Hooke Road Bronco Roof Rack Soft Top - Reviews?

[seagdl]

Does anyone have any feedback on the Hooke Road 4dr soft top rack? Looks like just what I need to carry skis/snowboards/etc,

Amazon.com: Hooke Road Bronco Soft Top Roof Rack Overland Cargo Basket Carrier for 2021 2022 2023 2024 Ford Bronco 4-Door, Exclude Bronco Sport : Automotive

Also curious how this connects to the side of the Bronco with a soft top? Cannot seem to find any but simple install instructions.

Thanks!

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[TraumaJoe]

I don’t hang any experience with this, but it looks very similar to the JCR soft top rack and would guess it is a similar install.

https://www.jcroffroad.com/product/BR6RK-ST-F-4D.html

 

[SuicidalSmurf]

Watching as well. I wish there were more options on the market to allow some soft top versatility like Gobi or Raket, but I have a hell of a time spending several thousand, that's approaching hard top territory.

 

[seagdl]

my concern is that 'you get what you pay for' definitely don't wanna put something cheap looking on my Badlands! hard to tell the build quality from the pix on amazon or hooke road web site. Also, all the pieces are screwed/bolted together, wonder how this would hold up over time.

Do I take therisk and order from amazon where I can return it if dissatisfied??? on the fence..

not going to pay thousands for a roof rack, this one has great price point but looks cheaply made from the pix...

 

[SuicidalSmurf]

my concern is that 'you get what you pay for' definitely don't wanna put something cheap looking on my Badlands! hard to tell the build quality from the pix on amazon or hooke road web site. Also, all the pieces are screwed/bolted together, wonder how this would hold up over time.

Do I take therisk and order from amazon where I can return it if dissatisfied??? on the fence..

not going to pay thousands for a roof rack, this one has great price point but looks cheaply made from the pix...

For what it's worth, the hard top version seems pretty well received so far, and is about the same price.

https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/475-hooke-road-discovery-roof-rack-review.68710/

The Hooke website shows the rack with the top down, I asked the seller on Amazon if there's any way to lower the top with the rack on. I'm sure the answer is 'no' but it's the only thing holding me back from immediately pulling the trigger. I'd love to pick up a Raket rack just because the modular design ticks all my boxes, but it's north of 3 grand after taxes and shipping, hard to swallow.

Edit- and as I look at the listing again, there's this language:
Soft top functionality is limited to cargo flip-up only (The rack needs to be removed for full functionality)

 

[seagdl]

cargo flip up is ok for me as i only plan to use in winter and maybe a few times in summer. I'm going to get it, will post back with a review.

 

[acarzt]

I just installed this a couple days ago.

Install was pretty easy. Quality seems good enough.

You CANNOT fully open the back part of the soft top with this installed... A small design tweak would have made it possible... But oh well, I was prepared to lose that functionality.

The rear side windows are INCREDIBLY difficult to put back on with this rack. They needed to provide just a little more clearance. The bottom of the window piece makes contact with the rack at the bottom.

Here is a picture of the rear opening:

What it's making contact with, preventing opening:

The final installed product:

 

[acarzt]

Following up here... I drove it for the first time over 40mph... and with all windows up the rear plastic windows flap against the metal supports pretty violently. It's super annoying... I need to find a solution to stop it from happening.

Interestingly if I crack all 4 windows, it stops.

I'm thinking I'm going to have to find a way to put some tension on the windows so they won't flap around...

 

[Vicman12]

Following up here... I drove it for the first time over 40mph... and with all windows up the rear plastic windows flap against the metal supports pretty violently. It's super annoying... I need to find a solution to stop it from happening.

Interestingly if I crack all 4 windows, it stops.

I'm thinking I'm going to have to find a way to put some tension on the windows so they won't flap around...

I just got this roof rack please let me know what you end up doing to solve the window flapping.

Also, do you like it? Can you remove the basket easily to open the first part of the soft top?

Thanks , Vic

 

[acarzt]

I just got this roof rack please let me know what you end up doing to solve the window flapping.

Also, do you like it? Can you remove the basket easily to open the first part of the soft top?

Thanks , Vic

I haven't solved it... But I have reduced it... There are brackets the pass through the opening between the rear side windows and the top. It leaves a gap that wind comes through and creates the turbulence that creates the flapping.

I rolled up a moving blanket I had laying around and tried to cover that gap as best I could by wedging it between the roll bar and the top on the inside.

