roof rack

[stxcherokee]

does anyone know where i can find the stock roof rack brand new.

i have the luggage rack on my 95, but the bars and feet seem flemsy.

want to mount 2 kayaks

could i use a basket and put the malone easy loaders on those

??

 

[XJ&CHZ4ME]

My buddy ditched his factory roof rack and went with the gutter mount Yakima mounts and tubes. He uses it for his kayak and about anything else you can think of. It is a bit pricey for their items but they are nice and sturdy. You can also get different brackets and mounts for bikes and kayaks etc.....

 

[kd5dwy]

Look around for a local kayak/canoe club. They have racks for sale all the time at very reasonable prices. I use Yakima 1A towers and I cut the bars to 56". I looks pretty good if I do say so myself. The 1A towers that are used on XJs are EVERYWHERE and have been around forever - they literally haven't changed in 10 years.

The Yakimas are so much better than stock for carrying boats that there's not even any comparison. Honestly, it's worth a little investment in good racks if you want to avoid costly damage to the body of your vehicle (I learned the hard way). I went cheap on foam blocks for my Dodge truck and ended up with $1200 worth of damage. I went out that week and bought racks for my truck. As soon as I got the Jeep and knew it was going to be my primary boat hauler, I started looking for racks for it as well.

I'm going to keep my eyes open for a basket to sit on top of the rack to hold a spare tire when I move up to 31" tires, but you can still use gunwale mounts on top of the baskets.

I just looked on Ebay and there are many good deals on the Yakima towers - looks like you could have four towers, front bar and rear bar for around $100.

 

[dphillips]

I use the factory roof/luggage rack for my kayak. It is a little scary at times. The kayak is extremely light (about 40ibs), but since it is a 17 ft touring kayak it tends to try to swing around a little bit in the wind at highway speeds and it bounces around (from the bars flexing) a good bit when I go over bumps. Even when it's tied up at the front and back. Luckily, I only have to go about a mile to get to one of the local water holes.

I don't think I would even try to carry two at a time on the factory rack. All that Yakima and Thule stuff seems pretty expensive for what it is. I may try to make something myself when the weather gets a little cooler.

 

[Fireball]

yeah the factory rack mounting system sucks. i'm getting a rain gutter mountaing system from thule for a ski rack this winter. i would go with somthing more durable.

 

[stxcherokee]

Look around for a local kayak/canoe club. They have racks for sale all the time at very reasonable prices. I use Yakima 1A towers and I cut the bars to 56". I looks pretty good if I do say so myself. The 1A towers that are used on XJs are EVERYWHERE and have been around forever - they literally haven't changed in 10 years.

The Yakimas are so much better than stock for carrying boats that there's not even any comparison. Honestly, it's worth a little investment in good racks if you want to avoid costly damage to the body of your vehicle (I learned the hard way). I went cheap on foam blocks for my Dodge truck and ended up with $1200 worth of damage. I went out that week and bought racks for my truck. As soon as I got the Jeep and knew it was going to be my primary boat hauler, I started looking for racks for it as well.

I'm going to keep my eyes open for a basket to sit on top of the rack to hold a spare tire when I move up to 31" tires, but you can still use gunwale mounts on top of the baskets.

I just looked on Ebay and there are many good deals on the Yakima towers - looks like you could have four towers, front bar and rear bar for around $100.

just not sure what i need, have the factory rack, could get rid of it, but what kinda yakima do i need to mount to the rail/gutter and then the cross bars

post a link if you would

 

[kd5dwy]

I would not even bother with the factory rack. I removed mine completely (even the tracks). The rain gutter mounts are the most secure mounting system I've seen.

