Comprehensive Roof Rack Comparison 5/2024

[PEGB]

So don’t say I never did anything for ya. Here’s a spreadsheet of a large number of the available roof racks available to us as of now, May 2024.

Link: Bronco Roof Rack Options Spreadsheet

I’ll note, I built it based on my interests. I’m not interested in the half a dozen or so Chinese clones circulating on amazon and elsewhere. Nothing against anyone who enjoys them, I’m just not interested, and I wrote the spreadsheet. More specifically I’m looking for something that will allow me to take off my TOR targa with minimal effort, won’t rust to shit in the salt bowl I live in, has accessories options available for mounting etc., and will be reasonably durable. While I was at it I added some columns that I hope will help others.

I’m willing to maintain this for a little while moving forward, so if you gather some information that fills in any of the gaps in the spreadsheet and you want to help others out, let me know and I’ll correct. Please don’t waste either of our times‘ on pricing corrections. We would be all day trying to track those. I listed MSRP to the best of my ability. If anyone knows how to embed this in the thread feel free.

For the record, I still haven’t found the ideal solution for me in any of these, I may just buy one that’s cheaper and plan to toss it if something more suitable comes available in the future.

Thanks for checking it out. I hope someone finds it helpful.Bronco Roof Rack Spreadsheet 05/2024

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[Hemisfear]

I'm completely happy with OEM.
I don't like the appearance of the flat aluminum meccano set options out there, I've personally seen one brand break on trail.
I've found solutions to everything I need to attach to it, even though it would be nice to have more support.

 

[Jo8n]

.... If anyone knows how to embed this in the thread feel free.

...

I think if you link it as a Google sheet, it shows a preview. That's what it did in my threads though those were years ago. The same might be true if you share it as a link via Office 365 and include said link here.

 

[PEGB]

Thanks. I tried that but it’s just a link to the OneDrive. Maybe it’s a google feature.

 

[JediMcMuffin]

I do see on the expedition one rack where they have a way to pivot the rack out of the way, but absolutely no real world reviews I can find and no good video reviews of that function in action.

When I put my Turn Offroad top on and a TrailRax on top of it, I kind of just accepted the fact that my open air vehicle days were over. Maybe that will change down the road.

 

[Shrek27]

@PEGB Looks like paralysis by analysis going on here, what is it you want the rack to do that these won't cover? Or maybe the one that will is just too expensive?

@Hemisfear I just pulled off my OEM rack finding it utterly useless and just making noise up there. Do you have some pics of your solutions?

 

[PEGB]

I do see on the expedition one rack where they have a way to pivot the rack out of the way, but absolutely no real world reviews I can find and no good video reviews of that function in action.

When I put my Turn Offroad top on and a TrailRax on top of it, I kind of just accepted the fact that my open air vehicle days were over. Maybe that will change down the road.

Yep. It's on the spreadsheet. No side rack. Very limited reviews. No idea about hardware composition. Zero information about static or dynamic load available (although I take that all with a grain of sand even if it is available). Attached are the only two pictures EO claims to have with it open. Install instructions attached.

 

[PEGB]

@PEGB Looks like paralysis by analysis going on here, what is it you want the rack to do that these won't cover? Or maybe the one that will is just too expensive?

@Hemisfear I just pulled off my OEM rack finding it utterly useless and just making noise up there. Do you have some pics of your solutions?

That's a fair observation, and likely accurate;-). But I've got the extra cognitive spend available, and figured while I was working on a solution for myself, others might appreciate a consolidated list of options. If I had a magic wand I guess I'd like something modular with lots of options like the FrontRunner that has side rack options like the trailrax etc., pivots like the gobi or EO, is of properly engineered aluminum structure, and looks somewhat complementary to the vehicle (I know, subjective). Notice cost isn't really on my list. I know the difference between price and cost. I've got a trailrax sitting in it's boxes in my garage that I'm taking loss on because to me, what's the point of a removable top, if you can't remove the top lol?

For anyone else shopping for a roof rack, Memorial Day sales are starting to hit. Good Luck!

P.S. Anyone else who is of similar mind might consider the Raket. Nice guy answers the phone, and it meets nearly all the above "wants" aside from it being ugly, in my opinion. It's one of the few I've actually seen in person, and I just couldn't overlook the form no matter how badly I wanted to.

 

[JediMcMuffin]

That's a fair observation, and likely accurate;-). But I've got the extra cognitive spend available, and figured while I was working on a solution for myself, others might appreciate a consolidated list of options. If I had a magic wand I guess I'd like something modular with lots of options like the FrontRunner that has side rack options like the trailrax etc., pivots like the gobi or EO, is of properly engineered aluminum structure, and looks somewhat complementary to the vehicle (I know, subjective). Notice cost isn't really on my list. I know the difference between price and cost. I've got a trailrax sitting in it's boxes in my garage that I'm taking loss on because to me, what's the point of a removable top, if you can't remove the top lol?

For anyone else shopping for a roof rack, Memorial Day sales are starting to hit. Good Luck!

P.S. Anyone else who is of similar mind might consider the Raket. Nice guy answers the phone, and it meets nearly all the above "wants" aside from it being ugly, in my opinion. It's one of the few I've actually seen in person, and I just couldn't overlook the form no matter how badly I wanted to.

