Roof rack system and still remove hardtop fairly easily?

[pinktoes1218]

I have a 2020 JLU that I mostly use as my daily driver and kayak hauler. I am looking to upgrade my roof rack to a system that can handle heavier cargo like a basked and possibly an overland tent. My issue is that I would like to be able to still remove my hardtop and it not weight a crazy amount that I cannot physically lift off my car with some help from friends. Its already quite heavy with the Mopar cross bars attached to the rain gutter so when I look at the Rhino Rack Backbone systems I am thinking there is no way in heck that I would be able to get the hard top off any longer.

Does anybody have any advice or suggestions as to systems I can look into that would allow me to slip that hard top off on nice days?

Sponsored

 

[Tellurian]

I went with the DeeZee rack and have been quite pleased with it. It’s easy to put on and take off.

https://www.deezee.com/product/roof-rack/

The main 60” section in the back has a max driving weight of 225 lbs and a max of 600lbs when parked which is plenty for most RTTs.

Similar to you, I wanted something that I could still easily remove the roof by myself with my manual pulley system in the garage. The rack is made of aluminum so added weight is minimal and I’m still well within my pulley’a weight restriction.

 

[Maverick909]

back bone system is all bolt in factory locations. hard to off the back bone system is off

 

[Maverick909]

i have the maximus 3 system love it and its still not to bad. 8 extra bolts with the impact takes only a few extra mins

 

[pinktoes1218]

I went with the DeeZee rack and have been quite pleased with it. It’s easy to put on and take off.

https://www.deezee.com/product/roof-rack/

The main 60” section in the back has a max driving weight of 225 lbs and a max of 600lbs when parked which is plenty for most RTTs.

Similar to you, I wanted something that I could still easily remove the roof by myself with my manual pulley system in the garage. The rack is made of aluminum so added weight is minimal and I’m still well within my pulley’a weight restriction.

This looks intriguing! Do you have any idea how much weight it adds to the hardtop?

 

[dpike]

if you want a rack that can stay on when you remove the hard top look into the gobi, they have a quick release attachment so folding the rack back to remove the top takes almost no time at all. it will take a bit more work to get the hard top off the side rather than the back, but with a couple mates its doable.

 

[Tellurian]

This looks intriguing! Do you have any idea how much weight it adds to the hardtop?

UPS tracking has it at 35 lbs

 

[BroncoHound]

I have a 2020 JLU that I mostly use as my daily driver and kayak hauler. I am looking to upgrade my roof rack to a system that can handle heavier cargo like a basked and possibly an overland tent. My issue is that I would like to be able to still remove my hardtop and it not weight a crazy amount that I cannot physically lift off my car with some help from friends. Its already quite heavy with the Mopar cross bars attached to the rain gutter so when I look at the Rhino Rack Backbone systems I am thinking there is no way in heck that I would be able to get the hard top off any longer.

Does anybody have any advice or suggestions as to systems I can look into that would allow me to slip that hard top off on nice days?

Some pushups and a gym membership, maybe? Snarky tone aside, the hard tops on these things are laughably lightweight; even with a 100lbs+ rack added to them, they would be child's play for 2 people to remove. A little more upper body strength would also help enjoy those kayaking days a bit more as well, so an all-around improvement.

 

[pinktoes1218]

Some pushups and a gym membership, maybe? Snarky tone aside, the hard tops on these things are laughably lightweight; even with a 100lbs+ rack added to them, they would be child's play for 2 people to remove. A little more upper body strength would also help enjoy those kayaking days a bit more as well, so an all-around improvement.

LOL, well until I am swole, I have to deal with my wimpy girl arms and finding a build that works for me. Honestly, I could not even imagine moving that hardtop with and extra 100lbs on it with my boyfriend. Your wife must be built ;-)

 

[Tellurian]

LOL, well until I am swole, I have to deal with my wimpy girl arms and finding a build that works for me. Honestly, I could not even imagine moving that hardtop with and extra 100lbs on it with my boyfriend. Your wife must be built ;-)

I find this rebuttal particularly well directed because I could have sworn I had seen @BroncoHound's build thread showing him constructing a whole contraption out of workout benches, boards, and moving blankets to get his roof off.

