JimL
Well-Known Member
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- #1
You may have seen my rack under "Homemade roof rack for JLUR". We just completed a 3500 mile run with quite a bit of rough road running in western Montana, Colorado Rockies, and a fun time in Moab (including Fins and Things trail which was a thrill for us old folks). Running hard on some long and rough dirt roads in Montana created some problems with my rack which I had to work out "in the campsite". FYI, we have almost 200 pounds of kayak and "stuff" on this rack.
First note: My forward rack support is insufficient without upper windshield frame face braces. My side pads did not keep the rack from trying to sink after we got nearly airborne a number of times. I was able to make temporary "semi-soft" pads and mount them to keep the rack properly positioned the rest of the trip (which was over a month duration after this repair).
Second note: The Blind Spot Monitor System is more sensitive than I knew. It was fine until my rear uprights bent slightly (due to "First note" above). When the rack supports got within 1/4" of the BMS system sensors in the front edge of the tail-lamp housing I got BMS blocked warning on the dash. It would not clear until I stopped and then restarted the engine.
After I used a block a tackle to pull my rack back forward (and then added some support), I had no more problems.
Third note: The latest sunshade (as seen in that other thread) has worked perfectly and also eliminated the slight "ripping sound" windnoise that was present at the top of the windshield frame, before I built the rack. It is actually quieter on the highway with the rack mounted, than it is without. I removed the rack, after the trip, while I did some work on it (and took care of some paint damage from combat with some low hanging trees). Driving without the rack/sunshade brought back the wind noise.
Fourth note: You really do NOT want any of the rack mounting to contact the frame or the trailer hitch. I managed to snare a rock between one of my rear corner under mounts (that tie to the big body mount bolt) and the Jeep frame (there is this trail in Colorado that has the strangest rocks that look like granite chisels). Every single engine and trans sound is amplified right through the body and into the dash. Those are things you don't want to hear.
Fifth note: Square tubing is MUCH quieter than round tubing Over the years, I have built various racks and learned the hard way. Round tubing has terrible wind noise.
I hope this helps someone avoid some of the things I have had to work through.
First note: My forward rack support is insufficient without upper windshield frame face braces. My side pads did not keep the rack from trying to sink after we got nearly airborne a number of times. I was able to make temporary "semi-soft" pads and mount them to keep the rack properly positioned the rest of the trip (which was over a month duration after this repair).
Second note: The Blind Spot Monitor System is more sensitive than I knew. It was fine until my rear uprights bent slightly (due to "First note" above). When the rack supports got within 1/4" of the BMS system sensors in the front edge of the tail-lamp housing I got BMS blocked warning on the dash. It would not clear until I stopped and then restarted the engine.
After I used a block a tackle to pull my rack back forward (and then added some support), I had no more problems.
Third note: The latest sunshade (as seen in that other thread) has worked perfectly and also eliminated the slight "ripping sound" windnoise that was present at the top of the windshield frame, before I built the rack. It is actually quieter on the highway with the rack mounted, than it is without. I removed the rack, after the trip, while I did some work on it (and took care of some paint damage from combat with some low hanging trees). Driving without the rack/sunshade brought back the wind noise.
Fourth note: You really do NOT want any of the rack mounting to contact the frame or the trailer hitch. I managed to snare a rock between one of my rear corner under mounts (that tie to the big body mount bolt) and the Jeep frame (there is this trail in Colorado that has the strangest rocks that look like granite chisels). Every single engine and trans sound is amplified right through the body and into the dash. Those are things you don't want to hear.
Fifth note: Square tubing is MUCH quieter than round tubing Over the years, I have built various racks and learned the hard way. Round tubing has terrible wind noise.
I hope this helps someone avoid some of the things I have had to work through.
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