Dscott326
Active Member
Would love to see some picturesHi Everyone - GOOD NEWS for all you out there that have been looking for a Roof Rack for your Sky Touch roofs. THULE is very close to rolling out an entirely new roof rack system for new JL Wranglers with "Sky Touch" retractable roof systems.
Back in Oct. of 2019 when I first purchased my 2020 4D Rubicon, I quickly noticed the "product gap" in THULE, YAKIMA, and other roof rack systems that were not yet designed for the Sky Touch tops. Desperate for a functional roof rack system to care bikes, plywood, 2X4s, etc., at the time I installed my old standard 8" high 300R THULE gutter mount footers the classic Thule "square" bars. I used them for years on an old Ford F-150 XLT and they worked fine but had truly deafening wind noise at 62+ mph. Interstate driving was not so much fun....
In late 2019, I posted a long e-mail on the THULE website basically pleading with them to design a roof rack system for the new Wrangler JLs with Sky Touch roofs. All they needed to do was design a new set of 8" high 300R gutter mount footers that could adapt to or fit with the new generation Aeroblade and Wingbar EVO load bars. THULE's customer service is stellar. Not more than 1 month after posting the initial e-mail on their website, one of their technical support reps called me in Jan. of 2020 and said they had a plan to develop a new system for JL Sky Touch roofs. Their initial product roll out was supposed to occur in April of 2020. Then COVID hit in mid-March and it was delayed until October. After the supply chain issues started happening last fall, they went silent. Crickets.
Well, miraculously another one of their service reps (a really nice guy) reached out to me last week and offered me the chance to "product test" their newly developed 8" and 11" high standard 300R Rapid Gutter Mount Foot pack + Wingbar EVO load bars. He sent an entire system to me yesterday, all for no cost to keep, and I have mounted them on the 2020 RUBI. The 8" footers easily clear the Sky Touch roof when it retracts. The 11" high mounts are not necessary and actually look very odd.
After installing the new 8" high footers + Wingbar EVO load bars earlier today, I could barely hear the noise while driving the Jeep on the Interstate at 72-76 mph (note: I have stock 33" Bridgestone KO2s, not the larger 35" or 37" tires so my RUBI is reasonably quiet anyway). It was an utterly astonishing improvement, easily a 90%+ reduction in wind noise over the THULE square bars due to the smooth aerodynamics of the Wingbar Evo bars. Once I tightened the knob tension to 5-6 newton meters (Nm), the bars are rock solid. They make no noises or creaking of any kind when I pull in and out of the driveway, hit bumps or curbs, or turn the truck.
THULE is very close to a formal roll out of the new 8" and 11" 300R mounts. The current estimate is July of 2021. So tickle your calendars to check their website in July. The new 8" and 11" 300R gutter mounts will fit either the THULE Aeroblade load bars or the THULE Wingbar EVO load bars. I have tried both and they do work with either, which is another nice feature of the new design.
I will post pictures on this thread tomorrow. At any rate, I hope this new industry color helps and many of you can enjoy the new THULE system when it comes out. In the meantime, get back outdoors and enjoy your Jeep!
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