Granted, he's had back surgeries and I give him kudos for the innovative approach he built to get the roof off by himself but I think it challenges his claim that they are "laughably lightweight".

To each Jeeper their own Jeep though.

 

[BroncoHound]

Sigh...this is why i generally don't engage with people on the internet.

The hard top, without freedom panels, weighs right at 100lbs. That's 50lbs. per person. For comparisons' sake, a 5-gallon jug of water weighs 41.65lbs. If you can pick up a jug of water for the water cooler, you shouldn't have issue with your half of the hard top.

The Rhino Rack, with Maximus-3 bracketry, weighs roughly 60lbs. That's an extra 30lbs. per person, for a total of 80lbs. each side.

As for my build thread and how I took the top off the first time, you'll also note that I touched on the reason I went that route was because I was by myself and, while the hard top is not heavy, it is awkward when trying to take it off solo, particularly on the 4-door. I used to take my JK 2-door hard top by myself all the time, back surgeries and all. Further, I noted that I had a buddy present when reinstalling the top and it went on in 2 seconds and was super easy.

You can see in that same build thread that I am miles away from "built" or "swole." I'm a regular guy. I was simply trying to suggest that, rather than limiting the build of a Jeep to potentially inferior products in the interest in saving a few pounds, one might focus on improving their health, gaining a bit of upper body strength, and thus allowing multiple areas of their lives to improve with fewer limitations. It was an alternative option, feel free to ignore at your leisure.

Sorry to have intruded here. Y'all have a good day.

 

[Tellurian]

Sigh...this is why i generally don't engage with people on the internet.

No need to sigh; it’s all good and said in jest. Truth be told, I really admire your build and remembered it when I saw your username.

We’re simply trading snark for the snark you were giving. I’m not quite sure what type of responses you were expecting when suggesting OP simply do upper body workouts when asking about lightweight roof rack options.

 

[Stormin’ Moorman]

LOL, well until I am swole, I have to deal with my wimpy girl arms and finding a build that works for me. Honestly, I could not even imagine moving that hardtop with and extra 100lbs on it with my boyfriend. Your wife must be built ;-)

Awesome

 

[pinktoes1218]

Sigh...this is why i generally don't engage with people on the internet.

The hard top, without freedom panels, weighs right at 100lbs. That's 50lbs. per person. For comparisons' sake, a 5-gallon jug of water weighs 41.65lbs. If you can pick up a jug of water for the water cooler, you shouldn't have issue with your half of the hard top.

The Rhino Rack, with Maximus-3 bracketry, weighs roughly 60lbs. That's an extra 30lbs. per person, for a total of 80lbs. each side.

As for my build thread and how I took the top off the first time, you'll also note that I touched on the reason I went that route was because I was by myself and, while the hard top is not heavy, it is awkward when trying to take it off solo, particularly on the 4-door. I used to take my JK 2-door hard top by myself all the time, back surgeries and all. Further, I noted that I had a buddy present when reinstalling the top and it went on in 2 seconds and was super easy.

You can see in that same build thread that I am miles away from "built" or "swole." I'm a regular guy. I was simply trying to suggest that, rather than limiting the build of a Jeep to potentially inferior products in the interest in saving a few pounds, one might focus on improving their health, gaining a bit of upper body strength, and thus allowing multiple areas of their lives to improve with fewer limitations. It was an alternative option, feel free to ignore at your leisure.

Sorry to have intruded here. Y'all have a good day.

I get what you are trying to say about my build's potential but working out to be able to take my hardtop off isn't exactly realistic.

