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JK Write-UpsBulletin board forum regarding useful installation write-ups, budget fixes and homemade solutions for the Jeep JK Wrangler (Rubicon, Sahara, Unlimited and X).
First time posting so forgive me if this is in the wrong spot.
I'm looking for a roof rack to help reduce the interior cargo volume in my JKU. I have a wife, toddler, dog, and plans for one more child. I want to be able to take the whole lot of us on an extended trip if desired. Nothing crazy heavy so no Gobi required, but I do like well made products too.
Requirements are to be sub-$1000, removable when not in use, and requires no drilling in the hard top or the body.
I was sold on the Smittybilt Defender
But then stumbled upon the E-Autogrilles (EAG)
The Defender rack is $600 after you buy the required brackets and the EAG is $640 with free shipping on amazon. Both use gutter mounts and the rear hinges to attach and hold about 150 lbs. The EAG gains an edge by being able to either span the whole roof or end just before the freedom panels by simply removing the middle section.
From what I've read EAG seems to be a 50/50 between good products for a cheap price and horror stories with poor customer service. Whereas Smitty is generally pretty decent with their customer service.
Basically what I want to know is if the Defender is a superior product and if I should be worried of E-Autogrilles. I really want to just pull the trigger on the EAG product but don't want to rush into something stupid and waste my time/money.
*Note: if you have another rack suggestion that would fit the bill I'm all ears. I've attached a picture of my Jeep thus far for kicks.
I'm not a Smitty basher, I've run their front XRC bumper for almost 4 years with no issues. But I am in the camp of "spend the money once", with that in mind I'd think hard about your long term goals. 150 lbs capacity would not be enough for me to spend money on either of those racks. Especially if you think a RTT might ever be in the picture.
There are several elegant solutions that are in your sub 1k budget and have substantially more cargo capacity. One of my good friends and Jeeping buddy just went thru this decision, he landed on the Teraflex nebo LINK mainly because:
Static load rating of 850 lbs
Total Height added: 2-3/8"
He added a couple of crossbars to haul his stuff, but they do have a slat kit available. The rack can be found under $500 most places and slat kit around $600.
Yes, you have to drill the top, but that's the sacrifice to get the decent payload. He's had no leaks and has dragged that rack thru some hairy stuff.
Sorry to not answer your question, but I really would want a better product for that job. Especially if I'm on the road with my family.
I plan on going with the E-autogrilles rack. They actually look really nice I think, not too expensive and close-up photos look like they are pretty well made. I looked at the Smittybilt Defender rack and in Canada they are quite pricey. The EAG rack comes with all the mounting hardware included and if you look on Amazon and EBay there are some really good reviews on them. I actually had a Wild Boar full-size rack on my jeep, but just didn't find I really needed that much rack. I'm not into the roof top tent thing and despite the capacity, I just did not like driving around especially offroad with more than 150lbs loaded on top of my jeep anyways. I looked at the Nebo rack and honestly I just don't like how it looks. It may be strong and all, but to me it looks like it belongs on a minivan, lol.
Btw, getting something with a textured black powercoat finish like either the Smitty or the EAG is a big plus. That type of finish is very durable and easy to touch up like new with ordinary rattle-can bedliner. The Wild Boar rack had a smooth powdercoat finish which over time rusted all over and looked like crap. I would have had to take the whole thing off just to refinish it properly. Also, the 4 door version for the EAG actually holds 300lbs. The 2 door version holds 150lbs, also works on the 4 door and allows the freedom panels to be removed easily. I actually plan on getting the 2dr version for my 4dr.
Last edited by Runewolf1973; 11-23-2017 at 09:06 PM.
Thanks for the replies fellas. Runewolf, I must have missed the increased capacity of the 4 door rack. I wondered since is spreads the weight more and has 2 more mounting locations. So it makes sense. As for the nebo it is nice, I had looked at the pioneer rack too but my wife will never let me drill the roof. If Baja rack could sell their Gobi clones in the us again I would buy one instantly since the value is impossible to beat...
Returned from a work trip a while ago and used some extra cash to finally purchase a roof rack. I went with the EAG full length gutter mount rack and figured I would add to this post to do a write-up. Admins if this isn't the place for it I'll gladly redo the post elsewhere and drop a link in this thread instead. Before I get too into it here's the finished product.