The part that clamps to the rain gutter and allows you to attach to the bars is called the tower. You need a tower for each side of each bar. For two bars you will need four towers. The Yakima towers that work with the Cherokee are model 1A.

http://www.yakima.com/Product.aspx?id=18

You will then need to buy bars to mount in the gutter. Yakima recommends a 58" bar for the Cherokee. You can get longer if you want to carry more boats, but they will stick out farther on each side and you will be more likely to hit your head on them when ingressing and egressing the vehicle.

http://www.yakima.com/Product.aspx?id=155

The last part you may want to get is a fairing. Yakima recommends a 44" fairing for the Cherokee, but I have a larger one and it works and looks fine. The fairing is a plastic wind shield that keeps the wind from howling around your racks.

http://www.yakima.com/Product.aspx?id=152

All together this setup would be about $400 buying new. It can be purchased MUCH more inexpensively on Ebay. I saw all four towers out there for under $100 and even down into the $60 range. The bars are just cold-rolled steel covered in plastic. I have seen many folks just use steel bars that they bought and cut themselves then painted black. The fairing is optional and could always be added afterward if you hear howling from wind passing through the rack.

Here's a link to Ebay with 1A towers:

http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?from=R40&_trksid=m37&satitle=Yakima+1A&category0=

Here's the fairing:

http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?from=R40&_trksid=m37&satitle=yakima+44+fairing&category0=

Here are the bars:

http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?from=R40&_trksid=m37&satitle=yakima+58+bars&category0=

Hope this helps. Good luck.

 

[stxcherokee]

one more question, buying on ebay do the towers deteriorate over time or are they good as new used??

 

[kd5dwy]

Mine are over 10 years old and are still more solid that my new Q-towers that I use on my Dodge. I think the gutter-type mounts old or new are the best way to go on XJs.

Inspect them when they arrive and make sure that they are structurally sound (no warping or strecthing in the plastic and no cracks in the metal rings) and you should be good to go.

 

[stxcherokee]

one last question, you can mount baskets to these bars correct, or is it wiser to get a basket that mounts to the gutters and then put yak racks on the basket?

 

[Bored400]

I mounted my Yak right to my stock luggage bars. It's plenty good enough for me, because I dont carry much weight in the basket ( a cooler, on occasion ). Here's the deal though, I went to Home Depot and bought a Werner ladder rack ( gutter mount, square tube crossbars, adjustable for the width of the vehicle ) and I mounted both bars directly behind my Yak. My intention is to mount my spare and a jack and a shovel up there. Cheap fix, cost me $100 for the bars, and I can put them wherever. If I were going to haul a kayak, this is exactly what I would get. JMO

 

[BigG]

I have been looking around at Thule racks online, and they have a mounting system that uses the OEM rack tracks to hold the Thule cross bars. If it was an option of mounting the same Thule bar to either the gutter or the OEM track, which would be better in that case?

http://www.orsracksdirect.com/thule-430.html

 

[Bored400]

I have been looking around at Thule racks online, and they have a mounting system that uses the OEM rack tracks to hold the Thule cross bars. If it was an option of mounting the same Thule bar to either the gutter or the OEM track, which would be better in that case?

http://www.orsracksdirect.com/thule-430.html

I think it just depends on what you intend to haul up there. If you are gonna put any real weight on it, you better mount to the gutters. Stock racks and mounts are for luggage...i.e. light stuff. I've even seen guys pull the stock luggage rack off and use nutserts into the sheetmetal of the roof to mount a rack, but I'm tellin ya man, it's going to give out if you actually "use" it. Gutter mounts can take the weight.

 

[WildernessJeep]

I fabbed up a roof rack and mounted it to factory nut-zerts, no problems. It just takes a Metric 10 (maybe Metric 8) stainless hex-head, and the thing is on for good. I've always figured if I ripped it off or it wasn't stable that I would pull the headliner inside and through-bolt the rack using flat stock inside the roof, but after years of use, I just don't see the need. I have used the rack as a minor winch point once, and didn't have any problems. The secret (as with most unibody stuff) is to spread the load. The ski rack is cool too.. No pics though.

 

[stxcherokee]

what are nut-zertz??

 

[badron]

I redid the stock rails myself after pulling them lose 2 times. Big job compared to gutter mounts but I like the factory look myself.
WildernessJeep
I like you setup to. Going to barrow it, Maybe simpler to suit my taste. Thanks for the idea.

