roof rack/basket?

[Jeep Fan 99]

Anyone have any experiance with this J.C. Whitney roof rack? Price seems good.http://www.jcwhitney.com/product.jhtml?CATID=66101&BQ=jcw2

[Yucca-man]

Something about that product just screams "Steel Horse" at me..shop carefully.

[MungJeep]

At least it says it's made from aluminum - definitely not a "Rust Pony" product. If you get it, let us know how it works.

[Scorpion]

You could have someone build you one but the cost would probably be much more...it would be much more durable though. I guess you could say that with 4x4 products, you really get what you pay for.

[Yucca-man]

Originally posted by MungJeep
At least it says it's made from aluminum - definitely not a "Rust Pony" product. If you get it, let us know how it works.

Don't be so certain...if anyone can come up with a way for aluminum to rust, I would count on Tin Gelding..errr...Steel Horse to do it.

(Master of Useless Information note): Aluminum does in fact rust, but aluminum oxide becomes a surface protectant, unlike iron oxide which eats into lower levels of the metal. 8O

Jim

[Dookie]

Uh, yeah. From personal experience - check my sig. - steer away from the steel horse - or similar product. It hasn't rusted, but it makes a WHOLE lot of noise rattling around, if you have it loaded with gear or a tire. Save up and spend the extra few $$$'s on a good rack - one that will hard mount to your gutters or something. Conn-fer?

[nbrennan]

As strange as it may seem, check out Yakima racks. They fit XJs prefectly, have 2 different baskets, a spare tire mount, fairings and mounting options galore. You can mount them to your raingutters, the factory rack's tracks or use their QTowers, which are tough as nails. Plus the system is very versitle. Snowboards, bikes, kayaks, gear, anything can be loaded onto it. www.yakima.com

Have you looked into Wilderness Roof Racks? I just received a catalouge in the mail and their stuff looks pretty beefy and able to handle large loads.

[Dookie]

Yakima or Thule will work really well. I had a Thule - which is, in my opinion, very close in quality, design and price to Yakima - on my '96, and it worked VERY well. No problems at all.

[nbrennan]

I agree with you Dookie. I forgot about Thule in my reply. Thule makes *****in stuff too. Both thule and Yakima are about the same in price and quality and customer service too.

[Jeep Fan 99]

Thanks to all who replyed! It says it will hold up to 250lb. evenly distributed. I might try it. A rack for under $200 seems pretty good. I think all I'll have up there is soft lugage, tent, sleeping bags, hi-lift. If I get it, I'll let you all know how it holds up. Thanks again!

[Dookie]

I've had my steel horse for a year now - no problems other than what I shared earlier. Not bad for the $$$.