Custom modular JK hardtop
#1131
When the company that's doing many of my hardware designs saw the JK Safari Cab, they wanted to use it in their SEMA booth to show off the hardware products. Unfortunately they had booked their booth months ago and it wasn't large enough for a vehicle and they couldn't change it, so they couldn't use the Jeep in the booth this year. They decided to feature the Jeep in the booth anyway:
The photo is pretty much life-size. The Jeep has the side mount jerry can holders, the tailgate reinforcement and hinges, a spare-mount carrying an ammo can, and the hinge-mount jack carrier.
The photo is pretty much life-size. The Jeep has the side mount jerry can holders, the tailgate reinforcement and hinges, a spare-mount carrying an ammo can, and the hinge-mount jack carrier.
#1135
#1137
Can you pm me the company info on these storage options? I am needing something like this ASAP! Havn a JK..I need all the storage I can get!!
#1138
Also be careful about movement - if the load, even a light one, is moving around because of bumps in the road or wind, or if the board is longer than the rack and rocks a bit like a seesaw, that could flex the fiberglass and with enough flexing over time cracks could develop.
I believe the Cherokee owners manual says the roof rack weight limit is 150 lbs. That's on a Cherokee, not on a fiberglass JK hardtop, so don't go anywhere near that weight.
Also, when I carry heavier loads on my racks (like the roof top tent) I don't use the factory Cherokee crossbars - I use Surco XJ rack channel adapters and heavier crossbars - back to the reasons I chose the XJ/ZJ rack, there are lots of aftermarket accessories for the racks. Here's a photo of the Surco adapters with stronger cross bars on my LJ, this is what I mount the RTT on:
Lots of information so you don't get in trouble .
Good luck.
I believe the Cherokee owners manual says the roof rack weight limit is 150 lbs. That's on a Cherokee, not on a fiberglass JK hardtop, so don't go anywhere near that weight.
Also, when I carry heavier loads on my racks (like the roof top tent) I don't use the factory Cherokee crossbars - I use Surco XJ rack channel adapters and heavier crossbars - back to the reasons I chose the XJ/ZJ rack, there are lots of aftermarket accessories for the racks. Here's a photo of the Surco adapters with stronger cross bars on my LJ, this is what I mount the RTT on:
Lots of information so you don't get in trouble .
Good luck.
In regards to the stress on the fiberglass, another user did a write-up on here and used some 3/4" x 1/8" flat bar on the underside of his roof to help distribute the load. Although some brackets like you've created would work even better, he seems to have had good success with it, so I'm going to do the same: https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/jk-s...rd-top-251084/. Worst comes to worst, after a while it cracks and hopefully by then, your Safari top is on the market and I have an excuse to buy a new hardtop!
#1139
Sorry to go off-topic and bring this back up Jscherb, but I just picked up an old roof rack off an XJ at my local junkyard to throw on my JK in time for winter. One thing I've noticed is that the Control Towers that are connected to the Crossbars are kind of 'loose' after removing them from the XJ. This makes it somewhat difficult to know exactly how much spacing to leave between the two tracks. Since you've done a couple of these, do you happen to know how much distance you left, side-to-side, between the tracks? I should have had a tape measure with me and measured it on the XJ, but of course, I forgot, and I just want to ensure I don't make it too narrow or wide to bind up the crossbars if I need to slide them forward or backward.
In regards to the stress on the fiberglass, another user did a write-up on here and used some 3/4" x 1/8" flat bar on the underside of his roof to help distribute the load. Although some brackets like you've created would work even better, he seems to have had good success with it, so I'm going to do the same: https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/jk-s...rd-top-251084/. Worst comes to worst, after a while it cracks and hopefully by then, your Safari top is on the market and I have an excuse to buy a new hardtop!
In regards to the stress on the fiberglass, another user did a write-up on here and used some 3/4" x 1/8" flat bar on the underside of his roof to help distribute the load. Although some brackets like you've created would work even better, he seems to have had good success with it, so I'm going to do the same: https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/jk-s...rd-top-251084/. Worst comes to worst, after a while it cracks and hopefully by then, your Safari top is on the market and I have an excuse to buy a new hardtop!
#1140
That being said, I think my options are to either A) Cut the overall Length of the Crossbar to place the roof rails on top of the thicker section of the hardtop and drill 2 new holes for the plastic adapters (cheap, route) or B) Place the roof rails in their proper location outside of the ribs and use the Surco Channel Adapters and Crossbars. I think I'll be opting for the latter. That being said, are the Surco Channel Adapters you have Surco P/N J100? The website just says "Jeep Adapter." Thanks again!