to worry about them falling off the spare tire by all of the chinky spare tire racks

apparently he know's better than i...i'm just trying to save you in the long run. hard tops are expensive and a nice commodity on ebay or just about anywhere...however one that's drilled will be virtually impossible to unload if you should ever need to...or i should say unload for any thing you'd feel is worth it....