Ape Factory
Member
This won't be a how-to as they have instructions online and on their website. I will give a few pointers though as well as working with the rack in its full and half configurations. I'll add better photos as I'm able to take them.
I went with JCR for three important reasons. First, the ability to convert it to a half rack as-is. Second, ability to remove the front and middle roof panels with the rack in place. Third, I got an incredible deal on the full rack and light bar from another Bronco owner. The JCR was also a viable choice as it has side racks which I really wanted since I have a few Rotopax canisters.
I do realize there may be more sturdy options (or should I say racks with a higher payload potential). I am not a hard core overlander or off roader (yet) so the cost difference between what I'd planned on purchasing and the JCR was significant enough I could not pass it up.
Cliff notes, the rack is pretty solid and I'd definitely purchase again. It's low enough I can get into the garage and with the light cutout/light bar, it's a slick, integrated-looking setup. I do not have noise isolators on the Rigid light bar yet but there is no noise with the full rack setup. The coating was uniform and looked to be of very high quality and durability. Time will tell.
Installation was finicky and it did take most of eight hours which included creating a wiring harness and installing a light bar. The bolts are all Allen and everything looks to be stainless except for the bolts finished in black. I didn't put a magnet to them. Everything lined up correctly for the most part as well so I wasn't struggling to line up holes or anything like that.
Here are my main complaints.
IMO, the nuts/bolts are ok but not as high quality as I'd like. I managed to lightly cross thread one nut and the Allen bolts didn't seem that sturdy and strip easily. I will likely replace them with better hardware. Also, there are stainless Allen bolts in two different lengths. There weren't enough of the longer 1" bolts for my comfort and I'll be replacing some of the shorter 3/4" bolts in certain locations so there's more purchase by the nut on the other side. Also, the nuts included, and the bolts, have two different thread pitches. Everything should be the same thread pitch, either metric or SAE. Maybe a supply issue, dunno. But it was infuriating as I had to go source a nut from my squirreled-away stash of random nuts and bolts.
Another issue I ran into is the plates used to mount the rear portion of the rack to the top are position-specific, front to rear and not just left to right like it's listed in the manual. I had a WTF moment when installing and the rear brackets wouldn't even come close to sandwiching the rail between them. It was late and I was getting a bit frustrated. On a whim, I swapped them fore and aft and viola, success. The instructions have them listed as side specific but don't mention they vary front to back as well.
Speaking of those mounting plates, the instructions require you to take a wide strip of rubber and adhere it to the back of the brackets. This prevents metal from touching the roof. It requires the installer to push the rubber strips into the tight bends on the brackets. The adhesive makes this difficult to say the least and I feel like they should come lined from the factory. I ended up scoring along the length of the crease with a utility knife and that helped conform the rubber to the bracket. Much easier installation if that's the case. And the rubber isn't cut well either so on a few brackets, a bit of trimming is needed. First world problems but it adds up to a less than fun installation.
The covers on the windshield cowl, where the front brackets are installed, require trimming. Not ideal and I really hope I can get painted replacements. I ended up cutting the wrong side on one. Maybe it's unavoidable, du rigeur, but it seems a bit amateur in the 21st century.
The wind deflector can touch the paint. I feel like with careful design and manufacturing, this can be avoided. The instructions say to cover that area with paint protection film. I should have read the full instructions before attempting installation. I've since purchased some XPEL and will be installing it this weekend. They include a strip of rubber that has an aluminum "wire" in the middle so it can maintain a certain shape when bent. It's necessary to cut it to length. Installation requires pushing the strip's channel onto the bottom of the wind deflector. Sounds easy but it's a pain after you're six hours into things. Just seems a little hokey but perhaps the "seal" against the windshield cowl is necessary to eliminate noise. Dunno. For what these run new, it should be a molded, integrated part.
I considered the installation preliminary as I wanted to see how everything fit together and make some changes if necessary. As such, I did not loctite the bolts. The rack was, however, mostly silent for a good week. I noticed a bit of noise on Sunday and I went through to see if everything was tight. I had a few bolts that were a tad loose, those connecting the cross beams. I went back through and used a dab of blue loctite on all the necessary bolts and checked the torque on everything one more time.
If your rack does squeak, even after loctite and making sure it's all torqued down, I do have a suggestion. Procure a bit of Krytox GPL 105 off of Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Chemours-Krytox-GPL105-Needle-Bottle/dp/B00WE0DEKW/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=19R1WVYCOWMXZ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.dbVQJ_lWZ1Z5KuC2C26rO7p_1MN4y8RkrBUL3cvk8jD4BCHPI-tuvCJmbnTCpPpUl5jwJJVnmdly1d_KEmW95wHBWF7o1EApGSUfMoVdwrlDWTPEkMQn-XL0uk-bfNfLjk5Nk9zu-dgYdSMZSW_zzPXb7hj-W_03QtQrPpbPtxO3qMD3Q7dDtlJ1_EsNvR0OnOkc4Ivsm7a0Qa9I5MSF57o7PQRqyt_MtPIrBxHiV6k.Xw6McWY4AIbOqLfGycSmGbMXY2IA9ajk5zjjdyonoZg&dib_tag=se&keywords=Krytox+GPL+105&qid=1740002930&sprefix=krytox+gpl+105,aps,146&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1
Edit: Cheaper here: https://tmcindustries.com/products/krytox-gpl-105?variant=39933156196419
I will say I paid about $20 less for it five years ago but it's lasted as you use very, very little. I've literally "oiled" every hinge in my house including all the automotive uses I have for it and the only reason I'm out is I spilled the bottle. It's non-toxic, doesn't migrate and is really a wonder lube developed for space programs. Really cool stuff. You can lube a door hinge with one drop and it'll stay quiet for the rest of your natural life. Seriously.
