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Gutter mount bars and Baja

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I drive the length of Baja almost every year for 20 years. 1st time in my JL coming up.

I will be taking a kayak down to fish off the beach. We also do a lot of off-road exploring and I don’t like to drive slow.

Will gutter mounted bars with just a small kayak and a rod tube destroy my gutters if I’m doing my best impression of the Baja 1000?

I know about the back bone system but I’m not putting a RTT on.
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NoahVD

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I have tried to search for reports of people that have actually experienced their rain gutters failing with crossbar mounts but I haven't been able to find anything. Just a lot of posts for JLs and JKs dripping water when you open the door.
 
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I have tried to search for reports of people that have actually experienced their rain gutters failing with crossbar mounts but I haven't been able to find anything. Just a lot of posts for JLs and JKs dripping water when you open the door.
Thanks for the reply and info!
 

sourdough

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I have been looking into a roof rack system myself. I really don’t understand why Mopar says the top is not engineered for weight or roof mounted racks but sells one anyway. I haven’t found a post about gutter mount failure. For a Baja run, I’d use at least three rails.
 

Gadsden11

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I did a 5k+ mile trip from Milwaukee to the grand canyon this summer. I used a Set of yakima cross bars with a yakima load warrior on top of that because I already had it. I didnt have much weight in the basket, but probably 50 pounds or so between the maxx tracks, camp chairs, and extra fuel/water. We drove everything from 80+ on the highway to some pretty sketchy trails and washboard forest service roads in southern Utah.

When we got home I was curious to see what the rails looked like. Aside from a super small (1/16 inch or smaller) rub mark there was no visible damage to the rails. I did make sure to check the attachment feet regularly while we were out there, but only once after 50 or so miles of washboard and 20 miles of deep sand, were any of the feet even a bit loose.

Do I think it's the best setup? Probably not. But I wouldn't hesitate to do it again until I find another setup I like better.
 

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I did a 5k+ mile trip from Milwaukee to the grand canyon this summer. I used a Set of yakima cross bars with a yakima load warrior on top of that because I already had it. I didnt have much weight in the basket, but probably 50 pounds or so between the maxx tracks, camp chairs, and extra fuel/water. We drove everything from 80+ on the highway to some pretty sketchy trails and washboard forest service roads in southern Utah.

When we got home I was curious to see what the rails looked like. Aside from a super small (1/16 inch or smaller) rub mark there was no visible damage to the rails. I did make sure to check the attachment feet regularly while we were out there, but only once after 50 or so miles of washboard and 20 miles of deep sand, were any of the feet even a bit loose.

Do I think it's the best setup? Probably not. But I wouldn't hesitate to do it again until I find another setup I like better.
Thanks for the first hand report, it was very helpful. I’m trying to swallow the cost of the rhino rack/pioneer platform, but I keep choking on it lol. 1000 miles south is not place I want to have regrets.
 
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I have been looking into a roof rack system myself. I really don’t understand why Mopar says the top is not engineered for weight or roof mounted racks but sells one anyway. I haven’t found a post about gutter mount failure. For a Baja run, I’d use at least three rails.
Three rails is what I thought too. But I can’t leave my Roosterfish gear at home...
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Gadsden11

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I had the crossbars already and found the gutter clamps on let it go for $20. I agree that a trip like that isn't a place to have issues!

At some point a legit roof system is gonna happen, but I had now worries with the yakima bars and rack.

Sounds like an awesome trip! Have fun!!

I just remembered I did a run to Ontario with just the crossbars and a rod tube on them also About 1k miles. No issues.
 

Biohazard

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I’ve got the maximus-3 mount with a rhino rack and am throughly satisfied. No squeaking or leaking or problems with weight. Handles everything throw at it with aplomb.

Only downside is that you have to drill through your roof, and removing the hardtop requires 8 more screws, more if you have a ladder.

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