roof rack for cherokee

i was wondering what companies make roof racks for a reasonable price. if any of you guys have a good roof rack and maybe even a picture of it that would be great help. thanx

Surco! Google it.

bigboyslimjimbo said:

i was wondering what companies make roof racks for a reasonable price. if any of you guys have a good roof rack and maybe even a picture of it that would be great help. thanx

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There was a helluva post on here not that long ago about this. Check out the search and see what's available. I have a customer built rack and I love it. Secured to the gutters with a modified Yakima mount.
Good luck

racks are SOO awesome they add so much off-road-ability to a jeep

:doh:

x2 on Surco. Got mine from summitracing.com, it was cheap and works great. I'm using the surco gutter mounts with and additional set of cross bars to help beaf it up. I have a tire carrier for it with a 31, my highlift and a shovel both using custom mounts and it holds up great. I did however feel there was not enough flooring so I went out and bout 2 12' sticks of aluminum and made more floor rails in between the ones it came with.

here's a pic with just the rack so you can get an idea of how it sits....

JLane99XJ said:

racks are SOO awesome they add so much off-road-ability to a jeep

:doh:

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Have a family?? I use mine all the time when we travel for the weekend (camping) so I have a place to pack.

JLane99XJ said:

racks are SOO awesome they add so much off-road-ability to a jeep

:doh:

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some of us also have families.. try to fit 5 peoples worth of stuff and 5 people into an XJ for a camping trip... HELLOOO can anyone say Roof Rack...

:bawl:


There are plenty of roof racks out there.

Garvin wilderness- http://www.garvin-industries.com/
Olympic- http://www.4x4products.com/
Surco- http://www.surcoinc.com/
Defender- http://www.offroadunlimited.com/ProductCart/PC/viewCategories.asp?idCategory=307


Yes they can change your COG, i do not carry a tire on mine, only low relivly light things.. tents and bags.. other camping things.. food and coolers go inside.

Dont have a pic now... i have a Garvin Sport rack..

its OK

I like the defender rack now... :banghead:

olympic4x4-top hat rack.
www.4x4products.com

Confer, but dont go pricing one out at your local 4wp store....$600

believe it or not, Costco sells the Coleman roof rack really freakin cheap HERE

djblade311 said:

Confer, but dont go pricing one out at your local 4wp store....$600

believe it or not, Costco sells the Coleman roof rack really freakin cheap HERE

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yeah that one is a good price but it is not gutter mounted. maybe you could modify it to be so but I would rather have one that is ready to go and you can get one for $300 with roof/gutter mounts to your door! You definatly want gutter mounts for stability to carry loads off road on the LARGE ROCKS that you'll be krawlin over.:scottm:

On the note of gutter-mounted racks- has anyone ever expereinced their racks ripping off the gutter? I know it doesn't sound probable, but I just know it would happen to me.

Got a surco used w/o mounts so I mounted to my cross rails w/ Stainless U bolts. Anybody think that was a bad idea?

mikeforte said:

Got a surco used w/o mounts so I mounted to my cross rails w/ Stainless U bolts. Anybody think that was a bad idea?

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The only problem with using the stock rails or roof mounts is that the roof flexes when you go over anything that isn't pavement and with anything heavy well the roof can flex a lot leaving a possibility for something other than the rack to give. On the other hand the gutter are extremly rigged. That is where your roof has most of its strength, so I'm not saying that you can't mount there it would just be better to gutter mount for strength under weight.:thumbup:

i heard JCR has one ... though last time i was on their site i didnt see it. Maybe its in super secrect developement still, ask for photos. http://www.jcroffroad.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?screen=CONTACT

try http://www.kevinsoffroad.com/roof_rack.html i really like the way kevins is loaded and his is not cheap but its a good value in that he doesnt nickle and dime you to death like most of the mass produced ones. His is optioned up with all the mounts, tabs, and everything out the door. Low and wide.

or kargomaster makes nice stuff, you can get in steel or beautiful rust free aluminum.

http://www.kargomaster.com/

also search on our own famous farmermatt ... he used to make one i really liked. He no longer makes them but maybe take pics to a local guy and have him make you one. Borrow heavily from kevins and farmer matts ... both low and wide. Thats the most functional, gives you the easiest acces and most room. I think that coleman one for example though priced cheap looks retarded and not built for an XJ. i dont like the modular ones that are "mid size suv" fits any make. yuck. Looks bad.

Lastly http://www.ajsoffroadarmor.com/ i thought he had the gutter mounts in his DIY parts, looks like he is updating the web site i dont see that link working. Call up AJ and see if he has made any roof racks and can get you pictures.

AJ and JCR would be my first choices and get gutter/drip rail mounts not the stock roof mounts.

I have the Surco from Summit Racing, along with the adaptor kit to bolt to the factory roof mounts... pics in sig.

It's < $200 delivered, like $190. The other ones they are linking are much nicer and that's why they are like $400-700. You cannot stand on the Surco but the other ones are more sturdy.iratefla

wow thanx guys ill have to look at all these options. but yea all i really need is somewhere else to put my stuff and that will hold up and last for cheap. so thanx for all the info... ill probably go with surco.

signman2007 said:

The only problem with using the stock rails or roof mounts is that the roof flexes when you go over anything that isn't pavement and with anything heavy well the roof can flex a lot leaving a possibility for something other than the rack to give. On the other hand the gutter are extremly rigged. That is where your roof has most of its strength, so I'm not saying that you can't mount there it would just be better to gutter mount for strength under weight.:thumbup:

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Thanks I will order the gutter mount kit from Summit. Just didn't know what to do when it arrived w/o any mounting solutions.

Kaymar

I personally like the olympic one with the extra rails seems like your able to slide off of and around trees.

I went with the Kargomaster. I'm very happy with it. I can stand on top (250 lbs) along with my spare and camping gear with no problem. I did a lot of research and this one seemed the best price for what you got. It was still heavy duty but priced low. Definitely get the gutter mounts. I am figuring out ways to make brackets for other things I want to mount on there because the ones they sell are very expensive for what they are.

If I had it to do over again, I would build my own. I have seen some pretty nice ones that people have built. Simple but strong. As far as pics go, Im at home with dialup. See the avatar pic.