If there was a bar that attached to the mounts at the top of the windshield, and it could carry weight, then the front of the kayak would strap to that, and the rest to the half rack. Otherwise, the rack is 3' long and 4' wide FYI.
I havent used the side racks. The bottom mounts for them go under the rear cap and remain in place. Once the bottom mounts are in place, you can take the side racks on and off at will, use one or both as you wish. And remove both to take off rear cap. What i dont know is what becomes of the two lower bracket mounts if you drive around with the cap off. I have the Skyrider softtop to install, and will add the lower TrailRax brackets at that time.
Just checked my cost. It's not cheap, I bought the rack itself first, was $765 with Bronco Nation discounts in August, 2022. I then bought the side wing/saddle racks for another $250ish. That makes $1,000 for the base system for the rear cap only. I dont feel cheated because it works, it's reliable, it stays on, built like a brick s*it house as Uncle used to say. Its well engineered, can remove parts and components. For me, nothing ludicrous about it with my use. The mid-panel fits well on the rack. Had the rack on since I first posted. No issues, no rattling, no loosening. Priceless.
Same here however I have the factory roof rack installed. Does anyone have a recommendation for a half rack that would install on top of the factory roof rack?
I agree. $1349 for a half rack with side mounts seems to be double what it should cost. And shipping adds to it more.
Not if have every created a product like a roof rack - the cost to design, engineer, source the materials, powder coating, packaging (which the engineering for packaging a product like this is substantial), staffing, benefits, etc. Oh, don't forget product liability insurance, which is substantial for this category.I agree. $1349 for a half rack with side mounts seems to be double what it should cost. And shipping adds to it more.
My understanding of both your questions is "no" and "no", because I asked them as well when I first bought my half-rack August of 2022. The actual rack is 4' wide by 3' deep, but the attachment brackets are closer to 2' apart because of the overhangs. (See attached with my measurement guesses, its raining now). So I would say that thats too much stress on too narrow a mounting point . . . BUT . . . People are always stretching CAN and SHOULD with Broncos! (Look at the tires people are putting on without enough lift!) If you were to try that, you would need to install the side-racks (Pak-Rak) because they help distribute load to the car, improving weight capacity. Personally, I think that distributing 7' of bed over a 3' rack with 2' attachment points is too much leverage on both ends and could damage the MIC top . . .Looks great! Two questions:
1. do you think this half rack could hold a 48" W x 56" L rooftop tent? It would obviously hang off the front and back of the rack 10" in either direction, but possibly still workable? My tent only weighs 110 lbs, so I'd just need to keep my personal weight under 190 lbs to slide in under the 300 pound static weigh limit. Currently weighing in at a svelte 183...
2. Is it possible to easily convert the half-rack to the full rack later? I can't seem to find that info on their site.
Thanks ahead of time!
Excellent info, sir! I really appreciate the detailed response. I'm sad to hear that the rack is less "modular" than I had hoped, but otherwise still looks like a solid product.My understanding of both your questions is "no" and "no", because I asked them as well when I first bought my half-rack August of 2022. The actual rack is 4' wide by 3' deep, but the attachment brackets are closer to 2' apart because of the overhangs. (See attached with my measurement guesses, its raining now). So I would say that thats too much stress on too narrow a mounting point . . . BUT . . . People are always stretching CAN and SHOULD with Broncos! (Look at the tires people are putting on without enough lift!) If you were to try that, you would need to install the side-racks (Pak-Rak) because they help distribute load to the car, improving weight capacity. Personally, I think that distributing 7' of bed over a 3' rack is too much leverage on both ends and could damage the top . . .
With regard to conversion from half-rack to full-length rack, that would require an attachment point for joining, but that would affect load distribution at the joint. The joint would reduce lateral load bearing capacity. The full-length rack is, I believe, one long piece of metal on each side, fully sharing the front to back weight load between the windshield and the two rear-cap attachment points. So, if you want to have a half rack for driving open-top, you buy that half-rack. If you want a full roof-top tent, you buy a different rack for that. Its only money! At least, the side-saddle mounts can be used for both racks, and all are well-made! The side-saddles not only provide additional cargo mounts, but also increase load capacity. @TrailRax as a company has been very helpful to me, with my Skyrider install, helping with a piece of protective trim and questions.
Ok, I didnt realize the tent opened to the side! So since its a matter of inches, and I was guessing the overhangs, the rain stopped and i went out and measured the overhang. You have about 26.5" of span from the outer edge of the two brackets. And if the tent opens off to the side, and its only 48" wide, thats 6" overhang front and back of the rack. It you used the side saddles for additional capacity . . . Email @TrailRax and ask the weight capacity of the half-rack with the PakRax side-brackets installed. The downside is no place to put the mid-panel (I put mine on the half-rack). UPDATE We now know TrailRax does not recommend putting tents on the Half-Rack, and the tent mfgr says you need 32" span between mounting brackets, not 26.5, so the official answer is no!. . . Your tent would also prevent the 2row skyrider from opening, but the one-row sunrider would work great in that application, perhaps.