I had the RAKET when I still had a soft top. It was so damn loud. I took it off, and took a 50% hit selling it off. I cannot even tell the TrailRax is up there noise-wise. The "ugly" part is not normally something that would bother me, but it really isn't great looking, and its REALLY heavy in my opinion.

Also, the RAKET is not a tool-less rack removal. There are four 17mm bolts to be removed. The pins are merely there for security and for installation/removal of the rack.

 

[PEGB]

Grea

I had the RAKET when I still had a soft top. It was so damn loud. I took it off, and took a 50% hit selling it off. I cannot even tell the TrailRax is up there noise-wise. The "ugly" part is not normally something that would bother me, but it really isn't great looking, and its REALLY heavy in my opinion.

Also, the RAKET is not a tool-less rack removal. There are four 17mm bolts to be removed. The pins are merely there for security and for installation/removal of the rack.

Great Information! Thank you for sharing that. I wasn’t aware it had those issues.

 

[Hemisfear]

@PEGB Looks like paralysis by analysis going on here, what is it you want the rack to do that these won't cover? Or maybe the one that will is just too expensive?

@Hemisfear I just pulled off my OEM rack finding it utterly useless and just making noise up there. Do you have some pics of your solutions?

I never noticed any noise when I added mine, I assume you mean wind noise?
No pics at the moment, I have a RTT, awning and shovel mounted when needed.
I also might add side racks at some point, I'll just use one from an aftermarket rack supplier and figure out a mount, it's not rocket science! lol

 

[Summit981]

So don’t say I never did anything for ya. Here’s a spreadsheet of a large number of the available roof racks available to us as of now, May 2024.

Link: Bronco Roof Rack Options Spreadsheet

I’ll note, I built it based on my interests. I’m not interested in the half a dozen or so Chinese clones circulating on amazon and elsewhere. Nothing against anyone who enjoys them, I’m just not interested, and I wrote the spreadsheet. More specifically I’m looking for something that will allow me to take off my TOR targa with minimal effort, won’t rust to shit in the salt bowl I live in, has accessories options available for mounting etc., and will be reasonably durable. While I was at it I added some columns that I hope will help others.

I’m willing to maintain this for a little while moving forward, so if you gather some information that fills in any of the gaps in the spreadsheet and you want to help others out, let me know and I’ll correct. Please don’t waste either of our times‘ on pricing corrections. We would be all day trying to track those. I listed MSRP to the best of my ability. If anyone knows how to embed this in the thread feel free.

For the record, I still haven’t found the ideal solution for me in any of these, I may just buy one that’s cheaper and plan to toss it if something more suitable comes available in the future.

Thanks for checking it out. I hope someone finds it helpful.Bronco Roof Rack Spreadsheet 05/2024

Appreciate you taking the time to gather the info and assemble the spreadsheet. Would you consider adding a column for how much each rack weighs and another column for their max payload weights?

 

[Hailey Jo]

So don’t say I never did anything for ya. Here’s a spreadsheet of a large number of the available roof racks available to us as of now, May 2024.

Link: Bronco Roof Rack Options Spreadsheet

I’ll note, I built it based on my interests. I’m not interested in the half a dozen or so Chinese clones circulating on amazon and elsewhere. Nothing against anyone who enjoys them, I’m just not interested, and I wrote the spreadsheet. More specifically I’m looking for something that will allow me to take off my TOR targa with minimal effort, won’t rust to shit in the salt bowl I live in, has accessories options available for mounting etc., and will be reasonably durable. While I was at it I added some columns that I hope will help others.

I’m willing to maintain this for a little while moving forward, so if you gather some information that fills in any of the gaps in the spreadsheet and you want to help others out, let me know and I’ll correct. Please don’t waste either of our times‘ on pricing corrections. We would be all day trying to track those. I listed MSRP to the best of my ability. If anyone knows how to embed this in the thread feel free.

For the record, I still haven’t found the ideal solution for me in any of these, I may just buy one that’s cheaper and plan to toss it if something more suitable comes available in the future.

Thanks for checking it out. I hope someone finds it helpful.Bronco Roof Rack Spreadsheet 05/2024

Thank you for sharing. Things like this is what makes my time on B6G enjoyable! I'm definitely a researcher myself, and even though I always vet the opinions here, information like this saves me SO much time. I'm curious to know what you end up deciding on!

 

[Shrek27]

I never noticed any noise when I added mine, I assume you mean wind noise?
No pics at the moment, I have a RTT, awning and shovel mounted when needed.
I also might add side racks at some point, I'll just use one from an aftermarket rack supplier and figure out a mount, it's not rocket science! lol

I've heard the wind noise has not be an issue for some. I had the cross bar all the way forward on mine, may have played a part. I agree though, where there's a will there's a way.

 

[mikeeshim]

What is a TOR?

I use the Trailrax with a PakRax and it's been so fun to play with.

One thing I'd like to add: I've now gotten my timing down to
under 20 min to remove the rack and roof,
and almost the same time to get it back on.
The main thing is to leave the wind deflector on,
and remove the roof rack from the sides of that.

Roof off with wind deflector and light bar still on:

Fylly loaded without the RTT on:

RTT with Awning:

The RTT takes about 10 minutes to put on with the
Front Runner quick connects.
It took about 5 trips to dial in the location for the mounts.

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