I think I can do it better... Just haven't had the time to mess with it.

As for removing it... There are 4 bolts at the front for the accessory mounting points, and 4 at the rear for the supports. In theory you could remove those and take the basket off.

You would want another person helping you for sure since it's pretty big and awkward to carry (not super heavy though)

I think putting it back on will be a struggle, since everything went on so tight on mine. Meaning, I had to put a decent amount of pressure on some of the parts to get them to line up and stay lined up while I bolt it down.

I DO like it (for the price), I think it looks good, and will meet my needs.

There are plenty of things that could be better, but you really can't expect too much at $475, when the next cheapest rack is like twice that .

Some minor design changes would allow the rear to lift, so it sucks to lose that functionality. Alternatively they could extend the rack further back to give more rack space since that functionality is already lost.

There is a noticeable increase in window noise (which is probably true for most racks) and I noticed my gas mileage dropped a couple MPG. I usually get 15-17mpg depending on the kind of driving I'm doing. I've been getting 12-15 with the rack.

 

[Vicman12]

I haven't solved it... But I have reduced it... There are brackets the pass through the opening between the rear side windows and the top. It leaves a gap that wind comes through and creates the turbulence that creates the flapping.

I rolled up a moving blanket I had laying around and tried to cover that gap as best I could by wedging it between the roll bar and the top on the inside.

I think I can do it better... Just haven't had the time to mess with it.

As for removing it... There are 4 bolts at the front for the accessory mounting points, and 4 at the rear for the supports. In theory you could remove those and take the basket off.

You would want another person helping you for sure since it's pretty big and awkward to carry (not super heavy though)

I think putting it back on will be a struggle, since everything went on so tight on mine. Meaning, I had to put a decent amount of pressure on some of the parts to get them to line up and stay lined up while I bolt it down.

I DO like it (for the price), I think it looks good, and will meet my needs.

There are plenty of things that could be better, but you really can't expect too much at $475, when the next cheapest rack is like twice that .

Some minor design changes would allow the rear to lift, so it sucks to lose that functionality. Alternatively they could extend the rack further back to give more rack space since that functionality is already lost.

There is a noticeable increase in window noise (which is probably true for most racks) and I noticed my gas mileage dropped a couple MPG. I usually get 15-17mpg depending on the kind of driving I'm doing. I've been getting 12-15 with the rack.

Hi! Thanks for the quick response on the rack!! Could you show (picture) of the gap that is causing the issue? (When you get a chance).

Does the rack also cause flapping on the top of the soft top? Or just the two side windows?

Seems like a good cheep option! That does suck about the rear functionality.

I’m thinking about keeping the rack attached to my RTT and using a pulley garage storing system to just pull off the RTT and the top cage together. Idk if it will be possible tho.. lots of experimenting.

Also there is a note that a light bar can be added , a 32” light bar . How does that light bar attach to the front wind barring? Does it have to be a 32”? Or can it be larger?

I appreciate all you insite on this rack! Would love more pictures on this. It does look good! Nice bronco as well friend!

Thanks , Vic

 

[Lexo52]

I just installed this a couple days ago.

Install was pretty easy. Quality seems good enough.

You CANNOT fully open the back part of the soft top with this installed... A small design tweak would have made it possible... But oh well, I was prepared to lose that functionality.

The rear side windows are INCREDIBLY difficult to put back on with this rack. They needed to provide just a little more clearance. The bottom of the window piece makes contact with the rack at the bottom.

Here is a picture of the rear opening:

What it's making contact with, preventing opening:

The final installed product:

Damn so you can't keep the back open all the way? That's not gunna work for me, don't mind losing the soft top functionality but this one I need haha

 

[CriticalB]

Just received and installed mine yesterday. Took a couple of hours, but only because I had to stop intermittently to run errands, and because I had to make some mods to keep my light bar.

I haven’t tried putting the rear windows in but I can see it’s not gonna be easy. It also rubs metal on metal when lifting the rear window bar past a certain point - I may put a Velcro strip in to fix this.

So far driving sounds even more quiet than before. I suspect having the wind deflector behind the lights is helping somewhat. Since the back windows aren’t in, I haven’t heard the flapping noises from around where the rack frame passes through .

Overall I like the look. I use the soft top in safari mode far more than putting it back, so no big loss of functionality there. Can’t wait to try it with my RTT.

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