Best Ski rack to put on wrangler?

[stewartld]

I'm thinking of getting one of the Fabbri Gringo options...anyone tried these?

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[SeanS]

I ended up picking up the Yakima SwingDaddy bike rack (https://www.yakima.com/swingdaddy), and their hitch ski attachment (https://www.yakima.com/hitchski). In order to get this to work, I also had to use a drop hitch (http://www.kuatonline.com/accessories-102/hi-lo). The htich ski is fine, but I did prefer my old roof top rack I had on my last vehicle for ease of use.
One downside I've had with the hitchski is that certain ski's that have bindings that are thick and run between the toe/heel attach points, it can't open enough to put them back to back. You'll see in the picture that the two kids ski's were stored back to back, but the adult ski I had to load one on each side of the rack. Technically they say not to mix ski/snowboard on the same side. I believe this is because it ends up a little loose around the snowboard in my case, but I could easily put in something to wedge it a little tighter if necessary.

 

[BWWJL]

Go box on top?

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/ski-box-for-rubicon.22391/

 

[Slopeside]

Do you have a picture of your Thule Force XL roof box on the Wrangler?

[GALLERY=][/GALLERY]

 

[tonythehomie]

Ive got the thule gutter rails, thule aeroblades, and thule ski rack. I would recommend getting the extender pack though, i regret not getting that

 

[paulp]

Hi, why did you need a drop hitch?

I ended up picking up the Yakima SwingDaddy bike rack (https://www.yakima.com/swingdaddy), and their hitch ski attachment (https://www.yakima.com/hitchski). In order to get this to work, I also had to use a drop hitch (http://www.kuatonline.com/accessories-102/hi-lo). The htich ski is fine, but I did prefer my old roof top rack I had on my last vehicle for ease of use.
One downside I've had with the hitchski is that certain ski's that have bindings that are thick and run between the toe/heel attach points, it can't open enough to put them back to back. You'll see in the picture that the two kids ski's were stored back to back, but the adult ski I had to load one on each side of the rack. Technically they say not to mix ski/snowboard on the same side. I believe this is because it ends up a little loose around the snowboard in my case, but I could easily put in something to wedge it a little tighter if necessary.

 

[SeanS]

I started without any hitch extension or drop, but the swing daddy doesn't extend far enough to get past the spare tire. In the image below, you'll also see I tried a plain hitch extension, but the spare tire then wouldn't clear the upright (with the handle). Using the Kuat HiLo drop hitch extension gave me enough clearance with the spare tire.

It's possible that with your Sahara which I think has the smaller tire, it might not be necessary.

 

[paulp]

Ah, I see you have a larger tire. One other thing for anyone that uses an extension/drop... have you done anything to reduce the "wobble" that inevitably occurs since fit into the receiver isn't perfectly tight?

I started without any hitch extension or drop, but the swing daddy doesn't extend far enough to get past the spare tire. In the image below, you'll also see I tried a plain hitch extension, but the spare tire then wouldn't clear the upright (with the handle). Using the Kuat HiLo drop hitch extension gave me enough clearance with the spare tire.

It's possible that with your Sahara which I think has the smaller tire, it might not be necessary.

 

[SeanS]

The hitch-ski has an anti-rattle device (turning the red handle at the end pushes a inner clamp outwards on the other end, allowing you to tigthen it in place). The drop hitch had a threaded bolt as well which allowed me to get that part nice and tight, so although it does wobble a little bit, it's not enough that I'm worried about it. If you are worried, they also make hitch tighteners that are in the shape of a U that are supposed to help.

 

[paulp]

Didn't know about the hitch tightener. Thanks for all the advice!

 

[69 ORIGINAL]

So, for those of you that have the hitch mounted ski/snowboard rack, do the skis get loaded up with salt/sand from the road on your trip to the ski hill?
I know my tailgate and rear window are covered in it after a light snow or if the roads have been recently treated.
I’m sure I could use a ski bag if needed to keep them clean?

Agreed. Any external mount for skis has way too much salt and grit intrusion for bindings unless you have some covering system. Cheap canvas ski bag could totally work. Just don't want those bindings failing to release! My Dad used to use platic wrap over the bindings in a pinch. A blown knee and ski-season ... nope.

 

[BCool]

This guy seems to have a genius idea: https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-...ef=cm_cr_dp_d_rvw_ttl?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B000EG3ZUC

 

[JeffCj7Jl]

Here’s the setup on my 2door. Mopar roof rails and Thule ski rack.

 

[carlens.lal]

Living in CO and make weekly trips to the mountains, whats the best rack I can put on my hard top in terms of being able to carry skis, still being able to take off the front freedom panels, and noise on the road?

Planning on ordering in Sept and was planning on a soft top only.

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