Roof Rack dilema - JK 2dr '12
 

Hi Guys,

Long time lurker, first time poster :)
I recently purchased a Dozer yellow 2dr JK 2012 and am enjoying it a lot.

The idea behind the purchase was to have a fun summer car that could carry the bikes and stand up paddle boards around, as well as some beach 4wd'ing.

So I need a roof rack to carry a very basic 10 foot paddle board, with the following criteria;
- avoiding the huge units that bolt onto the frame/chassis as I still want to be able to use the hard top hoist in the garage, plus they are exxy
- 2 bar system is fine but the bars need to be as close to the front and rear as possible due to the length of the board (a 2 bar system that just utilises the rear section of the hardtop or just the freedom panels is useless on a door)
- happy to have a system that is attached to the hardtop
- got excited about the MBRP off camber farbications system but turns out it won't fit 2012 onwards (I think it is to do with the size of the side window on the hardtop)!
- thinking of using something like a Rola gutter mount one at the front, and a drilled in version (like a thule) at the back, but then i'm up to buy 2 separate systems!

So now I'm kinda stumped! :wall:

Is there any suggestions for people like me who have 2012 onwards 2dr hardtop that carry long boards on their roof?

Cheers
Alex

Congrats on getting the JK.

You can get some bar systems that fix directly to the hard top, either gutter mount or drilling. I would personally avoid them as the hard top is not structural. While the weight you're putting up top might not overload the roof, remember that with paddle boards and the likes it is not just the weight acting down you need to be concerned about but also the force acting upwards as the wind tries to rip the boards off the roof. Some do use these but for me it would be too great a risk. Also, the ones that drill in will only fix to the rear section of the hard top. They will not fix to the freedom panels as they are only bolted in place. Try putting anything on the freedom panels (gutter mount or not) and I think you'll be looking for leaks every times it rains.

That leaves the large eco-cage type or the systems like Rhino etc that fix through (not to) the hard top. As you say, eco-cages are cumbersome and expensive. Ultimately they are the strongest but they may be overkill for what you need. The Rhino backbone (and there are are others) require drilling into the hard top but the weight is support by internal frames to the tub or directly to the roll cage. Not sure how many of these are available for the 2dr as I've never looked but again they will only fix to the main hardtop section. You would be able to get a slightly larger platform style rack to fix to these though which will allow you to fasten more stuff to it. These are cheaper than the eco-cage type and the Rhino (not sure about the others) is easy to remove and store so that you can fit into low car parks if needed.

Thanks Paul,

The Rhino Rack Backbone system is actually not bad at all. Do you think the bars are far enough apart to support a centered paddle board. I reckon it's going to hang out the back a fair bit, which shouldn't be too much of an issue.

The other thing I suppose I could do is get something like a light bar to fit around the front window to act as a 3rd bar...hmmm. :)

Just really surprised these vehicles don't have a one of system for people who want to carry long boards.....I can't be the only one LOL :D

Thanks for your thoughts though mate, very helpful.

If you look at Rhino backbone system with 2 bars, you actually enter the same price range as a quite a few cages style racks.
The 2 bars for Rhino system are all located at back, so not a very good for supporting paddle boards. You probably need the extra support in front which is only available with cage style racks like SRC rack, Kargo Master rack, Warrior watercraft rack etc.. They are all around the 700~900 mark.

Yep, appreciate that, but as I mentioned, I want to steer clear of those huge things as I want to be able to still use the hardtop hoist in my garage. Also, and it's just my opinion, but I'm not a fan of the looks of the cage type setups.

I'm going to see if I can find a front windshield/light bar that I can use to tie the front of the board to, as well as utilise as an actual light bar for an LED strip or something.

Having the 2dr makes it a little harder too, as in shorter roof length. I used to have a older-style Kargo Master cage, mostly to carry my short (2.6m) fishing kayak, and even then it would overhang the crossbars by about half metre. Sick and tired of taking the cage apart to stop the water getting inside the bloody thing, and also having a dodgey back, pulled the cage off and bought a 4ft x 7ft trailer. MUCH easier now. Don't know about using a light bar, not really designed for it and if driving a bit at night with your board on, the fins are designed to dissipate heat away from the light. Just another 5c.

If you have a bullbar or nudge bar you could make something like this to support the front of the board for far less than they are asking. Easy to put on, take off.
http://roofrack.com.au/ute-roof-rack...-subframe.html