• Welcome to the new NAXJA Forum! If your password does not work, please use "Forgot your password?" link on the log-in page. Please feel free to reach out to [email protected] if we can provide any assistance.

roof rack feet on stock tracks

ehall

ehall

NAXJA Member
NAXJA Member
Location
Southern Maryland
I ran across a good deal on a used Yakima Load Warrior rack with a center extension and gutter towers. I'm generally happy with it all except the rails, since they hang over the side of the jeep.

The basket is only 39" wide, which is narrower than the stock luggage rack mounting tracks on my 91, so I'm thinking it would be good to use rails and feet that attach to the stock tracks, instead of using the gutter mounts (not going to get caught on stuff). I'm not going to put a tire up there (have a tire carrier bumper on order for that), just some repair parts and expedition gear (hi-lift, spare axle shafts, rotopax, etc), so I'm not really worried about weight limits.

Looking around, Yakima has towers and pads for the XJ, but kind of pricey. I can't find anything else that looks equivalent. Garvin has something but I don't see the feet and rail sold separately.

Discussion?
 
I thought only Yakima mounts that would work were the 1A or A1 or whatever gutter mounts. I use them and the Yakima crossbars to carry my canoe/kayaks. I had a bike rack on the top as well, but switched to the Yakima "Sparetime" or something like that mount for the bike.

I ended up taking the crossbars off and only put them on when I am going on a canoe/kayak trip now because without the wind deflector, the bars howl; with the wind delfector, the feet rub through the paint of the roof; and at all times, with the mounts in the best spot for carrying my canoe/kayaks, the tops of the doors would get rubbed by the mounts.
 
Thule makes (or used to make) feet/towers for the factory rails. At least for the later factory rails. The earlier rails are a different animal. With yours being a '91 I am not sure which style factory rails you have. What year did the roof racks transition?

I will have to see if I can find part numbers for the ones I am running. Google isn't showing it for me. Odds are that means they are out of production. I bought mine off CL, so I don't know how readily available they were off the shelf.

The Thule ones use a rectangular cross bar as opposed to the round bars Yakima uses.
 
I just bought thule 417 tracker mounts. Got a used set on ebay they go right onto the factory rails. They fit great. Not made new anymore, used is the only choice
 
Yep. Those are the ones.

The Thule 417 Tracker Foot Pack is a similar to the Thule 430 Tracker Foot Pack combined with the TK2 Tracker Kit. For fit information on the Thule 417 Tracker Foot Pack, see the above compatibility guide. Works with all Thule accessories. Locks & keys sold separately NOW INCLUDED! Load bars sold separately
Click to expand...
That is from this listing: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Thule-417-T...ash=item33b52cc788:g:l~QAAOSwa39UtDjk&vxp=mtr

Looks like those are NOS, $90 shipped with keys.
 
Those look pretty clean, low profile and simple design

My main concern with using the stock rails is that the nutserts will warble loose from the body twisting and shaking. I'm thinking about running a clamping bar (or two) between the bars to help immobilize
 
How do those Thule ones mount?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Here is a pic of the back side:

$_1.JPG


Those two clamps engage against the factory roof rails and tighten down with nuts which are accessed on the front.

It is a secure mount. When all the pieces are separate and flopping around it does not seem like much, but once you get them together and snug them down (and it doesn't require a herculean amount of force--go easy on those factory rails) it creates a substantially more solid mounting point than does the factory cross bar.
 
I like that. Might switch to the Thule.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Another option, Garvin has a mounting kit for their basket that hooks into the stock tracks (part #28011) which they will sell for $100 (per an email I got). It looks like a pretty sturdy setup, but I don't think it will work with the Yakima Load Warrior due to the differences in basket construction, and the fact that it bolts directly to the basket instead of intermediate rails.

https://www.quadratec.com/Assets/Installation/26926.pdf
 
I don't see why you couldn't make your own rails with that system. Cut some rectangular tubing to length and drill some holes in it and you have your own rails. Might be nice if you could weld caps on the end. Might be nice if you could add in some tubular inserts where the bolts go through (reinforcement for thinner wall tubing).

The advantage to the Garvin mounts is that they would appear (assuming their drawings are close to scale) to be a couple of inches lower (closer to the roof) than would be the Thule mounts. The Thule bars end up being an inch or two higher than the factory bars.
 
something I just discovered, Smittybilt Defender racks have a track mount for XJ that looks alright from the pictures, #DS5-6, but the year interchanges are all goofy and half the pictures are for the gutter mount feet, so I don't trust the catalog info. http://www.smittybilt.com/docs/installation/DS5-6.pdf

611L4rATtgL._SX466_.jpg


Might be able to drill through the Yakima aero bars and bolt to that, then clamp the basket to those bars. I have to replace my round crossbars anyway, so kind of temped to try
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

L
Gas Can Recommendations for Roof Rack
Replies
16
Views
3K
GordoSmasho
GordoSmasho
NOTNSUV
JCR Adventure Roof Rack
Replies
15
Views
2K
murrman
M
S
'99 XJ roof rack and/or cross bar removal procedures
Replies
3
Views
2K
Ralph77
R
C
1993 XJ For Sale
Replies
9
Views
871
CherokeeManatee
C
ehall
upgrade prioritization
Replies
1
Views
467
themauler
T
Back
Top