Safari Rack Length

So Im looking to put a rack on my jeep. Ive seen several different dimensions, so whats the best one to go with? From the following:

42"(w)x52"(l)
52"x50"
52"x60"
52"x74"

I am building my xj to be more overland than rock crawling, though I will be using it on trails. I plan to store quite a bit of stuff in/on the rack when camping, general offroading, etc. and may even end up with a roof top tent in the future. Im leaning toward the 60", as Im afraid that the 74" would not allow the hatch to lift all the way up.

I do not have a factory rack right now (I have one, but it isnt installed...Id have to pop rivet/screw it in as mine didnt come from the factory with one), so my safari rack of choice will be gutter mounted.

Thanks

I ran a 45x60 and was happy with it..would have liked a bit more length

Ive measured the rooftop of my xj. 52" seems like the perfect width, but 60" leaves some distance. 74" seems to go full length, but Im pretty sure it would interfere with the hatch opening fully.

The interference might not be an issue depending on how high off the roof the basket is mounted. Most racks Ive seen mount about 5inches above the roof line in the back. probably not an issue at that height. You could also customize or make your own. Ive seen some pretty cool custom ones using all kinds of materials.

Placed an order for a 50"x70" today. Should get it in about a month so...can't wait for the finished product!

Post up some pics when you get it on.

What manufacturer did you go with?

favaguitars said:

Post up some pics when you get it on.

What manufacturer did you go with?

Click to expand...

I certainly will. Its by a fairly local guy, B. Lee Offroad (in Chattanooga). He's super friendly and will customize your rack to your specs. I'll post everything up when I get it.

Ok, so I wanted to update everyone on this posting. I placed my order the first part of March (the 3rd, I believe). I was quoted by B. Lee that there was a 4-5 week lead time due to him being a small operation and all that. No biggie. I PayPaled him a deposit of $140.00 to start my rack.

It is now MAY 10 (yes, almost TEN weeks after ordering) and I have not received my product. Nor does B. Lee care to have any correspondence with me. I was in contact with him up until the week of April 27 (via email). He always would say "hopefully I'll have your rack done by next weekend". The last message I received from him was that my rack was done and needed to be painted. The weather here in TN has been wet and he said that he couldnt paint it until the weather cleared, so once again, "maybe next weekend".

I gave him another weekend without bothering him. After that week had passed with no word, I sent him an email and he never responded. Throughout this week, I have sent him multiple emails and have called him several times. He is completely dodging me. I talked to a fellow member on here that knows him and he has no idea why he is dodging me...but thats of little help at this point.

Bottom line:

DO NOT DEAL WITH B.LEE OFFROAD (AKA BRIAN LEE) OUT OF THE CHATTANOOGA, TN AREA!!!!

Please pass the word along, I don't want to see anyone else get ripped off. If I had Facebook, I'd post directly on his wall so everyone would have an idea of what they were getting into.

Maltov cocktail

So since this rack fell through, Ive been looking at other options:

Kargo Master Bushman
Olympic "top hat"
Defender

Im leaning toward Defender's one piece. But, Ive noticed that Defender seems to be owned by Smittybilt. Does anyone know of the quality of the Defender?

I used Nates nates4x4.com and I love the rack. I will admit that a I ended up replacing the mounts with ones from JCOffroad.com. The rack is solid and the price is right but the mounts leave much to be desired.

I wanted to update a little about B. Lee. I finally did get in touch with him. He said that there had been some unfortunate events and he was sorry for the delay. He did make it right by refunding my deposit immediately.

Currently, Im still weighing options on which rack to go with.

why not make your own?
heaps cheaper
mine cost me $200 (thats in australia...)

this is mine



works good for sliding along trees too

richard buttocks said:

why not make your own?
heaps cheaper
mine cost me $200 (thats in australia...)

works good for sliding along trees too

Click to expand...

I simply don't have the fab skills. I've also priced various types of metal and its not that much cheaper, after I "pay" myself to do it.

So I settled on ORU's Defender Rack. It's basically based off of Con-Fer's (now defunct) system. It's 4.5'x5'x4". It fits well, although the hardware instructions leaved a lot to be desired. I bought the one piece (welded) rack (p/n #45504) and hardware (p/n #HDS-6). Now, I'm sure that Defender is a sister company or something of Smittybilt, as the instructions and what not have their name on it. It also has Smitty's "powder coating" finish to the rack rolleyes.

Anyway, once you get everything adjusted and tailor fitted to your XJ, the rack isn't bad at all. I would've preferred the rack have longer length, but c'est la vie. The pics show it as it was roughly mounted. Im probably going to slide the rack back a little to "balance" it more on the roof, though the way it sits now would be perfect for lighting IMO...

Sorry about the crappy pictures, its been raining all day here.

The way she looked when started:



The way she looked after:




Next up: C4x4 sliders (already here!) and HD Frame Stiffeners (Shipped!)