Roof Rack Question

I went to florida a month ago from jersey, with 4 boards inside a boardbag. We had a soft rack, duct taped all the loose cables so the noise would stop. Then we got some ratchet straps. We hit 115 and really bad rain and we were fine. I wouldn't recommend going with just soft racks.

 

noisy straps

Yo, i find that if you put twists in the straps this eliminates the noise they make (which i'm pretty sure is from them vibrating when they are too tight. like a guitar string or something)

 

I've made it to FL and NC on several occasions from MD with soft racks...never had any problems other than that annoying vibrating noise. I'll have to try that twist trick. I would just make sure your racks are in good condition. The only problem I've had was with a pair that dry rotted, but they were pretty old.

 

you CAN, dunno why you WOULD. i used to use soft racks on my old nissan altima...upgraded to a yakima system. when i traded the altima for my grand cherokee, i made sure i had roof rails & cross bars on it. way more stable & secure IMO.
if you can, i would suggest going to your local jeep dealer & having them order them for you...very cheap; cheaper than yakima or thule, even.

 

if have the cash I would get a good set of racks and be done with it. Thule makes the hang 2 surf rack system and in most cases you dont have to but there cross bars. I got them for my landrover and they held my board snug and they are quite. When i sold the lando they went on my Wifes Hyundia

For $73.00 you cant beat it

 

Several companies make aftermarket roof racks that come in different sizes. They install using short self sealing self tapping screws. I put one on my car in about 30 min and used it for 3 years till I sold the car. Never had a problem and it looked factory. Not too expensive either.