While the interior storage space of a 4 door JK Unlimited seems like a U-Haul compared to a 2 door, it still leaves a lot to be desired especially when you’re traveling with multiple people and pups.
After spending a fair amount of time around JKU’s on the trail, I quickly realized a roof rack was going to be necessary to haul over-sized gear such as my OzTent that wouldn’t fit inside the truck.
I’ve had the Gobi Stealth Rack on the truck now for about 13,000 miles and my overall experience so far has been relatively positive with only a few minor issues.
Pros:
- Sturdy design; 300 lbs. driving load capacity, 800 lbs static load capacity.
- Maintains access to freedom panels or soft top.
- Numerous accessories available including light bar mounts, shovel mounts, and a ladder.
Cons:
- Loss of 1-2 MPG
- Substantial increase in wind noise.
- Becomes loose overtime and requires tightening.
I selected the Gobi Stealth Rack because it’s rated to support 300 lbs. of gear, doesn’t require you to drill into your hard top, and it comes with an optional ladder to easily access the roof. Another perk is that you can still utilize your freedom panels or your soft top (requires you to undo some bolts, but its easier than similar setups).
Freedom Panel Access
Hinge that allows you to pivot rack for soft top removal
The rack mounts to both the exterior of the body and directly to the frame of the Jeep. It’s also a very low profile design and only adds about 88-100 lbs to the roof depending on the accessories you choose to add along with it.
The one accessory I highly recommend is the optional ladder. Not only does it look great on the back of the Jeep, but it also gives you a quick and easy to way access the roof. This way you don’t have to worry about standing on your seats or slipping off your spare tire.
Hands down the biggest complaint I receive from passengers is that even with the hard top, the interior of the JK is loud. Now you need to take this with a grain of salt because most people are not used to the interior of a Jeep, and rolling on 35″ M/T’s are not doing me any favors. That being said the Gobi will add significantly more wind noise over no roof rack, but it doesn’t howl or whistle like some other racks.
Along with this wind noise, you’ll have to deal with the loss of 1-2 MPG’s. While the rack is “low profile” it still substantially changes the aerodynamics of the truck and you will be hit with a fuel penalty. We didn’t buy these trucks for fuel economy though so this shouldn’t be that big of a deal.
Now here’s the biggest issue I’ve had, because the rack is tied directly to the frame it does vibrate a lot. Due to this vibration the rack will loosen up over time, even with lock washers and nylon nuts.
The biggest problem spots I’ve noticed are the bolts on the frame, and the bolts in the rear of the rack. By no means is the rack going to fall off your truck with daily driving, but Gobi tells you to check the rack to make sure everything is tight in a big disclaimer on each one of their pages.
I just make sure to hit everything with a wrench once every few weeks before a trip and that keeps me good to go.
Another thing you have to keep an eye on are the “screws” that are on each side of the truck. These keep the rear bar from flexing and banging into the body of the truck, but they also work their way lose over a few weeks. You just need to make sure to give them a few turns with your hand every few weeks and they will tighten right back up though.
Overall I’ve been very pleased with the Gobi, and I do think it is one of the better options available on the market. It does require some continuing maintenance on your behalf but it does a great job of hauling gear, and it’ll also makes a great “roof deck” for supporting you and a few friends.
Did you ever end up trying LocTite to hold the bolts? We recently got a used GOBI rack for our 2014 JKU
Hayley, I never got around to using LocTite on the GOBI. I actually ended up switching racks and purchased a FrontRunner Slimline II. Let us know how LocTite works out for you!
Do you like the front runner rack better than the Gobi rack? I hesitate because of the drilling into the roof.
I prefer the Front Runner to the Gobi due to the additional stability of being attached directly to the roll bars. The rack is very stable and is a much better product than the GOBI. I wouldn’t hesitate recommending it to anyone looking for a rack for their JK. If drilling into the hard top is a problem, then this might not be the setup for you. Something to be aware of though is that you can still use the freedom panels and as long as the rack is installed correctly, you won’t have any leaks.
Thanks for great review. Is it possible to remove the rack easily? For example by removing screws at hinge points? I don’t want to ride with the rack on all the time, but only when needed. Is this practical?
Dz,
I’m glad you found the review to be useful. The rack is removable, but it depends on your definition of easy. You can unbolt the rack from the front support bar and from the rear mounts, but you’ll need at least one other person to help you lift it off the truck. Then you’ll need to remove the rear support arms from the rack unless you have an extra garage bay around for storage. You can probably get away with leaving the front supports on the truck, but you’ll get hit with a noise and fuel mileage penalty. I’d say you could remove the main portion of the rack in about 15 minutes and one tall friend, let me know if you have any other questions.
What year / motor did you have in your jeep during the rack evaluation ?
My Jeep is a 2014 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon which is equipped with the 3.6 Pentastar and 4.10 gears.
Also, does the “cage”/”mesh” on the top (seen in the second picture in this article), slide forward and backward? I have seen some images on google with it in the front.
The front portion that is above the removable freedom tops is an accessory, it is bolted to the rack and can be removed when you want to remove the freedom top.
Great post! Exactly what I was looking for before dropping 1.5k. I have a JK and not JKU, but I assume it’s not much different.
I had a few questions:
1. Does the Jeep lose 1-2 MPG with any rack or just this rack?
2. To transport skis and snowboards, do we need a separate attachment, or can we simply tie them down with ropes?
Thanks for the feedback!
In regards to your questions, here’s the best answers I can give you based on my experience:
1: The Jeep will lose 1-2 MPG regardless of what rack you decide to use, but you’ll lose substantially more with the GOBI due to the weight of the rack. For comparison, I went from getting 13.5 MPG with the rack to 16 MPG after I removed it from the Jeep. I’ve talked to a few other owners of other racks such as the Front Runner and their experience is about a .5 to 1 MPG mileage decrease. Individual results will vary, but in full disclosure I got rid of my GOBI.
2: You don’t need any attachments when putting skis or snowboards up on the rack as long as you secure them properly. I carried 2 snowboards up there for our annual ski trip and didn’t have an issue when I tied them down with my Nite Ize Kayak Straps. Just use some common sense and you’ll be good to go.
Let me know if you have any other questions, and thanks again for commenting!
I installed my Gobi Stealth on my JKU in December of 14, and all still remains tight. After installation was complete, I sprayed all of the hardware with AEV textured black paint to hide all of the silver and neaten the appearance, but I wish I had painted the hardware beforehand. Overall, I also have been very happy with the Gobi Stealth.
Paul,
Thanks for the tip, the hardware does rust so adding a layer of protection is a great idea I didn’t consider. It really is a good rack for what it is, but there are definitely some stronger and more stable options out there.
Glad you’ve had such a good experience with yours.
Alex,
Which rack would you recommend? It appears you got rid of the Gobi and have some suggestions on what would be better. I am looking for a sturdy rack to support a roof top tent. (If you have any recommendations on the tent, I would welcome your thoughts there as well.)
Joe,
I’d recomend the Front Runner Slimline, if you’re looking for more details shoot me an email and we can discuss options offline.
You might want to try using some blue LocTite to keep those books from vibrating loose. Great write up. I’ve heard lots of great things about everything Gobi makes.
At first I was pretty confident that the nylon washers would hold everything in place, but I’ll have to explore utilizing some LocTite in the future.