Hello everyone, I'm looking for help with my roof rack. I have a 2000 XJ that I installed a Rola Stingray with center extension on the factory crossbars. I ran the current set up for the past year. Now the rack is showing it's poor quality & construction, I have several rust areas I need to tend to... Also, I recently removed my headliner to replace the old sagging one. Now I realize that the factory crossbars are starting to fail from the weight and weekly use of my Rola rack. I can grab the rack and move it pretty excessively and I'd like to do something to fix this while the interior roof is exposed. I can weld and fabricate and I have tried searching. I'm thinking about losing the factory rails and crossbars and making my own. If anyone has done this please post. I've been looking for pics and haven't had much luck. I remember several months ago seeing pics of someone that mounted angle iron under the rails and fabbed crossbars off of that, that's kind where I'm headed. or use a flat bar to bolt to the roof in pace of the rails and weld 1" square tube off of that, if that make sense ti anybody...
Again, any help for ideas will be appreciated.

_ Shawn

 

First of all, welcome to the forum. Second, the fab section is for actual fab being done, discussion of fab belongs in chat or modified. Third, it would help if you posted pics of the problem areas, inside and out. How does your current rack mount? On the factory crossbars?

If you have fab skills, then I suggest making your own rack, and use some gutter mounts, like the ones from JCR. I would avoid welding flat stock to the roof, you'll be in worse trouble later, especially if you use the rack a lot, and have significant weight in it. I suggest you leave the factory roof rails, and ditch the crossmembers, then construct your own rack with gutter mounts. Just my .02

 

Like what the last guy said, ditch the stock stuff its just to flimsy. This is what I did:

I bought a curt roof rack and planned on putting a tire up there and some other stuff and since I don't even have the stock mounts as an option I bought some jcr offroad gutter mounts. I then got some 1 inch rigid electrical conduit , its super cheap, and began building my own load bars. I haven't quite finished them yet but I will soon. If your interested I can get you some pics.

 

For full-size racks, gutter mounts have their own major pitfalls too (for an offroad rig). Like ripping off the gutters, and the foot of mount punching through drip rail.

I tried to distribute the weight by setting rack on stock rails on rubber bumpers, then attaching gutter mounts (6 total), preferably close to support pillars.

 

I just started building mine out of Aluminum (tubing, plate and expanded) . Ill post a thread when I have time to finish it. I am lucky though, I am a steel-worker and get everything at about 30% of everyone else. Total aluminum cost was about 80$ and it'll be super light. I also have free access to a giant plasma table, 800lb press etc. and it'll be pretty sweet when its done. I don't think I could have afforded to go aluminum otherwise haha.

I definitely recommend building you own. Gutter Mounts are easy to make even without fancy equipment- Mine will have 6. Even if you paid cost for steel, you could build an awesome one without too much work and save a ton of $$$.

In my personal opinion, gutters are the way to go as long as you have enough mounts. The factory mounts are terribly weak once you get any weight up there and drive down a bumpy road.

Welcome to the forum man!

 

I am interested in gutter mounts has anyone built their own?

 

Well I went both ways I bought my mounting setup an "Olympic Model" then modified it to use the factory rails rack as well. Then I built my own rack because no one made what I wanted or I would bought it.


Here is a photo of my rack very easy to make its just EMT tubing bent using a hand bender and a sheet of expended metal I got for free. All total it carries more weight than should ever be carried on a rack but will carry a lot of light weight items also.

 

But how did you build the gutter mounts

 

One question how is the wind noise? I see you went upright instead of leaned back in front for aerodynamics but kept a lot of space. This makes the wind travel through freely without the whistle of too many bars close together. I like the simple clean look.

My first post by the way to the forum look forward to sharing my rack and other ..... Failures lol








QUOTE=Fred/N0AZZ;3105336]Well I went both ways I bought my mounting setup an "Olympic Model" then modified it to use the factory roof rack as well. Then I built my own rack because no one made what I wanted or I would bought it.


Here is a photo of my rack very easy to make its just EMT tubing bent using a hand bender and a sheet of expended metal I got for free. All total it carries more weight than should ever be carried on a rack but will carry a lot of light weight items also.




[/QUOTE]

 

That looks cool, nice job on that rack build. My issue isn't the rack, it was the factory crossbars. I was looking for a homemade solution and stumbled on to Smittybilt brackets for one of their roof racks. I bought them and plan to fab my own crossbars. I was using the factory crossbars and they started to fail, everything I hit a bump the left rear corner would bounce. Rather then replacing, I wanted to beef it up. I carry camping gear, but now just picked up some kayaks. I may have to purchase a small trailer soon for all my gear!

 

I used Warrior Products rack with 6 gutter mounts and never had an issue (till my jeep landed on its roof, but that is a different story). I carried a lot of camping/hunting gear up there. If you go to your local 4x4 shop, take a look at them they should be pretty easy to fab. Most are the same basic design with a few tweaks to tighten or mount to the rack.