Garvin Trail Rack Thoughts?

[Quasimodo]

I am thinking about getting the Garvin Trail Rack for the JL (over the spare) to mount a couple of rotopax and keep my Yeti cooler on it. This would free up a lot of space in the cargo area as well. [I don't want a roof rack because I have the SkyOne touch roof.] I was wondering, anyone run this on the JL yet? I've seen older Wrangler models running them around town. Thoughts? Worth it?

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[EDH_JL]

I am thinking about getting the Garvin Trail Rack for the JL (over the spare) to mount a couple of rotopax and keep my Yeti cooler on it. This would free up a lot of space in the cargo area as well. [I don't want a roof rack because I have the SkyOne touch roof.] I was wondering, anyone run this on the JL yet? I've seen older Wrangler models running them around town. Thoughts? Worth it?

I've been considering one too but concerned about overloading the tailgate and the trail rack. Besides the spare, the rack itself plus a full cooler and fuel will add another 150 lbs if not more. Two 3gal rotopax is going to be ~50 lbs not including the weight of the mount. (6lb/gal x 3gal + 6.5lb pax weight) x 2. An empty Yeti 45 runs 23 lbs, and no one wants an empty cooler so add another 20 lbs of ice and 25lb for the 30 pack giving you a ~68lb loaded cooler. Garvin rates their rack for 75 lbs, so it seems like one or the other.

I've been accused of overthinking things before though...

 

[Quasimodo]

I've been considering one too but concerned about overloading the tailgate and the trail rack. Besides the spare, the rack itself plus a full cooler and fuel will add another 150 lbs if not more. Two 3gal rotopax is going to be ~50 lbs not including the weight of the mount. (6lb/gal x 3gal + 6.5lb pax weight) x 2. An empty Yeti 45 runs 23 lbs, and no one wants an empty cooler so add another 20 lbs of ice and 25lb for the 30 pack giving you a ~68lb loaded cooler. Garvin rates their rack for 75 lbs, so it seems like one or the other.

I've been accused of overthinking things before though...

You did the exact same math that I did.

 

[ryno1]

Bump - I'm looking at this rack too, but wondering if anyone has had any success using it with an aftermarket bumper mounted spare tire carrier (like Westin WJ2). That would relieve my worries about additional weight on the stock tailgate.

 

[daveprice7]

I feel like it's a lost cause really... at least without hefty tailgate reinforcement of some kind, in addition to relocating the spare. I think those tailgate racks are for things like sleeping bags or a duffle full of toilet paper, not gas cans and coolers... Anything heavy and you're flirting with disaster. I'd love to see a trail rack that mounted to some kind of replacement tailgate hinge/reinforcement type thing, but I haven't seen anything yet.

When I last went down that rabbit hole, the best I found was the LOD Destroyer bumper which has an optional trail rack. That's a pretty expensive/heavy setup if you just want to haul a cooler and a couple gas cans, but it's very cool.

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