Roof rack

[rossj]

Hey Jasper nice roof rack. That air dam for the cage is a great idea. BTW I never did try folding it right back as stated.

[nic_nac17]

hey guys i just thought you might like a look at this one too this one is from America but just as good an has a ladder on the back an also pivots off the rear for taking the roof off easly an come with spotty rack too

http://www.gobijeep.com/JKL.htm
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[JasperJ]

Originally Posted by rossj

Hey Jasper nice roof rack. That air dam for the cage is a great idea. BTW I never did try folding it right back as stated.

Yeah John, I took the rods with me up to Rainbow a few weeks back but as I said they were actually useless. Far easier to rest the rack back on a jerry can or esky.

Originally Posted by nic_nac17

hey guys i just thought you might like a look at this one too this one is from America but just as good an has a ladder on the back an also pivots off the rear for taking the roof off easly an come with spotty rack too

http://www.gobijeep.com/JKL.htm
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Yep Nick the Gobi is a nice rack but nice at a premium! You won't get much change out of $2500 (or more) to get it here once freight duty and GST are added to the US$1400 price tag. I looked heavily into this and even drew up my own plans to get made locally. The quote came to about $2200 from a local bender and welder. The Congo Cage is heavy duty and not the prettiest, but it is cheap and you can vary how you use it. Basket, Crossbars or even a mesh deck. rossj had a roof top tent on his. I'm thinking of getting a mesh deck to go with the basket for a second spare when we go remote.

[Big90inOz]

The Kongo cage finally arrived today, apparently when Quadratec say they have it in stock they actually mean the manufacturer has it in stock who then has to send to quadratec who then send it on to the customer.

Anyway the rack arrived this morning and the first thing I noticed was how heavy the box was. All the parts are solid and all arrived in good shape.

Before anybody starts trying to fit one of these check you have all the socket sizes required and the different allan keys required.

I have to say that it was pretty much plain sailing which i was able to complete myself right up to joining the two roof bars to the front bracket when i got the wife to give me a hand.

Being male i did manage to use the wrong washers at one point which meant undoing some of my earlier work, should have read the instructions more carefully

I found working from the back to the front the easiest way to get the various joints to match up.

I would say all up it took me about 2 1/2 hrs to put up

My user name might give you a clue that I'm not a member of the anorexia club so I climbed on the rack and gave it a good shake, the rack did move but only to the rhythm of the rocking car. This rack appears to be solid but will get a decent workout loaded next week at Shark Bay.

All in I'm delighted with the rack.

Total cost for me was $757 with the exchange rate, picked up the Rhino basket and bag for $200 so delighted to get my storage problem solved for under $1000.

It will get it's first run down the freeway tomorrow so I will find out if there is a noise issue. i have read on the Jk site that wrapping a rope around the front bar can help.

[humdingerslammer]

Just a little note re the Congo Cage. In situations of bad vibration (eg, the Cape York track, Oodnadatta etc..) the two bolts that hold the front uprights to the front crossbar (they sit just near to/above the top line of the windscreen) can hit and will crack the windscreen if
1. the cage is not set on the highest forward tilt (the top setting on the rear bracket)
2. if the nut is fastened on the side closest to the windscreen. Make sure the nut is on the outside of the cage bar to have enough clearance for it and the bolt end not to hit the windscreen.

I know from experience.....

[Big90inOz]

Thanks for the tip
I just went out and checked, there is a 35mm clearance from the nut to the windscreen. I will change the bolt around to get the extra 5mm in the morning. I noticed from the photo's on page 1 that the back bracket has been changed, while that has two holes my back bracket just has the one. Maybe they have altered it so it's always at maximum forward tilt ?
As I said before this thing is absolutely solid, my 110kg frame cant get it too move even a fraction.

[JasperJ]

Originally Posted by Big90inOz

Thanks for the tip
I just went out and checked, there is a 35mm clearance from the nut to the windscreen. I will change the bolt around to get the extra 5mm in the morning. I noticed from the photo's on page 1 that the back bracket has been changed, while that has two holes my back bracket just has the one. Maybe they have altered it so it's always at maximum forward tilt ?
As I said before this thing is absolutely solid, my 110kg frame cant get it too move even a fraction.

I thought the same with regard to the rigidity, but with a load up there and a rutted track you can watch the rack move around in the mirrors, it's not much but there is definitely a bit of flex there.

So only one hole on the brackets now? I run the top hole with the soft top and generally run the bottom hole with the hard top, but that may change now with that new info.

Had a freeway run yet? I have seen the rope trick and rossj used it as well (ahh telecom rope, where would we be without it). I'm still tossing up whether to make a splitter plate up or to add a light bar to the front hoop.