Roof Rack Ideas

JLJourney18

JLJourney18

New member
I'm looking for recommendations on roof rack ideas. I want to run a roof top tent and I already know of which two I will be buying. The weights are 116 lbs, and the other is 125 lbs. I am torn as to whether I want to drill my top for a permanent rack setup, or do a Thule gutter mount. Have seen both work just fine on the trails but not sure how I feel of long term permanent rack setup look, and possible wind noise from it. Any thoughts or ideas are welcome. Thanks guys


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4

4wd

Member
JLJourney18 said:
I'm looking for recommendations on roof rack ideas. I want to run a roof top tent and I already know of which two I will be buying. The weights are 116 lbs, and the other is 125 lbs. I am torn as to whether I want to drill my top for a permanent rack setup, or do a Thule gutter mount. Have seen both work just fine on the trails but not sure how I feel of long term permanent rack setup look, and possible wind noise from it. Any thoughts or ideas are welcome. Thanks guys


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I like all racks [emoji16]

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JTCO

JTCO

Meme King
JLJourney18 said:
I'm looking for recommendations on roof rack ideas. I want to run a roof top tent and I already know of which two I will be buying. The weights are 116 lbs, and the other is 125 lbs. I am torn as to whether I want to drill my top for a permanent rack setup, or do a Thule gutter mount. Have seen both work just fine on the trails but not sure how I feel of long term permanent rack setup look, and possible wind noise from it. Any thoughts or ideas are welcome. Thanks guys


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Are you set on this decision? IMO, a nice $$$$$ backpacking tent takes up way less room and weight and offers much more benefits IMO. When you start putting that kind of weight on the roof, it really fucks up the cog on the trail. Just my opinion.
 

JLJourney18

JLJourney18

New member
Been really looking into it. Wife wants a teardrop camper setup, but downside is cost and having to leave it somewhere. I have considered the ground tent setup for the money but been there done that kind of thing haha


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wayoflife

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
Unlike any Wrangler before, the JL's hard top was designed with gutters with the specific purpose of allowing a guy like you to install a roof rack. I would use it.
 

BillArnett

BillArnett

New member
wayoflife said:
Unlike any Wrangler before, the JL's hard top was designed with gutters with the specific purpose of allowing a guy like you to install a roof rack. I would use it.
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Yeah, but the OP wants a roof top tent. When occupied that's going to be upwards of 500 pounds plus potentially significant wind loading. Are the gutters really up to that?
 

wayoflife

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
BillArnett said:
Yeah, but the OP wants a roof top tent. When occupied that's going to be upwards of 500 pounds plus potentially significant wind loading. Are the gutters really up to that?
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:eek: Holy hell - 250-350 lbs just for a tent is a hell of a lot more weight than I had imagined. I guess there's a reason why I would never wheel with one on top of my Jeep. Sheesh - talk about throwing off your center of gravity. I load up that much weight in gear in the back of my Jeep and that caused me to sag a whole 2" back when I was running a budget boost. With the addition of a roof top condo, I'd be riding on my axles.
 

BillArnett

BillArnett

New member
JLJourney18 said:
Is that a fat joke? [emoji23]


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Well, maybe a bit of an exaggeration. But not out of the question. My wife and I together weigh close to 400 lbs and she is pretty small. The tent itself plus clothes, bedding, etc is probably another 50 or so. And as you climb up the ladder all the weight will be on one side. If the rain gutters aren't speced for at least 500 lbs I would not be confident.
 

C

CGRDT

Member
Just a quick note on tent weights. All the ones I have looked at have been over 100 pounds. The one from gofsr.com I'm leaning towards weighs in at a hefty 130 pounds. I'm not on the skinny side by any means but me personally, I wouldn't trust the gutter mount and plan to stick to Garvin or Gobi.

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JTCO

JTCO

Meme King
I have a roof rack on my WJ and used to carry a spare tire on top. I didn't realize until I took the spare off how much more stable it felt on trails. I was shocked. And that was only about 65 pounds. When I looked at tents and saw the weight, no way would I do that for a trail vehicle.

Now if you're not doing anything really technical or offcamber and just sticking to basic dirt road trails, it probably wouldn't be a big deal. Just my opinion.
 

NFRs2000NYC

NFRs2000NYC

Member
Before you go ahead and destroy your top while killing fellow motorists with your flying RTT, you CANNOT install an RTT on a gutter only rack, it is FAR too much weight. If you want an RTT, you'll have to run an exo rack, like a gobi or LOD, or drill the top so you can mount the rack to the stock cage. A rack mounted on gutters, like the smittybilt defender rack is made for some bags, maybe a small rotopax, etc. Remember, static weight and moving weight is a huge difference.
 

WiscoHR

WiscoHR

Member
This whole thread reminds me of the recent trip I was on and every Toyota I saw. Those vehicles has so much shit strapped to the roof, bumpers, sides... it’s crazy... first off why do you need so much shit, and I doubt many even had the tools to fix something if it broke.


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NFRs2000NYC

NFRs2000NYC

Member
WiscoHR said:
This whole thread reminds me of the recent trip I was on and every Toyota I saw. Those vehicles has so much shit strapped to the roof, bumpers, sides... it’s crazy... first off why do you need so much shit, and I doubt many even had the tools to fix something if it broke.


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IM pretty loaded when I head out west, besides the winch, bumpers, etc, have my cooler with food, maps, cooking stuff, stove, tools, recovery stuff, etc. Being 2500 miles from home, and usually alone ends up loading the jeep quite a bit. Some of those people travel for weeks/months at a time as well. Having said that, I don't have a roof rack, but would like the LOD trail rack so I can put some stuff on the outside, leaving more space inside to sleep.
 

JLJourney18

JLJourney18

New member
Nickagomez81 said:
Just curious, but have you looked at the Gobi Stealth rack? No drilling and permanent. Will definitely handle the weight.


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I haven't checked those out yet, but with that name I'd be well over $1000 for just the rack setup. Rhino has one for $636 on Northridge4x4 I've looked at. I wanna have a setup before EJS next year so I'm gonna do my research. Nothing like good feedback from others that have used products before IMO


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L

LoD Offroad

Advertiser
Supporter
Consider ours too :) It is not out yet, but will be in the next few months, and will provide more functionality than Gobi, as well as a solid mounting system that can handle a roof tent and then some. :D

Concept-Rear.jpg
 

wayoflife

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
LoD Offroad said:
Consider ours too :) It is not out yet, but will be in the next few months, and will provide more functionality than Gobi, as well as a solid mounting system that can handle a roof tent and then some. :D
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Wow, that actually looks pretty awesome - nice job!! :thumb:
 

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