All the different Roof Racks

[Shoveller]

I want a roof rack, but I have this fear of buying one and then finding another one I like better.

Gobi - http://www.gobijeep.com/Cherokee.htm
Olypmic - http://www.olympic4x4products.com/cherokee-xj
Kargo Master - http://www.kargomaster.com/item.asp?id=63
Yakima - http://www.quadratec.com/products/92024_4009_07.htm
Warrior - http://www.quadratec.com/products/12033_835.htm
Garvin - http://www.quadratec.com/products/72042_800.htm
ARB - http://www.arbusa.com/Products/Roof-Racks/25.aspx
Surco - http://www.surcoinc.com/R-BR_SR5.html

What other brands are out there?

 

[JNickel101]

Kevin's off-road makes one, IIRC...so does JCR...and of course HD Offroad Engineering has released their new roof sliders, with the promise that they will be creating add-ons for it.

 

[FlexdXJ]

I have a Surco and I love it. It could use a couple more crossbars but overall its light and easy to remove if need be.

 

[Shoveller]

The only thing my rack will be holding is the spare tire and maybe 4 lights.

 

[Silver60th]

I love my Rola rack, and it was CHEAP (like 160 new). Look into it for a cheap alternative.

 

[fscrig75]

I've got the Yakima MegaWarrior. Easy to put on, with the adapters I can move to my wife's WK for road trips and they make attachments for almost everything. It is a bit expensive though, got mine used off of ebay.

 

[Silver60th]

Also, another question to ask yourself is what you will be carrying, as well as how large of a rack do you want.

A Surco or Yakima MegaWarrior would both be on the large side and cover the majority of your roof (you need a full length factory roof rack or gutter mounts). If you have the 97+ mini roof rails (which I hate/have btw), you can mount a smaller rack over the rails with the OEM crossrails as long as you don't go too crazy with the loads.

 

[snail]

my best advice: buy a used one thats in good condition

i liked the garvin wildness the best. it is really sturdy, but expensive
i have the kargomaster now, and it is decent but a step down from the garvin IMO. like said above, it depends what you want to use it for. right now the kargo master is plenty for my fullsize spare and extra gear time to time

since you want lights, also consider the expensive cost of the light brackets. the garvins werent cheap

heres my old '01 with the garvin and 2 KC daylighters with the garvin brackets

 

[ehall]

seems like it would be easy to make the basket

would need to have gutter mounts in-hand first though

 

[bigalpha]

Mine is homemade. I only use it to hold the spare tire; only because I don't have a tire carrier on the bumper.

 

[sullysxj]

I agree, build your own.

 

[FlexdXJ]

my best advice: buy a used one thats in good condition

i liked the garvin wildness the best. it is really sturdy, but expensive
i have the kargomaster now, and it is decent but a step down from the garvin IMO. like said above, it depends what you want to use it for. right now the kargo master is plenty for my fullsize spare and extra gear time to time

since you want lights, also consider the expensive cost of the light brackets. the garvins werent cheap

heres my old '01 with the garvin and 2 KC daylighters with the garvin brackets

Well said I bought mine used and all it needs is some paint.

seems like it would be easy to make the basket

would need to have gutter mounts in-hand first though

JCR has them now. decent price too.

 

[bigalpha]

Mine is attached through the screw holes on the roof. 4 per side.

 

[Shoveller]

Building my own isnt really an option, since I cant weld. My brother-in-law is a master welder, but he is so busy I would hate to ask him. Maybe if I drew something up and just left the materials he could work on when he could...

How long does it take to cut a weld an average basket together? A couple of hours, a day, a week?

 

[AIbandit]

I have a Surco and I love it. It could use a couple more crossbars but overall its light and easy to remove if need be.

This^ but get the gutter mounts! the rack mounts pull the stock rails out of your roof very easily

 

[ladywolf]

shoveller, i have a nice olympic top hat rack that i'm trying to sell. if you want a tire carrier i can get it shipped. all it does it mount to the bottom of the basket.

 

[Shoveller]

How long does it take to cut a weld an average basket together? A couple of hours, a day, a week?

 

[theNAST1EST]

The only thing my rack will be holding is the spare tire and maybe 4 lights.

That's what my Kargo Master is doing best at this point.

 

[Shorty]

How long does it take to cut a weld an average basket together? A couple of hours, a day, a week?

about a year if you're not a paying customer:laugh:

actually, I'd say about a week of "overtime" work to put one together.

that said-- here's a Yak. rack with full length extension-- way too much $$$ new (but $50.00 from a boneyard was a good deal)

 

[sullysxj]

Yeah about a week of spare time (less than an hour a night). But a lot of time is spent measuring, cutting, tacking, then redesigning because you get an idea in the middle of it. also after tacking it together, you test fit on the roof and make any corrections. I dragged my unfinished rack out of the basement 8 times while i was building it to make sure everything was going to look and fit right. I would talk to your brother inlaw, ask him for ideas, and ask for his help. maybe you could do the leg work, even tack everything together and he could do the welding. Or maybe he would give you a welding lesson... There are a lot of pieces to weld on these racks so you would probably get decent pretty quickly.