The light bar is about to go. Bought used for $40, its filled with water and I barely use it. I was able to mostly eliminate the noise at least.
First Impressions:
Its a pretty solid rack with a clever, modular design for a good price. However, all of that comes with a few buts. I knew most of them from review research before buying so I'm not really disappointed.
Shipping:
Here's how it arrives and what the packaging looks like. Basically a cardboard box with a piece of Styrofoam and each section is in a bubble wrap sleeve.
Holes in the box were there on arrival.
Thats after I cut the tape holding the bubble wrap shut.
EAG really needs to revise the packaging on these racks. The finish gets scraped fairly regularly it seems and mine doesn't sound like a unique case.
The only spot really scraped in shipping. Theres a small dent near it too where the powder coating flaked off but the primer remained. Also, I siliconed the holes on the tube ends shut hoping to reduce the chance for moisture to cause rust inside the tubes.
That brown rusty powder is lightly dusted on a lot of the rack but wipes right off. So I feel cautiously optimistic about rust.
So that's how it all arrived. There's also 6 brackets (4 side and 2 rear) and a bag full of hardware plus instructions for assembly and installation. The instructions are black and white with pictures and text for each step with numerical labeling for each fastener and part, so overall pretty helpful. The hardware is pretty decent as well. Its held together with bolts, split washers and regular washers since the holes they go through are more like slots that allow for some adjustability if assembly tolerances varied a bit. The downside is that you turn a wrench a lot. There's 16 bolts to remove to take the rack off and at least 16 as well if you want to take the middle section out so you can roll with a half rack. Its easy but time consuming.
Here's some gripes I have:
-As mentioned the shear number of nuts and bolt make changes take a lot of time to reconfigure.
-The rust dust on it and obviously the dings in the powder coat. Don't expect this coating to last too long if you don't take care of it.
-The side brackets extend into the outmost door seal a bit. It doesn't seem like it will let water in but it seems like an easy thing to fix from a design point of view.
-The rear brackets (image below) either mount over or under the factory window hinge. Over means when the glass opens the plastic cover slightly rubs into the new metal bracket. Under means your glass seal will probably suck and let water in under certain conditions. Again, not a big deal but a little annoying.
-One of my welded on nuts has welding slag in the threads just enough that I cant thread it in and will need to run a tap and die. Might be unique to mine but frustrating.
rear window hinge with the bracket over top of it.
Now you might be thinking, "Who the hell would buy that thing after you said all that?!" Well, I would. Here's the positives.
-I think it looks great overall. No side tubes which was a requirement from the wife (sorry Gobi). Full rack which I wanted, basket with sides and crossbars instead of a grate, and has a built in wind deflector.
-300Lb rating is more than enough for me. I don't plan to ever have more than that on the roof of my vehicle even if I could. Weight is supported by rubber pads that rest on the roof BTW, not on the gutters. The gutter is basically to keep the rack from flying up and off or side to side.
-Ability to go full length or half which allows the freedom panels to come off. Albeit with about 30 minutes to an hour of spinning a socket wrench around.
-Fraction the cost of competition, $600 with free 2 day shipping through Amazon Prime.
-I can take it off during the times of the year I don't need it so I don't need to worry about clearance or fuel efficiency. Oh and there are no holes in my hardtop after I take it off since there's no drilling required
I'm sure there's more pros and cons depending who you ask but for a family hauler, leisurely off roader, and hard top owner who doesn't take the top off much it fits what I needed it to do without a crazy price and I didn't need to drill through my hardtop. I'll be sure to update this post if something changes but overall I give it a 4/5 with the minus going for the cons listed above. Honestly if they could make the packaging better so it arrives rust free and undamaged I would pay a little extra.
We want to thank you for your purchase and honest review. We would like to offer a replacement if needed. If so please contact our customer service center at (909) 545-6746.
We want to thank you for your purchase and honest review. We would like to offer a replacement if needed. If so please contact our customer service center at (909) 545-6746.
Well I appreciate the offer. I just assumed that's what I was in for. I didn't see this notification for a while though and I've already put a few thousand miles on it as well as some touch up rustoleum so I'm fairly committed to it now. Maybe you can just pass some feedback to whoever designs it and make the next version that much better. The wind deflector has been a big hit over the previous one
11-17-2017, 06:47 PM
Smittybilt Defender vs E-Autogrilles Roof Racks
