Was looking at Yakima roof rack systems for my JKU that mounts to the hard top. I want the Yakima basket also. Any feedback would be great. I also noticed they offer several base mounting options. Which would be the best? Thanks in advance.

 

I have the Thule as the guys at my local rack shop said it had a higher weight rating. Mine fastens to the rain gutters on the side of the hard top. Got it for my snowboard. I think they said the you can only put like 40 lbs up there though

 

I drilled yakima tracks into the hardtop. Came out nice and looks better than the gutter mounts.

 

In hind sight I almost wish I did this. I take my rack off when I'm not using it though

 

I stole the one off of my wife's nissan for a long trip. She made sure I gave it back. Women and their things... sheesh. It was very sturdy and it worked great. Survived a trip from Homer, Alaska to San Diego, CA. It's a pain to get stuff on and off of, but if you're not doing it every day, it's ok.

 

That's clean and low profile. This is what i want. Is this the kit I need? Yakima 8001616 - YAKIMA Hard Top Roof Track Rack for 07-12 Jeep® Wrangler Unlimited JK 4 Door - Quadratec

 

Yes. Exactly what i bought. Take the top off when you install, otherwise it's hard to reach the nuts over the sound bar. The first drill hole is a little nerve racking..

 

Thanks.

 

Is it a lot louder from road noise when on the highway? I'm getting one to haul snowboards and trying to decide between this or a hitch mounted setup... I like the roof idea as its up and out of the way, but I've heard it makes it a lot louder inside the Jeep.

 

The Yakima set up is nice and clean design. It has minimal weight it can hold due to the roof's capabilities. I used to install roof racks in an old job, both Thule and Yakima are good brands, can't go wrong with either, but I prefer Yakima's round bar design over Thules square bars. There are many reasons, basically the round bars always allow things to mount firmly, the square bars if not in the exact same plane of each other the things you have mounted up there will need tightening often.

I am not a fan of the HUGE knobs yakima has for attaching the tracks to the roof on the inside. Thule is much smaller. I am not sure what other options there are for tracks, been out of the game for a while. I highly recommend the yakima feet for how easy they are to remove and remote. They just clip out, very nifty design.

I have been researching racks myself for upcoming purchase and unsure if I want the simple crossbar design of Yakima or a more weight bearing design like MBRP.