Its not that difficult to lift that water jug up and rest it on my hip, but then getting it high enough to dump it is another story. I do it on a regular basis. Its hard but it can be done. So you are assuming now I can lift TWO water jugs above waist height?!? This is pretty far beyond the strength of the average women I know. You make it sound so easy but even a 'regular guy' is generally much stronger than a woman I have seen it my whole life, asking myself how a string bean of a man can be stronger than I am, but its the truth.

Could I work out and build more upper body strength? Of course! But I would like to be able to use my Jeep without having to rely on having to maintain an increased level of upper body strength or ask some other male friends to come over to help little old me with my jeep because I'm not strong enough, which is totally lame.

 

[BroncoHound]

No need to sigh; it’s all good and said in jest. Truth be told, I really admire your build and remembered it when I saw your username.

We’re simply trading snark for the snark you were giving. I’m not quite sure what type of responses you were expecting when suggesting OP simply do upper body workouts when asking about lightweight roof rack options.

Snark for snark, haha fair enough and well played!

To tell you the truth, I'm not sure what my expectations were. I got myself into trouble years ago in a similar vein; when I raced motorcycles, there would always be a couple guys in the paddocks with every carbon fiber piece of bodywork they could buy on their bikes, yet they all seemed to wear XXXL leathers. They would tell anyone who would listen about the 3.2oz of weight savings from their carbon fiber chainguard and a couple of times I opened my mouth and asked if they realized they could save more weight and turn faster lap times by skipping lunch instead. It never went over well. My approach has always been a little rough around the edges, and I get it: It's human nature to look outward for ways to change our environmental conditions to suit our nature, as that is much easier than looking inward for ways to change ourselves to better suit the environment.

That said, I really need to look inward for the motivation to update that build thread; I've had a draft started on my desktop for about 2 weeks now. I really should spend less time typing snark on others' threads and more time working on my own. Thanks for the kind words and gentle reminder haha.

I get what you are trying to say about my build's potential but working out to be able to take my hardtop off isn't exactly realistic.

Its not that difficult to lift that water jug up and rest it on my hip, but then getting it high enough to dump it is another story. I do it on a regular basis. Its hard but it can be done. So you are assuming now I can lift TWO water jugs above waist height?!? This is pretty far beyond the strength of the average women I know. You make it sound so easy but even a 'regular guy' is generally much stronger than a woman I have seen it my whole life, asking myself how a string bean of a man can be stronger than I am, but its the truth.

Could I work out and build more upper body strength? Of course! But I would like to be able to use my Jeep without having to rely on having to maintain an increased level of upper body strength or ask some other male friends to come over to help little old me with my jeep because I'm not strong enough, which is totally lame.

Fair enough; the roof top tent idea may be your limiting factor on rack selection. Generally the more lightweight racks (which are typically gutter mount like your Mopar kit) aren't going to carry the load capacity, most specifically the dynamic load capacity, for most of the RTT's on the market. The exceptions that I've seen are the Dee Zee mounting bars system as Terrurian mentioned above and the Exposed Racks system. Both use additional pressure points on the hard top to distribute the load and claim dynamic load ranges that accept most RTT's, though I personally would still be fairly wary of more aggressive off-road conditions with a tent attached to a roof rack that isn't mounted directly to the body. However if you don't anticipate any off-road conditions where you'll be jouncing the Jeep quite a bit, these might fit the bill. Personally I think the Dee Zee system looks a bit better engineered, though the Exposed Racks design works with your top off which would give you the ability to haul your kayak while topless.

Exposed Racks: https://www.smsparts.com

Both are designed AND manufactured in the USA, which the Rhino Rack and most of the drill-through designs can't say. The additional bonus is that both are easily removable from the top, so it wouldn't make getting the top off any more difficult.

If you aren't sold on the idea of a RTT, and depending on how much weight you planned on loading into the basket, your Mopar rails might actually be the best solution for you. Certainly the cheapest, since you already own them.

Sponsored