JK Roof Rack

[Baskerville Bill]

Hey Guys/Girls,

I purchased a roof rack unit for my JK two door second hand (Kango Cage Brand). It appears the fella has welded the whole thing together as I can see places where a pin is supposed to go through the tubing.

My question is when I fitted the rack, it was under a lot of tension and I needed a big strong mate to pull the bars away from the front windscreen pillars as I was lowering it down to put the bolts in.
It now means its quite difficult to lift up the rack to take off the rear canopy.

Have you guys heard of people welding these racks rigid before and if so whats the advantage? I m thinking off getting someone to cut it again and add an internal tube so that its not under so much pressure..

Thoughts anyone?


Cheers
Billy

[jkason]

Maybe double check with the guy you purchased it from.
Ask him if he welded it?

[st_za]

If it's on the driver's side, does it look like it was cut to maybe fit a snorkel and something welded in for strength?

[Baskerville Bill]

Thanks guys,

The actual cage looks like it originally came in sections with joining areas on the horizontal bars in each of the 4 corners. I was wondering if other jeep owners which have a full cage style rack could shed any light regarding how the rack is put together.

I was thinking that the original owner may have welded it to stop it rattling or squeaking??

[spotty dog 360]

I have a Congo, have had it for seven or so years,and it does get loose in the connecting bolts and rattle,but I just tightened .Im probably at the point where Ill put slightly larger bolts in rather than weld.If its been overloaded it may have settled in a bit and the original alignment is out a bit,mine is a little awkward to put back on from scratch,but easy enough to raise and lower.

[humdingerslammer]

KargoMaster Congo Cage roof rack comes disassembled as 2 long pipes that attach to a front and a rear c- shaped bar. The front attaches to the front windscreen. The rear, which has longer legs, attaches to 2 brackets at the rear. The whole contraption is held together with bolts...

The long pipes insert into short "stems" on the front and rear C section thingies.

The rated weight is about 100kgs from memory ( Have a memory, and the cage). The short "stems" that the long pipes fit into r prone to crack from stress etc and it is a good idea to weld gussets each side of them, front and rear, for added strength. The front bracket that attaches to the windshield is also prone to stress fractures and needs a brace welded under it.

I add 2 extra lengths of pipe with fence fixer thingies to reduce the amount of flex on the original pipes (which r really not very strong bits of tubing).

I have had my KM Congo cage for about 9 years and have made these adjustments over the years and it is still going strong. Always overloaded and takes a hammering on outback trips... its a good idea to reinforce it as I have said.

I reckon welding it all together as yours seems to have been will put a lot of stress on where it is bolted on at the front windshield and the rear brackets... things might break where they should not.

I find when I put mine on, I need to push the front pillar bits toward the w/screen, rather than away, but I can do this myself. When u next have the rack off, bash the pipe bits a bit so that it fits/comes on and off more easily.The cage itself is not exactly a precision made bit of kit but it does the job.

You might be able to download fitment instructions from Quadratec.com


Hope this helps.

[Baskerville Bill]

Cheers Spotty and Humdinger

your reply's are greatly appreciated.

I am going to try and bend it out and see if I can line things up a bit better.

Bill