I want to post a follow-up to this thread. I used this as the basis for the install on the hardtop on my 2012, but found that the hardtop change in 2011 that added an outer ridge changed my plans. I ended up trimming my 60" rails by one hole. I used the area in front of the inner cross member where the top is 3 layers thick as my starting point, and drilled there from the inside. This aligned with the 5th hole back from the front on the tracks. The holes were 2 1/4" out from the first rib that runs front to back on the top, and it put the track right between the new outer ridge on the 2011+ tops and the first inner rib. For anyone who goes with the Thule setup, the M5x40mm bolts are way too long. I went to Lowes and bought 12 10-24x3/4" stainless steel bolts and nylock nuts. They fit the same size hole, but are about half as long and kept me from having to trim the bolts inside the top. The bolts are plenty long enough to go through the area where the top is two layers thick and are just long enough to get through the 3 layer area and catch the nylon part of the nut. The pattern I used for the bolts (X for bolt, O for open hole) was X X O X X O O X O X. I wanted the extra bolts up front for any uplift from the box I'm going to be using, and the two open in a row are because of the wide inner cross member.

I only got the rails on today... The towers/bars are going to go on tomorrow. The towers/bars were last used on my LJ, so it's set up for the tracks being far closer together than what I have now. So it'll just take some adjusting to get things to come together.

The overview shots were taken holding my phone well above eye level. With the 3.5" lift and 35s, it would be difficult to even see them. This makes me happy, because if I take the setup off, the tracks aren't even noticeable.

Overall shot. You can't even tell they're there.



View from the back corner.



View from above.



Closeups showing where they land relative to the top's profile.

From the front.



From the back.



I ended up modifying the Hotheads. I used some tape and marked out where the bolts were and transferred the locations to the head liners. I removed some of the staples, cut back the backer board and pulled the material through. Then I reused the staples to secure the fabric on the back side. It looks good, keeps access to the nuts in case I need to tighten or reapply sealant, and only took about am hour. Finally, it's worth mentioning that I used the acrylic 3M tape I got from Amazon to secure them back to the top. Hotheads says the acrylic-based one is needed to hold up to the temperatures the back side of the top sees.

And the Inno Shadow 16 box in matte black has been ordered and it's on the way. Gotta love free Prime shipping from Amazon! I'm holding off mounting the rack until I know exactly where the box is going to land up there.

 

Nice work, and nice, thorough write up. I know a lot of us appreciate the time. Thank you.

 

Its Great to see my write ups are still being useful to so many of Enthusiasts !! Although I lost my JK in Hurricane Irene few years back I do wish I would have gotten another one.

 

Sorry to hear about the JK.

I really valued this thread because, let's face it, drilling into the hardtop is a little nervewracking. When I put them on my LJ, I wasn't worried because I bought the top damaged so it wasn't like I could make it much worse. But having the extra space and a place to put my race skis for the trip to the mountain will be great. And the change in hardtop design took me by surprise, so I wanted to provide this great thread an update for the next person who comes across it.

 

I got the Thule rack mounted and the Inno box on tonight. Unfortunately it was both raining and approaching dusk when I finished, so I'll have to add more pics later. But I'm thrilled with how everything came together. The Inno box is fantastic. I'm definitely glad I went with them instead of Thule or Yakima. And it makes no additional noise up to 70 mph... Big win.



I'm ready to hit the mountain. Race season is almost here!

Edit:

Snapped a quick shot on my way to work this morning.

 

Thanks for all the detail in the write-up...going into this mod with a lot less apprehensions!!!....I'll post some pic's when the project is done.

 

I did a write-up on the 42" Yakima install a while back:
https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/jk-w...imited-284484/

I have a 2010 Unlimited Sahara. I'm not sure how later model tops differ.

I choose to mount the rails on the roof ridges for added strength.