Jeep Roof Rack

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In order to transport my MiniCup, I have chosen to put it on the top of my Jeep.   This raised a bit of a problem since the Jeep has both a hard and soft top, neither one of which would support the weight and are also fairly small.  With that in mind, I looked at a number of commercially available racks for the Jeep and was not satisifed with any of them.  I wanted one that I could put on and off more or less at will, that didn't require drilling holes in the body, and that would handle a longer load.   After looking for a while, I was passed on a local express-way by a cargo van with exactly what I wanted on it.  It was a full length rack supported on the front and rear bumpers and not in between.  All that remained was to find someone to build it.   To further my confusion, I found that I needed to make sure to ask for a ladder rack not a roof rack.  After much asking around, I finally found a local company - Hanover Truck Bodies (519) 364-2070 where they understood almost immediately what I was looking for and even had some additional suggestions.  I saved up the appropriate money and had them fabricate it for me.  The finished rack has interior dimensions of 12' 6" long and 4' 11" wide so it will not only hold the boat, but also plywood, drywall, ladders etc.

Prior to using the rack, I disassembled it, and painted it with two coats of Rustoleum paint. I also got longer bolts for the mounts on the bumper and added washers in the inside of the bumper for extra strength.

After the first season of using the rack, I found that it had a tendency to sway from side to side whtn moving slowly.  The addition of front and rear gussets like the side gussets have solved the problem.  Check out my MiniCup pages to see the rack in action as well as the rig used to allow me to easily load and unload my 130lb sailboat.

DISCLAIMER: Because the construction of any boat is dependent on factors of materials and craftsmanship that are beyond my control, I can accept no responsibility for any item constructed based on information found on this web-site.