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Conferr vs Wilderness vs Matts Farmboy - Racks

Best Roof Rack for 94 XJ? - Prefer Full Length

  • Conferr

    Votes: 9 16.1%

  • Wilderness

    Votes: 4 7.1%

  • Farmboy Designs

    Votes: 35 62.5%

  • Other <-- List : "No Rack" Not an Option due to Dogs/Trips

    Votes: 8 14.3%
  • Total voters
    56
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X

XJStorm

NAXJA Member #1062
Location
Belfair, WA
Hey all,
I'm looking to get a rack for my 94' XJ. I prefer the look of the Conferr to the Wilderness, but would like some input. I read on the forums here about Matts rack and it looks awsome... though if it is around $600 that would be about double the cost of the other racks I've seen. The tree sliders are SWEET though.

Input/Recommendations are appreciated.

Why get a rack? I like seeing out my rear window, as I'll be doing a decent amount of road driving. When we go out (wife & 3 kids) we usually take our Black Lab male (would take the female too, but she sees a car and starts the sickness druel before even climbing in...) so the dog(s) go in the rear cargo area. This means luggage/food/whatever will go on top and in a hitchpacker (onroad and mild trails only).

Thanks everyone!

Edit: Would prefer a full lenth rack. I understand this "may" require Rack Modification or purchase of a non-XJ rack.
 
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How is the strength compared to others? From the limited pics I've seen so far it looks similiar to a Conferr, but I'll look again.

Nice looking Rack... too bad I can't edit the Poll and add it as an Option. Thanks for the input... I like the price compared to Conferr, but need to see what attachment (Spare/HiLift) options are available. I'll check the Surco site.
 
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I guess it depends on your needs. If you want the stongest, best rack that servers to actually protect part of the vehicle get Matt's. If you're never going to be leaning your XJ into trees or rocks then such a heafty design may not be needed.
 
Matts looks pretty bullet proof. Wondering how the Surco is on strengh compared to Conferr and Wilderness... actually I guess input on strength on all of those would be appreciated as well.

Don't plan on carrying weight benches up there, but don't want something flimsy either.
 
I ran a Surco for awhile until one of the mounts broke and put a very large dent in my roof. After that I switched to the Wilderness I am running now . The Wilderness has be a good strong rack, much stronger than my old Surco. But I am going to switch to one of Matt's racks as soon as I save up the money. It's kinda like this, if you smash the top of your Jeep against a rock or a tree just one time. The cost to have someone fix the damage is going to easily cost as much as one of Matt's racks. It's the same reason you should run rock rails if you are going off road. Just my toughts though, but I can tell you another guy bought my Surco from me and replaced the mounting brackets and a year later one of the mounts broke on him.
 
avsno2000 said:
i can't really vote for but i have a conferr rack and have had rust issues with it. its nice and strong though. i got it about three years back so maybe they have fixed the issues wiht rust.
Click to expand...
Nope Confers have always had rust issues.
 
Surco is a budet rack. It will work fine for the family vacation but it sees regualr trail time it would hold up.

You said you'll have the wife, three kids and a Dog! I know a guy like you, but two dogs and two boys. He is a happy FB Rack owner and I have witnessed all the crap he drags with him on a trip.

In the FB pictures I have the white XJ. I also own a Surco, the large one, the rack worked fine for our trip to the coast but it didn't do well on my trip to the Rubicon. As far as racks go, the Surco could serve you, but the size of your family concerns me. That rack is only rated for 150 lbs., it looks to me you can easily pack more than 150lbs.

One last word of advise. All rack effect your Center of Gravity. It sounds like you do not have a very modified XJ, yet. ;) But if you do plan to add lift and larger tires, any weight you put up there will greatly effect the way you rig will handle on the trail. With that, the FB Rack has the best design, it hugs the roof and IMO addresses the COG better than any other rack out there.
 
Pass on the Surco if you want a strong rack. I got rid of mine because it was too flimsy. Farmer's racks are nice, and worth the money, but if you have time and tools, then build your own.

Fergie
 
Big Bear said:
Nope Confers have always had rust issues.
Click to expand...

Hmm.....I've had 2 Confers over the last six years and the only rust issues I've had were with the factory roof rack brackets, but a rattle can job took care of that.Of course I live in So. Cal. so its usually pretty dry here.
 
Thanks for the replies so far. Keep them coming. Good to know about the rust issues with the Conferr. Wonder if a good powder coat would take care of that?

Is the FB Rack full length or close to it? I don't like the shorter ones especially when you put a full size spare up there. Anyone know about Rack Mount (HiLift/etc) Options available for the FB?

Edit: I live in the Seattle area (Bremerton) so rust can be a big issue here.
 
Looks alright, but appears to be made of thin materials. Looks like it has sliders built in to it though. Do you have one?

How about the Kargo Master "Kilimajaro"?

Bushman: "The Bushman offers the superior strength of steel for the serious outdoor adventurer. The Bushman retains all of the high-tech features and great styling of the Kilimanjaro aluminum rack, but gives you the rugged strength of all-steel construction."
 
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Guess another great piece of info to add is: There is no stock rack on my rig... so I'll have to hard mount it (oye) or more likely go with the rain gutter pinch mounts. Guessing I'd need to Hard Mount the FB, but don't know.
 
i don't have anyting heavy duty just thule crossbars and feet, to carry ladders, lumber from homedepot, bike snow board etc. IF I WAS GOING TO BUY one Farmer Matts or Kevins Offroad- his rack is nice to. I like that it is not a modular one like surco, conferr etc. It doesn't look silly all tiny in the midle of your roof, it it taylored to the size of your cherokee, and grand cherokee.

http://www.kevinsjeepparts.com/roof_rack_comparo.html

check out this link it will shed some light on all the stuff that confeer, garvin, yakima etc nikle and dime you to outfit the rack and pretty soon its well over $600 up to $820 for a yakima. I don't think you could go wrong with Farmer matts or kevins. Both seem like a good value, if your buying one. Come spring time i will try to make my own borrowing liberally from their ideas.
 
XJStorm said:
Guess another great piece of info to add is: There is no stock rack on my rig... so I'll have to hard mount it (oye) or more likely go with the rain gutter pinch mounts. Guessing I'd need to Hard Mount the FB, but don't know.
Click to expand...


My rig the one picture on the Fb site, is hard mounted. My Surco was gutter mounted and I did not have a Factory rack. FB's rack comes with everything you need, even the installion tool for the Nutzerts. From what I remember it only took Matt and I about an hour to drill holes and insert the nutzerts.

FB rack is full as pictured on his website.
 
Would be nice if the FB site had more info on the rack, and if he's working on addons (the nickle/dime ) pieces for carrying stuff. I know Bungee cords, but proper attachment points would be preferred.

No rush... I won't have the money either until Tax return time or maybe later in 2005, esp if I go with the more expensive FB. Just trying to get the comparisons/input done and pick a goal to be working towards. (Course first comes my budget lift... after I get the wife's XJ.)

I really like Kevin's rack, but I'd need another mounting system as I have neither a Stock Rack, nor mounting rails. Argh...
 
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I have the same situation(three daughters and a Chocolate Lab in the back).

We took a week trip to Catalina with two full-size full ice chest on the roof that bowed the roof down with the factory runners and rails. I decided to find the best rack for the best price.

I love my Conferr rack. I can load a ton of stuff up there and not worry about it. I found that using 6' peices of webbing to tie down gear works better then rope, bungees, or tie downs. I orginally bought it because of all the accessories you can add to it as needed and its strength.
 
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