Jeep My Overland Project, the RME JKU

[benjy]

Probably the best looking roof rack I've seen on a JK

At first I was thinking I would walk away from buying a JK if I saw a rack mounted that bolts through the top, but after seeing pics it is definitely adding value!

 

[LT.]

I thought about that, but they are fairly thick (3/4"?) and they don't compress very well. My thought was that if I left the Hot Heads liners in place, the rack would have uneven distribution of weight on the middle mounts with all the load being set on the rear mounts. Also the hardtop would sit on the rear mounts, rather than the tub resulting in a poor seal. I also worried that drilling thru the liners would bunch up the material on the outside, pull it off the insulation and make it look like crap. It was easier (in my mind) to simply trim around the insulation and have the brackets sit against the hard top, as intended.

Gotcha. Nice job and a great explanation. Thanks.

LT.

 

[Greg]

Probably the best looking roof rack I've seen on a JK

At first I was thinking I would walk away from buying a JK if I saw a rack mounted that bolts through the top, but after seeing pics it is definitely adding value!

I agree Ben, it's well engineered piece of equipment! I'm very happy with the purchase and glad I didn't go with a standard round-tube rack.

Gotcha. Nice job and a great explanation. Thanks.

LT.

 

[Greg]

So I bought a cheap Harbor Freight electric hoist today and set it up to raise & lower the roof rack and hardtop. Tonight I removed the hard top, with the rack still bolted to it. It was a matter of removing 6 bolts from the rack, then the remaining bolts for the hard top! Having the electric hoist was awesome, but it runs a bit fast. I had the hardtop and roof rack removed within an hour! Then moved onto the doors... pretty sure they've never been off, as they were HARD to get out of the hinges. I'll put them back together with plenty of anti-seize. Once all that was done, the SpiderWeb shade went back on. I need to get a pair of mirrors to run with the doors gone, will figure that out tomorrow.

 

[Hickey]

My door less mirror fix is just a 5" round spot mirror with a bolt through the door hinge.

 

[TJDukit]

My door less mirror fix is just a 5" round spot mirror with a bolt through the door hinge.

Mine were square but same idea. O'Reilly has some cheap one or any motorcycle shop should have some easy and good looking solutions.

 

[Greg]

My door less mirror fix is just a 5" round spot mirror with a bolt through the door hinge.

Mine were square but same idea. O'Reilly has some cheap one or any motorcycle shop should have some easy and good looking solutions.

Great ideas guys, I think I actually have a set of extra motorcycle mirrors in the garage... I'll have to look.

 

[Greg]

Well, that was easy... Welder + spare bolts + old mirrors off a motorcycle = legal! They're a little ghetto fabbed, but will do the job and didn't cost anything.... I could have spent over $100 to get something similar from the aftermarket, but didn't have to!

 

[TJDukit]

Nice. Easy cheap and good looking solution. They might shake a bit at speed but will do the job nicely.

 

[Hickey]

Very nice.

 

[LT.]

Greg,

I have read your thread over and over again. I really enjoy seeing your build take shape and I have been thinking about your overall goals you had for your rig from the start. I am interested in copying your build to some extent with my J.O.AT. Sierra. Quick question first, why did you decide on changing the spare tire mount? It seems like the one you installed is not much different than the stock one. It still hangs off the body, right? I kinda thought it would be more sturdy if the spare would hang off the rear bumper instead?

Maybe I missed it somewhere. If I did I appologize in advance.

LT.

 

[I Lean]

Greg,

I have read your thread over and over again. I really enjoy seeing your build take shape and I have been thinking about your overall goals you had for your rig from the start. I am interested in copying your build to some extent with my J.O.AT. Sierra. Quick question first, why did you decide on changing the spare tire mount? It seems like the one you installed is not much different than the stock one. It still hangs off the body, right? I kinda thought it would be more sturdy if the spare would hang off the rear bumper instead?

Maybe I missed it somewhere. If I did I appologize in advance.

LT.

I'll answer for him.

The stock mount bolts to the tailgate, and with a larger tire it's pretty common to flex the tailgate enough to crack it, or have spot welds break, or bend it....the new mount replaces the factory hinges, and hangs the weight of the tire directly on the hinges rather than the tailgate itself. The body is actually pretty strong and surprisingly reinforced on the corners, so it works out.

I think it also moves the tire up higher, so it will clear bumpers and stuff.

 

[LT.]

I Lean,

Thank you for the quick response and for the information. I appreciate it.

LT.

 

[Greg]

Greg,

I have read your thread over and over again. I really enjoy seeing your build take shape and I have been thinking about your overall goals you had for your rig from the start. I am interested in copying your build to some extent with my J.O.AT. Sierra. Quick question first, why did you decide on changing the spare tire mount? It seems like the one you installed is not much different than the stock one. It still hangs off the body, right? I kinda thought it would be more sturdy if the spare would hang off the rear bumper instead?

Maybe I missed it somewhere. If I did I appologize in advance.

LT.

I'll answer for him.

Hey! As if you would know, you own a TJ!


Here's the deal LT.... The stock mount bolts to the tailgate, and with a larger tire it's pretty common to flex the tailgate enough to crack it, or have spot welds break, or bend it....the new mount replaces the factory hinges, and hangs the weight of the tire directly on the hinges rather than the tailgate itself. The body is actually pretty strong and surprisingly reinforced on the corners, so it works out.

Also it moves the tire up higher, so it will clear bumpers and stuff.

 

[TJDukit]

Hey! As if you would know, you own a TJ!


Here's the deal LT.... The stock mount bolts to the tailgate, and with a larger tire it's pretty common to flex the tailgate enough to crack it, or have spot welds break, or bend it....the new mount replaces the factory hinges, and hangs the weight of the tire directly on the hinges rather than the tailgate itself. The body is actually pretty strong and surprisingly reinforced on the corners, so it works out.

Also it moves the tire up higher, so it will clear bumpers and stuff.

I feel like I've read that somewhere recently.

 

[I Lean]

I feel like I've read that somewhere recently.

Wrong. Greg was more definite with the final sentence.

 

[LT.]

Thanks y'all. From the photos it looked like it was nearly the same piece that attached the same way. Other than a comment about how heavy the new piece was (23 lbs.) I couldn't see much difference.

LT.

 

[I Lean]

These two pics will illustrate the difference pretty well...stock has two tailgate hinges, and a completely separate tire carrier bolted to the tailgate.

Then the Tera version, doesn't rely on the tailgate for any tire-holding strength at all.

 

[ghetto]

Well, that was easy... Welder + spare bolts + old mirrors off a motorcycle = legal! They're a little ghetto fabbed, but will do the job and didn't cost anything.... I could have spent over $100 to get something similar from the aftermarket, but didn't have to!

Hey I didn't make those!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N915A using Tapatalk

 

[LT.]

These two pics will illustrate the difference pretty well...stock has two tailgate hinges, and a completely separate tire carrier bolted to the tailgate.

Then the Tera version, doesn't rely on the tailgate for any tire-holding strength at all.

Oh, that makes perfect sense now. I couldn't really picture what yall were saying before. Thank you very much.

LT.