Cross bars for factory roof rack?

Perhaps I am cheap, but I was not going to pay $300 for Thule or Yakima crossbars. I found some Rage Powersports crossbars, sold by Discount Ramps, which are very heavy duty,(180 lbs. capacity) lockable, and fit my new Renegade factory roof rack. The part number is RB-1004-9. $80 with shipping. My primary purpose is the occasional Home Depot run for ten 2x4s, to be strapped on. Rage Poweresports products are also sold on Walmart web site.

I did fashion 3/4 by 1 rubber shim for insertion under the cross bars at the four connection points. I wedged the rubber shims between the factory longitudinal bar and the cross bar clamping mechanism so there is upward tension in addition to the clamping tension. Also, I put lock-tite on the four nuts that secure the outside clamp of the bar. The inside clamps on the cross bars are secured by a threaded rod that has a lockable knob. After the knob is tightened, you lock it with a key and it then spins freely.

I suppose I will get some wind noise from these cross bars because they are 1 by 1 1/2 heavy steel, not the aerodynamic shape of some of the fancy manufacturers.

I note that the manufacturer cautions that the cross bars should be removed when not in use but I am confident my slight modifications (lock-tite and rubber shim) will keep them secure for a long time.

I got a brand new yakima roundbar set-up on the cheap ($150) from craigslist. If you live in a big city/town, it's worth doing a quick search.

I think it looks great and I don't deal with much/any noticeable wind noise.

For reference, all yakima brand:

-48" roundbars
-4 pack railgrab towers
-38" fairing
-4 pack SKS locks

For those of you looking for less expensive solutions here are some ideas to consider:

Sprinkler pipe, free, you may have some in your garage:



Still have some sprinkler pipe left over, make a basket:



Recycle those old toilet plunger heads and scrap 2x4s:



What, no sprinker pipe or 2x4's? Just use your trusty roll of duct tape:



Before trying any of these, please make sure your car and liability insurance are paid up so you can pay for repairing the car that is following you.

CalTom said:

...
Don't bother buying the sprinker pipe, Tony has a lock on that for his ******* Renegade Rack - "RRR"

Click to expand...

... don´t care about their moaning about Sprinkler Pipes anyway ... you got a Jeep and not a Bentley ... Sprinkler Pipes just do fine ... >

And this is how a Jeep has to be parked ...

Back on track to the purpose of this thread, next to the Whipserbar's being the best looking for the Renegade, check out this roof rack on the modified Triailhawk from Masterservice Turkey. They have crossbars that tuck inside the roof rails, similar to the Whisperbars, very clean, but even lower profile, does anyone know what brand those are?




Whisperbar's

The images of the Thule crossbars didn't upload on the previous post, so here they are.