Alpha Expedition: Gobi Roof Rack.
JK Newbie
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 97
Likes: 0
From: Valley Village, CA
Yup! I LOVE the gobi racks.. they are TOP NOTCH! However, they do make your vehicle suffer on the fuel economy.. especially when coupled with 35's, 4.56's and a 3 in lift. But, in my opinion it's totally worth it.. and you make up the fuel costs by sleeping in the tent and not spending money on hotels!
You could improve the mileage... but it would take a HEMI and a LIGHT FOOT to accomplish that... I'll be doing the HEMI in the coming year or two for sure.. pentastar is nice, but it's no HEMI! haha
Luke
You could improve the mileage... but it would take a HEMI and a LIGHT FOOT to accomplish that... I'll be doing the HEMI in the coming year or two for sure.. pentastar is nice, but it's no HEMI! haha
Luke
Also - I keep waiting for a good diesel option!
JK Enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 188
Likes: 0
From: Seneca, SC
Luke
JK Newbie
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 97
Likes: 0
From: Valley Village, CA
I'm looking at putting the 6.4L HEMI crate engine in my jeep. Just for the crate engine alone, (with wiring harness, cpu, and efi) is $18,485. You will also need a new transmission that can handle the crate engine (another $6,000), and an adapter for either the rubicon tc or an atlas. All said and done, out the door with everything installed (by a shop) you'll look bw $25-30K finished. If you do it yourself you can save a couple grand easy. Again, this is with ALL NEW components!
Luke
Luke
JK Enthusiast
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 165
Likes: 2
From: Temecula, CA
https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/memb...ack-jku-10221/
I HAVE had an issue with this that I'm still sorting out. The AirTop Black Storm Medium, which is what I have, does not have a long enough track to be mounted to both sets of the Gobi cross bars that would be flush with the bottom of the tent. I could solve this by moving the tent back some so it's a$$ hangs off the back a little, but I have two camping work lights back there so that is not an option. As a result (and you can see this in my install picts), there is a lot of distance between the rear cross bar I had to use and the bottom of the tent. This space allows it to wiggle a bit and although I've driven it several thousand miles with no issues, if I do a super technical trail with step descents in the area of 30 degrees or so and I have to hit the brakes hard, the tent slides forward and the rear mounting points slide out of the track. It is still perfectly secured believe it or not, even at highway speeds with just the front two, which are closer to the middle than the front, but it's obviously disconcerting. I'm working on a solution.
Additionally, I've had no luck with the Gobi wind deflector in almost any situation. Prior to the Maggiolina, the soft top flapped like crazy in the back. After the Maggiolina, that went away, but there is significant white noise wind noise up front now. I've been told the tents are pretty quiet so then I removed the wind deflector and it made almost no difference. The problem could possibly be exacerbated by the 4 IPF's I have up there as well, but I'm still looking for a good wind noise solution.
Scott
I HAVE had an issue with this that I'm still sorting out. The AirTop Black Storm Medium, which is what I have, does not have a long enough track to be mounted to both sets of the Gobi cross bars that would be flush with the bottom of the tent. I could solve this by moving the tent back some so it's a$$ hangs off the back a little, but I have two camping work lights back there so that is not an option. As a result (and you can see this in my install picts), there is a lot of distance between the rear cross bar I had to use and the bottom of the tent. This space allows it to wiggle a bit and although I've driven it several thousand miles with no issues, if I do a super technical trail with step descents in the area of 30 degrees or so and I have to hit the brakes hard, the tent slides forward and the rear mounting points slide out of the track. It is still perfectly secured believe it or not, even at highway speeds with just the front two, which are closer to the middle than the front, but it's obviously disconcerting. I'm working on a solution.
Additionally, I've had no luck with the Gobi wind deflector in almost any situation. Prior to the Maggiolina, the soft top flapped like crazy in the back. After the Maggiolina, that went away, but there is significant white noise wind noise up front now. I've been told the tents are pretty quiet so then I removed the wind deflector and it made almost no difference. The problem could possibly be exacerbated by the 4 IPF's I have up there as well, but I'm still looking for a good wind noise solution.
Scott
Thanks for install comments and pictures. Looks like mounting the AirTop Black Storm to the Gobi rack is not as plug and play as I first thought.. :-( How do you like the medium size of the AirTop Black Storm? Is it large enough for 2 people or would you recoment the large size? (6 inches wider).
Have you thought about modifying the Axe/shovel mounts, instead of raising the RRT on the Gobi rack? Lower profile should be better for both off camber situations and less wind resistance.
- Michael
JK Freak
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 530
Likes: 0
From: Jonesport America, Maine
help
wahoo i made the leap and ordered my gobi 2 weeks ago
now im just trying to get the prep work done
the 2 bolts in the back on each side where the rack mounts up busted when i originally took off my stock bumper so this is now coming back to bite me in the ass. anyone have any good tricks on busted bolt removal? i've tried drilling but im going threw bits like cigarettes and im not sure if the rack requires the use of the same bolts and if they actually thread into the frame. id appreciate any help with this thank you. if some one could send me a pm with some advise id appreciate it thank you
now im just trying to get the prep work done the 2 bolts in the back on each side where the rack mounts up busted when i originally took off my stock bumper so this is now coming back to bite me in the ass. anyone have any good tricks on busted bolt removal? i've tried drilling but im going threw bits like cigarettes and im not sure if the rack requires the use of the same bolts and if they actually thread into the frame. id appreciate any help with this thank you. if some one could send me a pm with some advise id appreciate it thank you
JK Newbie
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 97
Likes: 0
From: Valley Village, CA
Hi Scott,
Thanks for install comments and pictures. Looks like mounting the AirTop Black Storm to the Gobi rack is not as plug and play as I first thought.. :-( How do you like the medium size of the AirTop Black Storm? Is it large enough for 2 people or would you recoment the large size? (6 inches wider).
Have you thought about modifying the Axe/shovel mounts, instead of raising the RRT on the Gobi rack? Lower profile should be better for both off camber situations and less wind resistance.
- Michael
Thanks for install comments and pictures. Looks like mounting the AirTop Black Storm to the Gobi rack is not as plug and play as I first thought.. :-( How do you like the medium size of the AirTop Black Storm? Is it large enough for 2 people or would you recoment the large size? (6 inches wider).
Have you thought about modifying the Axe/shovel mounts, instead of raising the RRT on the Gobi rack? Lower profile should be better for both off camber situations and less wind resistance.
- Michael
Sorry so long to respond. The tent seems great so far, but I've yet to actually spend a full night in it. Hoping to do that in about a month. Been doing some other build out stuff. The medium seems like it's going to be fine for two adults and a kid (I have a 3 year old), but I just won't be sure until I try it. If I remember correctly, the black storm was not available in large when I ordered, but I probably would have stayed with the medium anyway because I didn't want to have the sombrero effect. I've been able to build my JK up without doing anything super goofy looking yet, and I didn't want to start with a super wide tent.
As for modifying the mounts, I'm not really sure how I could. Some kind of flange needs to go over the tubing, unless I weld something on. I'll also be dealing with the ARB awning mounts as well, which work the same way. I'm having an interior build done now with an ARB fridge and drawers and storage by American Offroad Expedition . They are looking at solutions for me with the tent. I'll keep you posted.
JK Newbie
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 72
Likes: 0
From: Vancouver, BC
A friend and I put our racks on the same order back on May 10th. The order was marked shipped a month later (Jun 11), though they haven't arrived yet.
