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Has one person ever damaged their hard top drip rails

HeavyMetal

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Has anyone ever witnessed or experienced drip rails being broken off or damaged due to too much load on typical (non internally supported) cross bar system on a JL? The internet is awash with people saying you cant put a roof top tent on Thule or similar cross bars because it will turn your hard top into scrap, yet there is more than a handful of people running around doing exactly that with 0 issues it would seem.

Any experience to the contrary?
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brazos

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Heck, I just assumed it was true.
You know, like the world is going to end in 12 years if we don’t get rid of cows, planes, and cars.
Oh, and AR15s.
 
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HeavyMetal

HeavyMetal

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Silence may be golden here.
 

Arterius2

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I also want to add roof tent to my Jeep.
I am secretly following this thread in hopes that some brave soul does try and sacrifice their back in the process.:LOL:
 

Rahneld

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Has anyone ever witnessed or experienced drip rails being broken off or damaged due to too much load on typical (non internally supported) cross bar system on a JL? The internet is awash with people saying you cant put a roof top tent on Thule or similar cross bars because it will turn your hard top into scrap, yet there is more than a handful of people running around doing exactly that with 0 issues it would seem.

Any experience to the contrary?
All I'd ask is that people test this with a load that's introduced when the JL's parked, like that of people getting into a tent.

Constant travel weight, made worse by a moving rig, on top of a drip rail break where above-roof contents litters high speed roadways....

makes for dangers where the least of your worries is the need to buy a new hard top.
 

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blessidsoul12

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Can't remember where but someone did post a RTT on crossbars mounted to their rain gutters. I believe they said they were just keeping their fingers crossed...
 

brazos

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I’m considering carrying a 60 pound fishing kayak up there.
Maybe I should just leave it in the water, though.
People have been doing that for 1000s of years.
It’s a proven system.
 

brazos

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Been thinking about this...
I reckon if anyone HAD torn the gutters off of their hardtop they would be quick to post about it.
So maybe the dearth of posts with experience is actually encouraging.
Hope so. I’m a glass-half-full guy.
It’s not just weight though, I reckon.
My kayak isn’t heavy, but presents a big 12’ long side profile to a crosswind. That concerns me. Tying the ends to the bumpers should help with that, though.
For a rooftop tent, I think I’d want to cut some blocks of high-density foam to stuff under the rails, so the roof itself could take some of the load when I was using the tent.
Just thinking out loud....
 

Arterius2

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Been thinking about this...
I reckon if anyone HAD torn the gutters off of their hardtop they would be quick to post about it.
So maybe the dearth of posts with experience is actually encouraging.
Hope so. I’m a glass-half-full guy.
It’s not just weight though, I reckon.
My kayak isn’t heavy, but presents a big 12’ long side profile to a crosswind. That concerns me. Tying the ends to the bumpers should help with that, though.
For a rooftop tent, I think I’d want to cut some blocks of high-density foam to stuff under the rails, so the roof itself could take some of the load when I was using the tent.
Just thinking out loud....
This is actually a GREAT idea, I was also thinking about a design with hybrid support system combining drip rail clamps and rubber-dampers under the cross bars for extra support, can still be easily removed in minutes and won't permanently modify the hard top..
 

NorCalSahara

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Dang, Heavy Metal!
I was excited to see 15 replies just now. I thought “Cool, we’re finally gonna get some useful information about this serious question!”
No such luck.
My thoughts too... I have a roof basket that typically has 150lbs if gear plus the weight of the basket and racks. I went off road and was sure I’d see some stress cracks. None! I also carry my 9’2” surfboard up there and still no signs of wear or stress. I’m sure if someone has cracked their rails it would’ve been posted about on this forum but I’ve yet to see it. I think the rain gutters are stronger than Jeep let’s on. Hopefully nobody has damaged their roof rails yet, but hopefully this thread will eventually give us some good info.
 

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brazos

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My thoughts too... I have a roof basket that typically has 150lbs if gear plus the weight of the basket and racks. I went off road and was sure I’d see some stress cracks. None! I also carry my 9’2” surfboard up there and still no signs of wear or stress. I’m sure if someone has cracked their rails it would’ve been posted about on this forum but I’ve yet to see it. I think the rain gutters are stronger than Jeep let’s on. Hopefully nobody has damaged their roof rails yet, but hopefully this thread will eventually give us some good info.
There is hope for this thread after all!
Hallelujah!
Btw, fiberglass is amazingly resilient stuff.
Fiberglass boats take an incredible pounding. For decades. No fatigue, as occurs with metals.
Now I’m thinking about glassing in some buttresses around the gutter clamps, and mounting them permanently. Fiberglass is stupid-easy to work with.
 

brazos

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There is hope for this thread after all!
Hallelujah!
Btw, fiberglass is amazingly resilient stuff.
Fiberglass boats take an incredible pounding. For decades. No fatigue, as occurs with metals.
Now I’m thinking about glassing in some buttresses around the gutter clamps, and mounting them permanently. Fiberglass is stupid-easy to work with.
There is hope for this thread after all!
Hallelujah!
Btw, fiberglass is amazingly resilient stuff.
Fiberglass boats take an incredible pounding. For decades. No fatigue, as occurs with metals.
Now I’m thinking about glassing in some buttresses around the gutter clamps, and mounting them permanently. Fiberglass is stupid-easy to work with.
Another nice thing about fiberglass is that it is infinitely repairable. My first job was repairing rental surfboards. 75 cents an hour, paid in cash twice a day. Took the $3 up to the cafe at noon and 5, and had a good meal.
Surfed after dinner, and slept in the board shack.
Not a bad way for a 16 year-old to spend a summer, I reckon.
 

brazos

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Another nice thing about fiberglass is that it is infinitely repairable. My first job was repairing rental surfboards. 75 cents an hour, paid in cash twice a day. Took the $3 up to the cafe at noon and 5, and had a good meal.
Surfed after dinner, and slept in the board shack.
Not a bad way for a 16 year-old to spend a summer, I reckon.

I was amazed that my parents let me do it, but I was a pretty good kid, and did it with my best friend Matt, who was too.
Our parents trusted us, and we didn’t let them down.
Good memories.
 
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HeavyMetal

HeavyMetal

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I’m sure if someone has cracked their rails it would’ve been posted about on this forum but I’ve yet to see it.
Couldnt agree more. I have never seen anyone ever talk about damaging a hard top from cross bars, ever. Thats why I pose the question, is this one of those things where people just endlessly parrot each other or not? I see guys running around with RTTs on crossbars often enough online, every one of them says they have wheeled it that way and use it for awhile with 0 issues. Seems pretty legit. Not that I want to sacrifice safety, but if people have done it, a lot, and never even seen as much as any stress on the parts, is it actually unsafe?
 

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I’m wondering if anyone has put cross bars on the soft top using the rain gutters for mounting? I have a Thule SUP carrier and want to use it with my soft top. I thought I read somewhere that they added the gutters purposely for rack systems. Any insight would be appreciated!
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