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Roof Top Tent Requirements

K

kaylemackenzie08

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Houston, Texas
Hey guys new to the forum. I have a 1994 XJ and I absolutely love it. I guess I'll just jump right in to it.


First of all I love my Defender rack. Really, the thing is tits. But when I called Smittybilt to ask a question, I received some sad sad news. First of all they told me my rack can only support 150 lbs evenly spread out. (Seems so underrated for something that feels so solid) They also told me that I cannot mount a roof top tent to it because of the crappy weight rating. So now I'm at a dilemma.

Do I try to reinforce this rack? (Mounted to my factory rails and not my gutters btw. I heard horror stories about Gutter mounts. Please feel free to prove me wrong.

Or do I cut my losses and sell this rack and just buy a better built one or have one made? Really the question I'm getting at here is what are the requirements and necessities for me to be able to mount a roof rack tent to my XJ when I want to? Recommended brands on racks and tents are also very welcome. I tried to search through the forums but I really didn't see any direct attention to this. Just that people had already mounted them.

If you can direct to any good threads also it would be much appreciated. And lastly if you feel like you have to flame me then go for it. I'd just like some
Input and help. Thanks again. I hope for some good responses.
 
I have had a few XJ's with gutter mounted racks.

Never had a problem.
On my old Jeep, I use to set up 2 chairs and a table and sit up there for dinner while camping.
Never did sleep up there, but I wouldn't second guess it.

Again, that was gutter mounted in 6 spots (3 on each side).

Now I have a smaller rack that is gutter mounted in 4 spots, my friend and I stood on top of it to reach something high up.

Get a gutter mount is what I would say.
 
I read somewhere each OE side rail is rate 150 or 200 lbs.

The OE rack is rated at 150 lbs. maximum.

Most aftermarkets are rate at around ~150 lbs. A few are rated at 250 lbs.

One aftermarket roof rack for the XJ that comes with their own side rails is rated 400 lbs on-road and 150 lbs off-road.

The OE roof rack 150 pound rating doesn't specify on or off road use.

I e-mailed on roof top tent vendor about mounting their roof top tent on a Cherokee XJ and he recommended a Thule or Rhino rack and said an OE isn't designed to carry a rooftop tent.

Thule 45050 https://www.thule.com/en-us/us/roof-rack/accessories/thule-rapid-gutter-foot-pack-300r-_-168553

http://www.rhinorack.com/fit-my-vehicle/results/810/jeep-cherokee-5dr-suv-xj-01-94-to-12-01?p=[0,1320]&f=(65de24dc83d647908ede0dead147ef02=244900342f8342e88c6f27aa651131ea)

The above racks should have a better load rating than the OE

From his e-mail:

"Any of the said racks will work. The system is for the gutter tracks and these racks hold the weight as this has been a go to spot for over 50 years."


These may be more than you want to spend. If you have your own tools it's not all that difficult to build you own using a set of aftermarket gutter clips.

As said previously, most of aftermarkets I've looked at are only rated at around ~150 lbs (+/-) same as the OE.

Possibly you could modify the OE roof rack cross rails somehow to accept a roof top tent. The problem with the OE rack is that it's mostly plastic where the cross rails are curved and made from some sort of plastic.




 
Last edited:
I'm just wondering why the factory rack rails aren't good enough?
I guess the consensus is that I should buy or build a sturdier rack and make sure that they mount to the gutters and not directly to the roof or stock roof rails correct?

If anyone has a roof top tent and rack, please share a pic and maybe your set up so I can have some ideas? And lastly. Anybody in the market for a Smittybilt Defender rack with rail mounts? If it won't work I'll cut you a good deal ��
 
I'm not saying use the drip rail. I'm saying pull the stock rails off so you can bolt directly to the roof using the same holes the stock rails use. I think the stock rails are flimsy is why I'd just make my own in a half hour.
 
Personally if I was intent on putting a substantial amount of weight up there, I would use both the factory mount holes AND the gutters all mounted to a singular frame. If you have any fab skills, shouldn't be too tough. If not, it's probably worth paying to get it done this way.

FYI, the gutters are substantially stronger because they are at a corner...supported in 2 directions instead of a single flat mounting area.
 
I became a Tepui vendor a couple months ago and have had quite a few customers using stock roof racks. Definitely not the cross bars, but mounting the tent to the stock roof rack rails.

Not only XJs, but a 5.9 ZJ stock roof rack and a subaru customer as well.

Personally, I use a homemade 1.5" tube rack on my MJ

001_zpsii2q7cn9.jpg
 
Last edited:
billyjp2 said:
I became a Tepui vendor a couple months ago and have had quite a few customers using stock roof racks. Definitely not the cross bars, but mounting the tent to the stock roof rack rails.

Not only XJs, but a 5.9 ZJ stock roof rack and a subaru customer as well.

Personally, I use a homemade 1.5" tube rack on my MJ

001_zpsii2q7cn9.jpg
Click to expand...

So do you think if I just took the Smittybilt rack off while I use the tent that the factory rails could handle the tent and two people sleeping in it? Also do you have any Christmas specials on tents? Lol
 
JohnX said:
Personally if I was intent on putting a substantial amount of weight up there, I would use both the factory mount holes AND the gutters all mounted to a singular frame. If you have any fab skills, shouldn't be too tough. If not, it's probably worth paying to get it done this way.

FYI, the gutters are substantially stronger because they are at a corner...supported in 2 directions instead of a single flat mounting area.
Click to expand...

Can you imagine if someone made these to order? I bet they'd make a killing lol.
 
0d9eeae6e317a38ed8b9fb31eab07ba5.jpg


I have been using a simple two bar gutter mounted Yakima system for a little over two years. I have never had a issue with this set up and I use a CVT Shasta tent and am extremely happy with it as a product and the company is very easy to work with.

My wife and I both sleep in the tent and during a three week long Moab trip where we drive from eastern Wa to Moab all over Utah and home we never once experienced a problem.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

a7a75d8785ec3e41c86535ba098a5d47.jpg



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Thank you. It is a Yakima basket that I took apart and used the front piece and the divider then mounted it using the factory rails. The only problem doing this is the front window spring rod cannot be used because the hole is blocked.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
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