 

[badron]

I redid the stock rails myself after pulling them lose 2 times. Big job compared to gutter mounts but I like the factory look myself.
WildernessJeep
Sweet rig
I like you rack setup. Going to barrow it, Maybe simpler to suit my taste. Thanks for the idea.
Front bumper is fine to. Like that hide a wench. Weld it up your self? If so. Got plans you could upload.
Better yet just sell me your Jeep

 

[IntrepidXJ]

very nice rack.....i am planning on building one similar that mounts the same way. i don't like how high any of the aftermarket racks sit, which is my main reason for building my own......yours addresses that issue nicely

:thumbup:

I fabbed up a roof rack and mounted it to factory nut-zerts, no problems. It just takes a Metric 10 (maybe Metric 8) stainless hex-head, and the thing is on for good. I've always figured if I ripped it off or it wasn't stable that I would pull the headliner inside and through-bolt the rack using flat stock inside the roof, but after years of use, I just don't see the need. I have used the rack as a minor winch point once, and didn't have any problems. The secret (as with most unibody stuff) is to spread the load. The ski rack is cool too.. No pics though.

 

[WildernessJeep]

what are nut-zertz??

They are the little threaded plugs that Chrysler stuck in the sheet metal of the roof to secure the factory roof racks. Like I said, they are a standard metric machine thread, I just don't remember if it's Metric 8 or 10.

Be CAREFUL with them. Use the FSM torque values on them, over tightening them will strip them out of the sheet metal, then not only will you have a hole in your roof, you won't have anything to screw the rack to (without through-bolting it). I think there are about 8 total on the roof, maybe 10 (4 or 5 on each side).

I don't think they are welded into place at the factory, just pressed in which makes for a light hand on the wrenching. You'll be lucky to get your factory rack off without stripping or ripping at least one out of the sheet metal. Luckily the 1 or 2 that I pulled out were in the middle, so I have a fastener on both sides of the missing one. Like I said, I always planned to pull the headliner and through-bolt the roof rack with flat stock and bigger hardware, but after a couple of years of hard use, until I rip the thing off, I'm not gonna mess with it.

 

[WildernessJeep]

I redid the stock rails myself after pulling them lose 2 times. Big job compared to gutter mounts but I like the factory look myself.
WildernessJeep
Sweet rig
I like you rack setup. Going to barrow it, Maybe simpler to suit my taste. Thanks for the idea.
Front bumper is fine to. Like that hide a wench. Weld it up your self? If so. Got plans you could upload.
Better yet just sell me your Jeep

No plans, just pics. I just kinda "made it". I want to tell you that this is the first thing I have ever fabricated. Never even held a welder prior to making the roof rack. A hole saw and an angle grinder will pretty much do it. Email me and I'll send you some pics of the fabrication process.

Simpler is cool, but I have to say (in light of the fact that we have completly hijacked the original thread) is that the rack will still carry all the toys. I have already made a ski rack, and I built a bike rack into the main bed of the rack, but the great feature is that if I take up a new hobby, say kayaking, I could fab up a new kayak rack out of some tubing, and "plug" it in. When I want to go skiing, I just unplug the kayak rack, plug in the ski rack, and off I go.

The corner posts in the rear are hollow 1 1/2" (??) tube, which fits the standard 1" tubing used everywhere else very nicely. It was just a scrap piece I picked up at the steel yard. In the front, I mounted a shorter section, about 2" long (see picture below) onto an angular brace. You can also see the bike rack mounts in the bed. I'll try to get a picture of the ski rack the next time I'm up in Colorado. I just leave my ski's up there.

A small hole drilled for a shear pin in each end, and I just slide the rack in, put in a shear pin and can carry any toy I want. I had a rack for my windsurfer, but let it go with the board last summer. The other side has the mounting system too so I could actually mount 8 pairs of ski's if I had to, but the CB antenna gets in the way, and would have to be in the down position to use the passenger side mounts. If I were going to do it again, I'd put the CB antenna in the middle of the top rear tube.