So back to the rack. I like to take the entire top off so I'll run the half rack setup most of the time. I'll experiment a bit with the rack in place but I also have a sun shade which hinders top removal. Might be a bridge too far. I converted to the half rack on Monday after waiting for my Rigid light bar brackets to show up. Instead of taking everything apart, I installed a hoist to lift the rack off the car and suspend it from the ceiling. I believe JCR lists the full rack at 65 pounds or thereabouts so if you have two good shoulders (I don't have one good shoulder) and you're tall, you may be able to lift it up and off and simply hang it on a wall or something.
After looking things over, converting to the half rack came down to four bolts at the rear and three at the front. Two bolts in the rear require removal, two simply needed to be loosened.
Out of an abundance of caution, I would recommend the strategic placement of rags along where the rack might hit the top. Honestly, it's pretty easy to gently lower it and rest it on the top but if you're an A-type personality, that'll ease your pain.
Here are the three at the front which bolt to the main accessory bracket and then to the windshield cowl.
And at the rear. The two bolts just to the right of the empty holes need to be loosened so the middle plate, which is the rear rack beam, can slide in and out.
At the front, the light bar brackets can just stay with the rack as they're mounted to the first cross beam. I really like this setup as it prevents glare on the windshield and with this particular light bar, being the midnight edition, it almost looks like it's just a cross bar. Really integrated.
Not the best shot but here she is in the half rack configuration. I have yet to order the side racks, waiting on a sale
I will say in the half rack configuration, I don't hear additional noise despite there being no wind deflector. The do have a deflector available for the half rack configuration at extra cost ($150).
I currently have the front portion suspended although I'm still working on the final hardware configuration for that. It's positioned so the rear roof can be hoisted up at the same time and they don't interfere with one and other. I have 16ft. ceilings in my garage and it wasn't a fun task!
I'll report back once I get some stuff strapped to the top and use it in anger. So far so good and I think it looks halfway decent in either configuration.
I went with JCR for three important reasons. First, the ability to convert it to a half rack as-is. Second, ability to remove the front and middle roof panels with the rack in place. Third, I got an incredible deal on the full rack and light bar from another Bronco owner. The JCR was also a viable choice as it has side racks which I really wanted since I have a few Rotopax canisters.
I do realize there may be more sturdy options (or should I say racks with a higher payload potential). I am not a hard core overlander or off roader (yet) so the cost difference between what I'd planned on purchasing and the JCR was significant enough I could not pass it up.
Cliff notes, the rack is pretty solid and I'd definitely purchase again. It's low enough I can get into the garage and with the light cutout/light bar, it's a slick, integrated-looking setup. I do not have noise isolators on the Rigid light bar yet but there is no noise with the full rack setup. The coating was uniform and looked to be of very high quality and durability. Time will tell.
Installation was finicky and it did take most of eight hours which included creating a wiring harness and installing a light bar. The bolts are all Allen and everything looks to be stainless except for the bolts finished in black. I didn't put a magnet to them. Everything lined up correctly for the most part as well so I wasn't struggling to line up holes or anything like that.
Here are my main complaints.
IMO, the nuts/bolts are ok but not as high quality as I'd like. I managed to lightly cross thread one nut and the Allen bolts didn't seem that sturdy and strip easily. I will likely replace them with better hardware. Also, there are stainless Allen bolts in two different lengths. There weren't enough of the longer 1" bolts for my comfort and I'll be replacing some of the shorter 3/4" bolts in certain locations so there's more purchase by the nut on the other side. Also, the nuts included, and the bolts, have two different thread pitches. Everything should be the same thread pitch, either metric or SAE. Maybe a supply issue, dunno. But it was infuriating as I had to go source a nut from my squirreled-away stash of random nuts and bolts.
Another issue I ran into is the plates used to mount the rear portion of the rack to the top are position-specific, front to rear and not just left to right like it's listed in the manual. I had a WTF moment when installing and the rear brackets wouldn't even come close to sandwiching the rail between them. It was late and I was getting a bit frustrated. On a whim, I swapped them fore and aft and viola, success. The instructions have them listed as side specific but don't mention they vary front to back as well.
