What roof rack for painted top?

[BuckinBronco69]

I'm currently in the same boat with the painted roof and shallow pocket. Who would have thought pocket depth envy was a real thing... I jest. Quick question, was it just the foot that inserts into the pocket too long? Could the foot be trimmed down to the 1/2" and fit? Or is the width from left pocket to right pocket also further apart? I'm assuming it's only the pocket depth that's different and a shorter leg that goes into the pocket would work. Can you tell where the crack happened?

The clamp contour is based off the MIC/other design. Their rack exerts immense upward force when the clamps are joined, thus the cracking/splitting of pieces.

A design where clamps are assembled first and a rack bolted onto that would be the safest bet. Prinsu racks is an example.

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[stom_m3]

The clamp contour is based off the MIC/other design. Their rack exerts immense upward force when the clamps are joined, thus the cracking/splitting of pieces.

A design where clamps are assembled first and a rack bolted onto that would be the safest bet. Prinsu racks is an example.

Interesting so you’re saying that the vertical (top edge of roof to pocket) distance is different from MIC to painted roof? If that’s the case then cutting down the leg length for less insertion wouldn’t work then? If the vertical distance is different, possibly slotting the hole instead. Sorry just trying to see how we can get the TrailRax rack to work.

 

[BuckinBronco69]

Interesting so you’re saying that the vertical (top edge of roof to pocket) distance is different from MIC to painted roof? If that’s the case then cutting down the leg length for less insertion wouldn’t work then? If the vertical distance is different, possibly slotting the hole instead. Sorry just trying to see how we can get the TrailRax rack to work.

A shorter slot insertional depth may allow it to fit the slot better and not have a huge gap in the horizontal plane. The design depends a lot on the clamps with the thick yoga mat foam resting on the roof so one would need to account for that somehow.

Slotting the holes to provide some adjustability in the vertical plane may address the height, but I suspect there would be increased play in this area and if may loosen or crack at those holes. The 100lbs+ racks weight would be primarily weighted on that area, not even accounting for load on the rack.

 

[wjlapier]

What company did some of you go with for your shallow depth painted roof? I’ve been researching this and the other issue of removing the panels and decided to call Trailmax. They said to measure and get back to them. My ‘25 Heritage has the same issue as the rest of you. My need for now is to mount Roam Cargo boxes using their rugged mount. I’ve looked at other t slotted bars which I wished someone would make for the oem roof rack. So far, Thule makes them but they clamp to the rail and raises the profile higher than I was hoping for. I’ll call Leitner today about the painted roof slots now I’m willing to pay more than a $1000 for the rack.

 

[BuckinBronco69]

Doing further research today, the other issue in play may be the actual width of the load bearing portions of non compatible racks where the clamps attach.

The clamp attachment point is based on MIC design, and I suspect this is slightly different in the shallow slot painted tops since the roof countour is also different.

How the clamps fit in the slots is one thing, but where they actually clamp on the main rack is another. If this is too far inboard it will further contribute to increased clamping force on the roof.

@wjlapier if you look at the CAD files of Leitner rack the clamps are based off MIC design from the looks of it.

I have seen some people post the Hooke Road racks on painted tops, but there’s a video on YouTube of a dude with MIC top having loosening and squeaking where he had to modify the padding. This makes me think fit with painted top will not be great.

 

[wjlapier]

@BuckinBronco69 Leitner replied their roof rack will work with the painted top:

“Thank you for contacting Leitner Designs. Our roof rack is compatible with the Painted Hard top! Please let us know if you have any other questions.”

When the rack arrives first thing I’ll unpack is the clamp and check that it truly does fit properly. I’ve seen some clamps that are installed and you can see the clamp bowing out a little. That’s not acceptable to me.

 

[Cpt.America]

Hey, I'm back. I just got back from my local Ford dealership to inquire about what Ford might be doing to correct this problem, as advised by trailrax, and as expected, they haven't heard of this issue at all. The service manager is going to ping his regional guy to see if HE has heard anything about this, and should be texting or calling me today or tomorrow to know if that individual has heard anything... but my hopes are low.

At this point, the bronco seems to be a bit of a bust if your plan is do any kind of real overlanding. If you have the non-painted top, you're doomed to a life of never-ending delamination and cracking. If you have a painted top (at least the newer ones), you cannot run a roof rack.

This is just... bananas to me.

One other strange thing the manager told me, was that for some reason, if you want to buy your OWN non-painted hard top directly from ford (perhaps your top is cracking and the replacement was denied so you want to buy out-of-pocket), the price has changed from 5k, to FIFTEEN THOUSAND DOLLARS... 15k. What is ford doing?

 

[Cpt.America]

Heard back from the service manager today.. a great guy, but as expected, even the regional manager guy had no idea what we were talking about. First anybody has ever heard of it around here, apparently. All they could do was look up my vin and provide a list of OEM supplied roof racks compatible with my bronco.

As I anticipated, Trailrax is telling me to contact ford, ford is telling me to contact Trailrax.

 

[F-Spot]

With the variances in the MOD tops, the best roof rack might be the Gobi racks.

 

[TrailRax]

Heard back from the service manager today.. a great guy, but as expected, even the regional manager guy had no idea what we were talking about. First anybody has ever heard of it around here, apparently. All they could do was look up my vin and provide a list of OEM supplied roof racks compatible with my bronco.

As I anticipated, Trailrax is telling me to contact ford, ford is telling me to contact Trailrax.

Hi! We are currently developing a solution for Ford Bronco painted hardtops with this measurement variation. Please submit your email at the bottom of this blog so you can to be notified first if testing is successful and the new clamps becomes available. Thank you for your patience!
https://trailrax.com/blogs/news/fitment-alert-bronco-painted-hardtop-compatibility

 

[Cpt.America]

Hi! We are currently developing a solution for Ford Bronco painted hardtops with this measurement variation. Please submit your email at the bottom of this blog so you can to be notified first if testing is successful and the new clamps becomes available. Thank you for your patience!
https://trailrax.com/blogs/news/fitment-alert-bronco-painted-hardtop-compatibility

The rack broke my roof so we're still trying to figure out if we are sending it back or not. Do we think this might be a month or two? or a year or two before the are ready?

 

[wjlapier]

We just finished installing the Leitner ACS roof rack. I’m relieved it worked out so we can continue with our plan to mount cargo boxes and other accessories. Before I bought the racks I contacted them and they said they it would mount on the painted roof. And the roof panels can come off as well.

 

[chris harley]

Hi wjlapier,
does your Heritage have the full depth 1 inch deep slots for the mounting clamps, or the shallower 1/2” deep slots? If it has the shallow slots, and the Leitner rack fit, then it should be fine on my Badlands with the black painted top.
thanks!

 

[TrailRax]

The rack broke my roof so we're still trying to figure out if we are sending it back or not. Do we think this might be a month or two? or a year or two before the are ready?

We are expecting to have the new rear clamps in hand mid-May!

 

[wjlapier]

Hi wjlapier,
does your Heritage have the full depth 1 inch deep slots for the mounting clamps, or the shallower 1/2” deep slots? If it has the shallow slots, and the Leitner rack fit, then it should be fine on my Badlands with the black painted top.
thanks!

The slots were definitely not 1”. And when I contacted Trailmax and others I checked the depth then Leitner replied their‘s would fit. Interestingly, the price jumped $550 shortly after we bought ours which was a little over two weeks ago.

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