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Modified rear cargo shelf for 2 door soft top

sarum87

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So I got tired of waiting for a company to make a rear cargo shelf for the 2 door. I bought the Hooke Road cargo rack which was larger than the Ace rack. I found a metal fabricator who made a bracket that lifted the basket higher (so I could fit the ARB fridge underneath) and also allowed me to use the existing screw holes on the jeep to secure the bracket to. no new drilling was needed- just used the existing holes. The bracket is made of 10 guage steel and when I tighten all the bolts it's very secure. no wobble at all. I painted the bracket black so it looks good. Soft top fits fine as well. Very happy with the outcome. Make a huge difference in my storage space. cost $150 for the brackets.

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aml

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Looks good. I assume looking at the pictures that this is only for no top or soft top only. Over the summer I was using my fridge with the soft top on. It was frustrating getting into the back with the soft top. But it was sure nice at the beach getting a cold one when it was hot out!
 

ExitLeft

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Looks good. I assume looking at the pictures that this is only for no top or soft top only. Over the summer I was using my fridge with the soft top on. It was frustrating getting into the back with the soft top. But it was sure nice at the beach getting a cold one when it was hot out!
I probably have no idea what I'm talking about, but couldn't you install the hardtop and then lay the new brackets over the hardtop mounting flange and bolt it all down securing the hard top and brackets?
 

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I probably have no idea what I'm talking about, but couldn't you install the hardtop and then lay the new brackets over the hardtop mounting flange and bolt it all down securing the hard top and brackets?
As long as the brackets donā€™t hit the windows - GREAT job looks super
 
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sarum87

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This is a soft top. The windows slide on no problem. The bracket fits inside the window.
 

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Huskywrangler

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Might be a dumb question. But you wouldn't happen to have a link to the actual shelf would you? Also is the only reason you needed a bracket was because of the fridge height?
 
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sarum87

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Google ā€œHooke Roadā€ cargo rack for Jeep and you will find it. Yes the only reason for the added height is for the fridge.
 

Hudson

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Thanks for this - I was looking for a solution and none of the online stores that show these racks indicate whether they would work for the 2 door. How is your rack holding up?

I have a hard top, and the various racks out there all indicate this should work just fine, as all the brackets for these kind of cargo baskets mount using the same screws that hold the hard top on, and the fitment issue is really about whether they work with a folding soft top.

Got one on order and since I don't need to mount a fridge, it should work fine. I'll post when I have it installed. Price is right - I ordered mine direct from Ubox (the manufacturer) and it ships free with no tax for $219.

I saw other options on Amazon including aluminum ones (the reviews indicated these weren't as strong as the steel racks).

More to come.
 

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So out of the box, it wonā€™t fit the hard top even with the modified bracket used by the OP. The shelf sits too close to the rear hard top.

The two brackets each need to be cut about 1.5 inches to clear the roll bar and get the mount holes to line up even using a bracket. Iā€™m going to visit my local metal shop and do some mods to fit.

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Hudson

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Visited my local metal fab guy. He devised a super simple flat bracket - basically a longer strip of metal, which he welded a bolt onto. The rear hole uses the stock JL mounting holes and bolts. The front of the Hookeā€˜s side bracket Fits over the welded on bolt (He drilled an extra Hole to fit the welded on bolt) and is secured to the new modded flat bracket with a washer and nylock but. Finally, the extended end of the bracket uses the stock JL mounting bolt and hole.

I was worried that the cargo shelf would sit too far back and interfere with the rear glass or tailgate but it fits perfect. About two inches of clearance between the shelf and the rear glass.

Jeep Wrangler JL Modified rear cargo shelf for 2 door soft top 080886E7-D2A0-4766-8849-C9311ABCA675


Jeep Wrangler JL Modified rear cargo shelf for 2 door soft top 66369838-5C90-4968-9BDB-DFD8CD92B027


Jeep Wrangler JL Modified rear cargo shelf for 2 door soft top 921F6EAB-DF11-4B97-87CB-99B65586194E
 
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FireLt340

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How does this work with letting the soft top down? I have the JLU and there's an indention for the top to sit it... I'm looking for ideas now for mine, and I like what you did.
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