Comprehensive Roof Rack Comparison 5/2024

[mikeeshim]

Man I haven’t even thought to leave my wind deflector on to remove my TRMR rack. Genius. Do you just leave the rear clam shell mounts clamped on and just detach the pax rax mounts from the bottom bracket under the clam shell? I would think that would be the easiest way to take it on and off assuming you have overhead lift space.

That is correct.

I first start with the Pakrax, unscrew top 4, and then the bottom 4. Those come off easily.
Then I undo the clamps on top of the rear hardtop, and unscrew the sides where it attaches to the wind deflector.
Realistically, with practice, takes me under 20 min from first screw to no rack.

Putting it back on is almost the same (in reverse), but you first need to align the wind deflector to the rack, so I use a wood block to hoist it to align. After that, the rest is simple.

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[CalvinT]

I was at Overland Expo West last weekend and took a look at the Prinsu rack. It's nice looking with side racks. Their rails have reliefs so you can easily insert and remove t-bolts. So does the Westin roof rack.

I have a TrailRax with PaxRax. I really like it. The TrailRax PaxRax are load supporting. The TrailRax is rated for 300 lb dynamic evenly distributed. The PaxRax are rated for 70 lb each. They're bolted to the fenders and don't put a load on the roof rack. Most others, including the Prinsu are not. Their side racks hang from the roof rack.

 

[murphtron]

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

I feel ya. I went down the roof rack analysis spiral. In the end I wanted the ability to remove the top. So that left me with a half rack. Which is fine. But I mainly want to carry skis in the winter, and the skis would hang off the rear quite far. Which is fine. But they are still expensive.

In the end I got a cheap Chinese knockoff of the OEM rack. Used it this winter for skis. Man it’s loud. And with skis on it’s doubly loud.
Removed it at the end of ski season and ready for top off season. So much quieter on the freeway. Kinda funny.

anyway. I realized for my off-road trips I’m a minimalist. Backpacking tent. Recovery gear. Fridge. Tools and water. Still got plenty of room inside for other gear and a passenger. Gonna hold off on getting a replacement rack and see how I use the Bronco this summer and fall.

 

[karmaguy38]

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

I have a rack from Hooke Road, $499. Looks great.

 

[Hailey Jo]

You’re very welcome. Glad to pay back for all the help and information I get from others here. I have not yet made a final decision. If someone like Westin or EO had an aggressive Memorial Day sale, I might just come off the fence, or I may just get sick of waiting/hoping and put the great trailrax system I have in boxes on and say screw the Targa. Conversationally, I have been giving serious consideration to how often I’ll take it off anyway. It’s too large to safely store in the back of my Bronco, so spontaneously popping it won’t happen and due to its size, I can’t install my Bestop Sunrunner. That really only leaves days I know it won’t rain and I’m going someplace I won’t have to worry about security so I can leave it in the garage lol. First world problems eh?

It would be nice to have something durable, lightweight, easy to store ANDDDD versatile/compatible with all tops - that way if you switch or have more than one option currently it can still be usable. Keeping an eye on this post. Thank you again!

 

[tomsoffroad76]

We started carrying the Front Runner, due the the extensive accessory catalog. Also that, they have rated their rack to 660 lbs as per their engineers. They also further mention that dynamic weight is typically 1/3 of that. It effectively doubles what the stock rack offers dynamically. They did say, dynamic weight isn't the same for every vehicle and depends on many factors like overall height and vehicle center of gravity. Ultimately its up to the driver to understand individual vehicle nuances. With their long history of building and engineering racks, they have a system that works. Also, they were one of the only companies that had a system for Early, 6th Gen AND Bronco Sport.

 

[redone17]

What’s that component that’s mounted under the rack?

You’re inspiring me. I have come to realize I like the look of the vehicle more without the rack, but I need the utility on occasion. I just took the front half of my RCI off in minutes (to install the new support brackets). I don’t have a light bar, so leaving the front isn’t necessary for me.

I may purchase the half rack fairing from RCI and only mount the front for longer camping trips with son and/or wife. Over the past few years when I’m solo I just sleep inside anyhow.

 

[mikeeshim]

What’s that component that’s mounted under the rack?

It's a table mount that goes under the rack, and holds 2 square 25"x25" tables (as shown).

 

[redone17]

It's a table mount that goes under the rack, and holds 2 square 25"x25" tables (as shown).

Ah yes. I saw Front Runner makes one of those. Pretty cool. Wouldn’t work with the RCI rack rear.

 

[mikeeshim]

Ah yes. I saw Front Runner makes one of those. Pretty cool. Wouldn’t work with the RCI rack rear.

I got mine from Equipt, but I believe FrontRunner also sells the same one. The table it was made for didn't fit because of the "humps" on the hardtop, and it took me 5 months to find the GCI tables that finally did fit without rubbing the hardtop and also not rattle in the mounts.

Technically, if you didn't want the rear "cover" of the RCI rack, you could take that off and easily put another cross bar there, allowing you more rack coverage and possibly less wind noise (and add the table mount)!

 

[tomsoffroad76]

We have the Front Runner table in our build, mobbed it hard at Big Bear and never heard anything from the table or the rack.

 

[BoverW]

TO complete the list, I find another rack.

https://www.leitnerdesigns.com/products/acs-roof-over-cab-platform-rack-for-ford-copy

 

[threebanger]

Static and dynamic load rating columns would be an excellent addition to the sheet! I pulled the Trigger on a Westin due to price/value. It's only 200/450, which is crazy as it's built like a tank.

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