Speaking of those mounting plates, the instructions require you to take a wide strip of rubber and adhere it to the back of the brackets. This prevents metal from touching the roof. It requires the installer to push the rubber strips into the tight bends on the brackets. The adhesive makes this difficult to say the least and I feel like they should come lined from the factory. I ended up scoring along the length of the crease with a utility knife and that helped conform the rubber to the bracket. Much easier installation if that's the case. And the rubber isn't cut well either so on a few brackets, a bit of trimming is needed. First world problems but it adds up to a less than fun installation.
The covers on the windshield cowl, where the front brackets are installed, require trimming. Not ideal and I really hope I can get painted replacements. I ended up cutting the wrong side on one. Maybe it's unavoidable, du rigeur, but it seems a bit amateur in the 21st century.
The wind deflector can touch the paint. I feel like with careful design and manufacturing, this can be avoided. The instructions say to cover that area with paint protection film. I should have read the full instructions before attempting installation. I've since purchased some XPEL and will be installing it this weekend. They include a strip of rubber that has an aluminum "wire" in the middle so it can maintain a certain shape when bent. It's necessary to cut it to length. Installation requires pushing the strip's channel onto the bottom of the wind deflector. Sounds easy but it's a pain after you're six hours into things. Just seems a little hokey but perhaps the "seal" against the windshield cowl is necessary to eliminate noise. Dunno. For what these run new, it should be a molded, integrated part.
I considered the installation preliminary as I wanted to see how everything fit together and make some changes if necessary. As such, I did not loctite the bolts. The rack was, however, mostly silent for a good week. I noticed a bit of noise on Sunday and I went through to see if everything was tight. I had a few bolts that were a tad loose, those connecting the cross beams. I went back through and used a dab of blue loctite on all the necessary bolts and checked the torque on everything one more time.
If your rack does squeak, even after loctite and making sure it's all torqued down, I do have a suggestion. Procure a bit of Krytox GPL 105 off of Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Chemours-Krytox-GPL105-Needle-Bottle/dp/B00WE0DEKW/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=19R1WVYCOWMXZ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.dbVQJ_lWZ1Z5KuC2C26rO7p_1MN4y8RkrBUL3cvk8jD4BCHPI-tuvCJmbnTCpPpUl5jwJJVnmdly1d_KEmW95wHBWF7o1EApGSUfMoVdwrlDWTPEkMQn-XL0uk-bfNfLjk5Nk9zu-dgYdSMZSW_zzPXb7hj-W_03QtQrPpbPtxO3qMD3Q7dDtlJ1_EsNvR0OnOkc4Ivsm7a0Qa9I5MSF57o7PQRqyt_MtPIrBxHiV6k.Xw6McWY4AIbOqLfGycSmGbMXY2IA9ajk5zjjdyonoZg&dib_tag=se&keywords=Krytox+GPL+105&qid=1740002930&sprefix=krytox+gpl+105,aps,146&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1
Edit: Cheaper here: https://tmcindustries.com/products/krytox-gpl-105?variant=39933156196419
I will say I paid about $20 less for it five years ago but it's lasted as you use very, very little. I've literally "oiled" every hinge in my house including all the automotive uses I have for it and the only reason I'm out is I spilled the bottle. It's non-toxic, doesn't migrate and is really a wonder lube developed for space programs. Really cool stuff. You can lube a door hinge with one drop and it'll stay quiet for the rest of your natural life. Seriously.
So back to the rack. I like to take the entire top off so I'll run the half rack setup most of the time. I'll experiment a bit with the rack in place but I also have a sun shade which hinders top removal. Might be a bridge too far. I converted to the half rack on Monday after waiting for my Rigid light bar brackets to show up. Instead of taking everything apart, I installed a hoist to lift the rack off the car and suspend it from the ceiling. I believe JCR lists the full rack at 65 pounds or thereabouts so if you have two good shoulders (I don't have one good shoulder) and you're tall, you may be able to lift it up and off and simply hang it on a wall or something.
After looking things over, converting to the half rack came down to four bolts at the rear and three at the front. Two bolts in the rear require removal, two simply needed to be loosened.
Out of an abundance of caution, I would recommend the strategic placement of rags along where the rack might hit the top. Honestly, it's pretty easy to gently lower it and rest it on the top but if you're an A-type personality, that'll ease your pain.
Here are the three at the front which bolt to the main accessory bracket and then to the windshield cowl.
And at the rear. The two bolts just to the right of the empty holes need to be loosened so the middle plate, which is the rear rack beam, can slide in and out.
At the front, the light bar brackets can just stay with the rack as they're mounted to the first cross beam. I really like this setup as it prevents glare on the windshield and with this particular light bar, being the midnight edition, it almost looks like it's just a cross bar. Really integrated.
Not the best shot but here she is in the half rack configuration. I have yet to order the side racks, waiting on a sale
I will say in the half rack configuration, I don't hear additional noise despite there being no wind deflector. The do have a deflector available for the half rack configuration at extra cost ($150).I currently have the front portion suspended although I'm still working on the final hardware configuration for that. It's positioned so the rear roof can be hoisted up at the same time and they don't interfere with one and other. I have 16ft. ceilings in my garage and it wasn't a fun task!
I'll report back once I get some stuff strapped to the top and use it in anger. So far so good and I think it looks halfway decent in either configuration.
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