Jeep Cherokee Roof "cargo" rack decisions.

[4.3LXJ]

I hear ya on those connectors. However that zinc on the outside of the EMT makes for lousy welds

[98FloridaXJ]

I'm not worried about that, one thing my brother in law can do is weld. If he can make race certified roll cages and weld up stainless and aluminum I'm sure that my EMT will be a walk in the park.

[4.3LXJ]

Okie Dokie. It can be done, and I have done it. But I hate welding galvanized stuff. I need to weld one up for me too I think this year. We seem to be outgrowing the back area of the XJ

[98FloridaXJ]

Yeah having the spare, hi lift and other misc. items in the rear my storage space keeps getting smaller. A roof rack would really help out with that problem. The other thing I need to look into fabbing up is a rear bumper with a tire carrier but I want to keep the stock end caps.

[4.3LXJ]

I used a stock carrier that I modified to fit my custom bumper. However it hasn't been adequate and needs to be rebuilt

[98FloridaXJ]

Yeah I like the idea of the tailbone from Detours but with the backorder status of those and my rear bumper skin needing to be changed I'd like to make a beefy bumper that uses the stock end caps but incorporates a tire carrier.

[gary63]

4.3lxj you might look at the wilderness expedition racks it would be easy to biuld one.
I picked up one becouse it was cheap at the time now and it will be easy to change it make it longer shorter higher or what ever.If you think you might go that way and need pix or sizes and can get that.it is strong it will hold up to 500 lbs..When I put it on 3 of us climed up on top and it didn't sag or bow.

[4.3LXJ]

I'm still mulling in over about what I want to do. Right now I am involved in antirock type sway bars and linking the rear with a sway bar also. Just finished the front locker. So still day dreaming about what I want to do

[98FloridaXJ]

Yeah my dream list is long while my budget is short, for me it just means I get to be creative.

[4.3LXJ]

That is one reason I fab almost everything. Besides, no one makes the stuff I want

[SteveMongr]

Nates4x4.com
4' x 6' Roof Rack
300 shipped.
Bare Metal.

[RainShadow]

The only thing that holds me back from using the factory roof rack cross bars as an attachment point is how "weak" the connection is where the crossbar meets the slider mechanism -- very flimsy (sp). Also the new XJ's do not have full roof factory rails.
Personally I would have to go with a gutter mount attachment and this would handle more weight also and would be more stable.
The problem is selecting one or making one ??? Most of the racks I see are multipurpose racks that attach to the factory crossbars ..... I would also be
attaching: Hi-Lift jack, shovel, and misc camping gear.

The search continues ......

Randy from Oceanside, CA

[denverd1]

I think you could use rubber washers and a bit of marine silicone and get away with bolting through the roof itself. Only issue is if you tear it off, you've got a big ass hole in your roof. Since I have the stock "rack" up there, I'm going to look at going into the side bars and hope the plastic breaks instead of the thin roof material.

[bluedragon436]

I'm looking at picking up either the gutter mount or going to pick up an aftermarket rail setup that replaces the stock rails, but uses the track itself... mainly that way I can remove the rack and throw my kayak brackets up there...

[4x4Dalton]

Here's mine that I made. I know a lot of you have seen this and read the thread. Since makin it I did have to weld the joints after time. Still sturdy and strong.



This shows what I came up with to mount it to rails. It ain't movin.