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Design flaw with Exoskeleton type roof racks?

mwilk012

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The body is already mounted to the frame though, is it not? How much movement between the two are you expecting?
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kkuntz01

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Having previously owned a Gobi for my JK I can say a down recall any squeaking whether I was pounding pavement or wheeling it. Can’t say if that changed with the JL, however that’s what I say of the year and a half of of it installed with two cross country road trips and a half dozen or so wheeling trips both locally and Colorado and Moab.
 

lodoffroad

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Having previously owned a Gobi for my JK I can say a down recall any squeaking whether I was pounding pavement or wheeling it. Can’t say if that changed with the JL, however that’s what I say of the year and a half of of it installed with two cross country road trips and a half dozen or so wheeling trips both locally and Colorado and Moab.
The squeaking seemed to be an older issue, it has probably since been remedied! What did you LEAST like about it?
 

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The squeaking seemed to be an older issue, it has probably since been remedied! What did you LEAST like about it?
I know this question wasn't directed at me, but I feel like chiming in. I currently have a TJ (it's for sale if anyone wants to buy it) and roof rack options are pretty limited. But regardless, I'm strongly considering a roof rack for the JLUR once I get it so I can get a roof top tent. One thing I hate about roof racks are ones that just scream "look at me! I have a roof and I'm cool!" Especially the ones that have tubing the size of baseball bats. Low profile, sleek, and functional are what I'm after.

But to answer another question above, there's probably very little to no movement between the two. The body on the jeep is less likely to twist than a bed and cab of a pickup. But, have you ever stuck a go pro to your windshield and the footage looks like you're looking through shaking jello? If you stick the same camera on an isolator pad and you'll have butter smooth footage. (I do this all the time on my RC planes and drones for perfect footage) You can kind of relate it to roof racks or exoskeletons. If it's hard mounted to the frame on one end and the body on the other end, there's a chance (keyword) that something could break or fatigue over time from vibration and flexing. Keeping everything mounting to the body (which has rubber bushing and body mounts) lowers the chance of wear from fatigue. Who knows, it could take 50 years of constant vibration for it to fail. But I did see a YouTube video of the rear bumper making contact with the body on a JLUR in extreme conditions, so it makes one think how much movement there really is. I'm just relating this to my personal experience and hobbies and I could be completely wrong, I'm not engineer by trade.
 

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Good point.

hey lodoffroad, can you tell us if the sliding part of the rack will be designed so that it can be removed from the rack frame easily (for true convertible top experience)?
 

lodoffroad

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I know this question wasn't directed at me, but I feel like chiming in. I currently have a TJ (it's for sale if anyone wants to buy it) and roof rack options are pretty limited. But regardless, I'm strongly considering a roof rack for the JLUR once I get it so I can get a roof top tent. One thing I hate about roof racks are ones that just scream "look at me! I have a roof and I'm cool!" Especially the ones that have tubing the size of baseball bats. Low profile, sleek, and functional are what I'm after.

But to answer another question above, there's probably very little to no movement between the two. The body on the jeep is less likely to twist than a bed and cab of a pickup. But, have you ever stuck a go pro to your windshield and the footage looks like you're looking through shaking jello? If you stick the same camera on an isolator pad and you'll have butter smooth footage. (I do this all the time on my RC planes and drones for perfect footage) You can kind of relate it to roof racks or exoskeletons. If it's hard mounted to the frame on one end and the body on the other end, there's a chance (keyword) that something could break or fatigue over time from vibration and flexing. Keeping everything mounting to the body (which has rubber bushing and body mounts) lowers the chance of wear from fatigue. Who knows, it could take 50 years of constant vibration for it to fail. But I did see a YouTube video of the rear bumper making contact with the body on a JLUR in extreme conditions, so it makes one think how much movement there really is. I'm just relating this to my personal experience and hobbies and I could be completely wrong, I'm not engineer by trade.
Unfortunately an isolator pad does not provide smooth footage, at least when compared to a 3 axis gimbal :)
 

lodoffroad

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Good point.

hey lodoffroad, can you tell us if the sliding part of the rack will be designed so that it can be removed from the rack frame easily (for true convertible top experience)?
You should be able to use the soft top without removing it, you should only have to remove some cross bars that may be in the way.
 

kkuntz01

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The squeaking seemed to be an older issue, it has probably since been remedied! What did you LEAST like about it?
Honestly there was not much I disliked about it aside from it being a little cumbersome to put the soft top down or changing tops, though my LōD sliders made flipping the rack back much easier :like:. The only reason I uninstalled the rack was to have the windshield frame repaired after sustaining damage while wheeling Kane Creek in Moab. I didn’t realize I caught my axe/shovel mount on a tree branch and it wrenched the whole rack back causing the rubber isolators on the windshield bracket/light bar dimpled the windshield frame.

Aside from that the Gobi was rock solid. I have a video of my son jumping up and down on the rack, rocking side to side while standing on it and there was absolutely zero deflection in the rack.

In the end, I hated to get rid of it, however after having it sit in my storage unit for over a year and not seeing a need for it in the foreseeable future I decided to put it up for sale. What I learned from the whole experience is that an expedition rack is useful if you have a regular need for the benefits it offers. If it’s only an occasional use, then it ends up being an expensive piece of jewelry on the Jeep.
 
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Akbill

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You should be able to use the soft top without removing it, you should only have to remove some cross bars that may be in the way.
that isn't the question. will the your slide out be easily removable leaving the roof rack frame intact? I would not want a top down with a rack covering the entire top on the road.
 

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lodoffroad

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that isn't the question. will the your slide out be easily removable leaving the roof rack frame intact? I would not want a top down with a rack covering the entire top on the road.
We aren't sure what you're asking.. It's as easy to uninstall as it is to install. And the slide is indeed a separate piece.
 

Fcmalie

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We aren't sure what you're asking.. It's as easy to uninstall as it is to install. And the slide is indeed a separate piece.
They wanted to know if you could take the slide off of the frame while leaving the frame mounted to the body, which you seem to have answered since it's a seperate piece.
 

lodoffroad

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They wanted to know if you could take the slide off of the frame while leaving the frame mounted to the body, which you seem to have answered since it's a seperate piece.
Yes, easy or not though, we will let viewers decide, as that can be subjective :)
 
 



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