Castle999
Member
- Thread starter
- #1
Roof Rack
I looked at Thule, Mopar and Rhino Rack, amongst others.
I didn't want to drill and preferred to not have the end of the rack bars extend out beyond the legs.
This left me with Rhino Rack's Vortex (SG59) that have a weight rating of 88 lbs.
For my 2-door, I did switch the front and rear bars for better fitment.
I also used 3M tape to prevent any scratches at the mounting points and to serve as a reference point for re-mounting.
I do have some long-term concerns about the roof rack.
Cargo/Roof Box
For my personal use, I don't need anything too large or bulky but do need space for bulky sporting equipment (e.g. skis and snowboards).
With 10-16 cubic feet of storage in mind, I looked at options from Yakima and Thule.
I figured this would also minimize any front and/or rear overhang, more on this later...
While neither brands are cheap, Yakima's considerably higher price point made it prohibitively expensive.
I ended up going with Thule's Pulse (size: Alpine) with a load capacity of 110 lbs.
Dry weight alone is 30 lbs.
I mounted it according to the instruction manual with ~24" of space b/w the front and rear crossbars.
This resulted in the front crossbar mounted on the driver and passenger freedom tops and the rear crossbar mounted to the rear hardtop.
The clamps attached to the rack without any problem and clear the freedom top by about ~2".
Now, for the moment of truth, front and rear clearances... As I mentioned before, I did have concerns about overhang in the front and back and expected there to be some on both ends.
For the front, it does hang over the front window but there is no sight of the box at all from inside.
The rear of the box also clears the window, when opened.
It worked out perfectly.
With this setup, I have put on several thousand miles including through mountains and snow.
There is no noticeable whistling or noise.
FWIW, on stock wheels and suspension, this setup has a height clearance is 7'3".
Many thanks again to all of you and the information shared.
It helped me make the best decision for me and I couldn't of done it on the first attempt without it.
Cheers!
I looked at Thule, Mopar and Rhino Rack, amongst others.
I didn't want to drill and preferred to not have the end of the rack bars extend out beyond the legs.
This left me with Rhino Rack's Vortex (SG59) that have a weight rating of 88 lbs.
For my 2-door, I did switch the front and rear bars for better fitment.
I also used 3M tape to prevent any scratches at the mounting points and to serve as a reference point for re-mounting.
I do have some long-term concerns about the roof rack.
Concern 1: The longevity of the mounting points to the rain gutters is something that I am now paranoid about.
As an experiment, I did not use any (blue) loctite but may apply some after some more mileage.
Concern 2: Also, after subtracting the 30 lbs of dry weight from the cargo box, I am left with +/- 50 lbs to load.
Weight distribution is also something that I am looking out for, as I don't want the bars to sag or to over load one side of the legs over the other.
The rack does flex under a medium amount of pressure applied directly to the top of the rack.
Cargo/Roof Box
For my personal use, I don't need anything too large or bulky but do need space for bulky sporting equipment (e.g. skis and snowboards).
With 10-16 cubic feet of storage in mind, I looked at options from Yakima and Thule.
I figured this would also minimize any front and/or rear overhang, more on this later...
While neither brands are cheap, Yakima's considerably higher price point made it prohibitively expensive.
I ended up going with Thule's Pulse (size: Alpine) with a load capacity of 110 lbs.
Dry weight alone is 30 lbs.
I mounted it according to the instruction manual with ~24" of space b/w the front and rear crossbars.
This resulted in the front crossbar mounted on the driver and passenger freedom tops and the rear crossbar mounted to the rear hardtop.
The clamps attached to the rack without any problem and clear the freedom top by about ~2".
Now, for the moment of truth, front and rear clearances... As I mentioned before, I did have concerns about overhang in the front and back and expected there to be some on both ends.
For the front, it does hang over the front window but there is no sight of the box at all from inside.
The rear of the box also clears the window, when opened.
It worked out perfectly.
With this setup, I have put on several thousand miles including through mountains and snow.
There is no noticeable whistling or noise.
FWIW, on stock wheels and suspension, this setup has a height clearance is 7'3".
Many thanks again to all of you and the information shared.
It helped me make the best decision for me and I couldn't of done it on the first attempt without it.
Cheers!
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