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Design flaw with Exoskeleton type roof racks?

Akbill

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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?

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 :crying: We stuck to surfaces that will not leak into the interior if altered!
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Akbill

Akbill

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does anyone else care to offer feedback regards this design issue for exoskeleton type racks attaching to the body in the front and the frame/bumper bracket in the rear? Seems like an important consideration.
 

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Jeepsk8

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I'm not a roof rack guy and I'm not an engineer, but it makes sense that it would be an issue to have part of it mounted to the frame and another part of it mounted to the body. The frame has some flex to it as well, so I don't know.
 

spurly

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Remember the Ford vs Chevy 1 ton videos where they showed the articulation and frame flex? In the video that comes to mind, they claimed you weren't able to open the tailgate because the Ford's frame flexed so much. Although this might be extreme, but just imagine if you had a roof rack or exoskeleton attached to the frame on the rear and then attached to the body in the front. I'm sure it wouldn't cause any immediate damage but overtime I think you'll start to see components weakening. Unlike a truck where the body and bed are not one piece, the body on the Jeep is one piece probably less likely to twist even in extreme articulation scenarios.
 

lodoffroad

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Remember the Ford vs Chevy 1 ton videos where they showed the articulation and frame flex? In the video that comes to mind, they claimed you weren't able to open the tailgate because the Ford's frame flexed so much. Although this might be extreme, but just imagine if you had a roof rack or exoskeleton attached to the frame on the rear and then attached to the body in the front. I'm sure it wouldn't cause any immediate damage but overtime I think you'll start to see components weakening. Unlike a truck where the body and bed are not one piece, the body on the Jeep is one piece probably less likely to twist even in extreme articulation scenarios.
Exactly, the twisting alone would stress connections to a risky level.
 

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Sgt Beavis

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Now this is very useful information.
 

lodoffroad

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Now this is very useful information.
Yes, unfortunately most people jump on the bandwagon just because of what is readily available at the time. Hopefully this information will come in handy for people when they are making a purchasing decision :like::idea:
 
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Akbill

Akbill

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Yes, unfortunately most people jump on the bandwagon just because of what is readily available at the time. Hopefully this information will come in handy for people when they are making a purchasing decision :like::idea:
What is the current project date when you will be shipping the JL slide top?
 

lodoffroad

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What is the current project date when you will be shipping the JL slide top?
Spring 2019 currently. We are gearing up to attack it full force this month, since the JL tire carrier and rock sliders are finished up.
 

RubenZ

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The other thing to consider are people putting on Rocksliders. I've seen some from Rockhard 4x4 that I believe bolt to the Body and Frame together which to me is a similar issue. For rock sliders I'd rather they bolt strictly to the Frame.

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