Akbill
Well-Known Member
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The LODO rep says that exoskeleton roof racks that attach to the body up front and to the frame in the rear are inherently flawed and are subject to abnormal stresses, and could even impact vehicle performance. See below.
Are people who have roof racks attaching by the front windshield and to the bumper frame area in the rear experiencing such problems?
Are people who have roof racks attaching by the front windshield and to the bumper frame area in the rear experiencing such problems?
Thank you for the interest! We can certainly explain our reasoning, which is: Jeep's design is a body-on-frame type, which leaves the body shell floating on rubber or urethane "pucks" underneath, so while it is connected to the frame, it can still bounce or move. You don't want to make a solid connection between the two, and you want to keep the "free float" so your vehicle can flex and articulate, otherwise you'll get a lot of road noise and vibration. Since we connect to the body in the front, we don't want to connect to the frame in the rear, as the two move relative to each other and therefore the rack would be subject to more extreme stress during movement, and durability as well as safety could become an issue. Especially in scenarios where the vehicle tub moves on those pucks (during turns, braking/acceleration, or tilting when offroading). We did not want to create a system that could be jeopardize vehicle dynamics. We are trying to make ours as "integrated" as possible into the vehicle
The vehicle alteration during install is very minimal, nothing that drastically alters any portion of it. It will also not require that you drill holes through your hard top or anything crazy like that We stuck to surfaces that will not leak into the interior if altered!
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