SierraNVtrdorp
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Sort of hard to tell from pics, but has anyone had trouble mounting a Stealth Rack with the shark fin XM antenna?
Gobi Rack - Advantage and disadvantages
- Thread starter Khjphoto
- Start date
HOJeepster
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I miss the good old days of getting a quality built rack from Whitson Metalworks in 4-6 weeks for half the price of a Gobi.
majorh
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The rack is built to work with the shark fin. Mine fit fine.
SchmittyUSAF
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This has probably been beat to death but I need replies so I can start a thread lol.
I live in anchorage Alaska so anything outside of the city itself is a couple hour drive. Ive had my roof rack on for a few months and would buy it again. There is a little bit of wind noise but even with the radio low enough to hold a conversation, I don't notice it. And for me the mpg did go down a little bit (only using the vehicles average mpg on the cluster) but it isn't bad. I say I would buy it again because having that ability to put stuff securely on the roof (specifically heavy things I don't want rolling around my backseat and recovery gear that can get caked in mud) is higher than the little extra gas money I spend.
Hope it helps.
I live in anchorage Alaska so anything outside of the city itself is a couple hour drive. Ive had my roof rack on for a few months and would buy it again. There is a little bit of wind noise but even with the radio low enough to hold a conversation, I don't notice it. And for me the mpg did go down a little bit (only using the vehicles average mpg on the cluster) but it isn't bad. I say I would buy it again because having that ability to put stuff securely on the roof (specifically heavy things I don't want rolling around my backseat and recovery gear that can get caked in mud) is higher than the little extra gas money I spend.
Hope it helps.
Off-choader
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the demand for racks has exploded if whitson was around the wait would be even longer because everyone would buy his rack over gobj
Veet Skeet
New member
I used to have a Gobi Stealth Rack on my 2014 Trail, and that thing had rust below where the wind fairing made contact with the roof, as well as along one of the brackets where it mounted towards the front of the room where the rain gutter was rust from water getting through the seal and sitting in there.
How would i avoid something like that a second time around? Anybody have this problem?
How would i avoid something like that a second time around? Anybody have this problem?
The only rust risk I see is on things that bolt on or are compression fit to the rack. I see the paint/power coat chipping a bit at those points and that is going to rust if it isn't touched up. Any spot that flexes will eventually create a gap in the weather seal and cause rust. Rusty water will then run down and give a rust color where the water evaporates. Is that consistent with your experience?
Veet Skeet
New member
I saw rust right where the wind deflector made contact with the roof, as well as on the driver side front where the weather seal from the roof meets the windshield where the bracket was mounted
The wind deflector is made of plastic so, there are only two ways to see rust. Either the paint on the roof is chipped off and the roof is rusting, or it is rust that was suspended in water that evaporated.
The rusty water can come from points on the rack the rust. For the fairing, the likely candidate area is where the bolts attach the fairing. It is easy for the nuts or the threads of the bolt to have worn through (probably during installation, but maybe over time) the powder coat. Water will seep in, rusting the fairing bracket, the water will run down the back of the fairing, evaporate and leave rust.
I'd suspect the same for the weather seal/windshield, but the rust would be from where the rack mount bracket attaches to the tubing.
Do you see rust at any of these points if you remove the bolts?
Veet Skeet
New member
From what i remember, the rust from fairing was likely water that got trapped between the bottom of fairing and roof. The other part of rust was inside the weather stripping seal on the roof, next to where the bracket sat. The water got through the seal and sat inside and started rust.
That is not good in either case since it isn't the rack that's rusting but the vehicle roof. I pretty sure neither of those things is supposed to happen. I have a clear plastic protector adhered under the fairing to protect the roof, which ought to prevent rust (but I thought the paint would do that regardless). Not sure what to do about the mount points apart from maybe some silicone.
singletrackftw
New member
The only disadvantage to my Gobi rack was shelling out the money it cost to order one. I love mine.
OME 895E/883 + Bilstein 5100 | GOBI stealth | RCI alum front skid | FN Countersteer X | BFG 265's | AVS hood visor | morimoto HID's
OME 895E/883 + Bilstein 5100 | GOBI stealth | RCI alum front skid | FN Countersteer X | BFG 265's | AVS hood visor | morimoto HID's
graciedad04
New member
singletrackftw
New member
OME 895E/883 + Bilstein 5100 | GOBI stealth | RCI alum front skid | FN Countersteer X | BFG 265's | AVS hood visor | morimoto HID's
jron4
New member
Would be real damn hard to scratch so It shouldn't start rusting up like with paint.
I would go that route when I can someday get a rack
PCRIDE4RUNNERORG
Member
I knew a guy that "invented" a device that bolts /pinches onto the metal rib of a metal roof to prevent snow from sliding off, he also made a screw down version. After years of making this he got sued and turns out another guy had already patent every which way you can attach a snow stop device to metal roofs. In the end he had to pay the guy with the patent per device and ultimately settled.
Its too bad the whole patent trolling has destroyed any creativity that people can come up with, yet to find that its already patent. Makes it tough to come up with original designs.
From what I read their patents cover certain design elements such as
Unless this sums it up
however
Specifics on nut plates
Finally I believe this covers the full patent.
They do have diagrams on the brackets but a simple change like making them angled with a diagonal brace, or something else can by pass the patent. However be prepared to fight it out and a judge to decide if its different enough.
https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/64/b8/ad/2d44d9b4bbf828/US20050082326A1.pdf
Apple patented the rounded corners on iphones/ipads, no other phone manufacture can make a device with rounded corners like theirs. Samsung lost a while back because of this. Same goes with the round home button.
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That’s correct, a 2” strip with self adhesive backing.
Install tips:
1. It comes rolled up. Suggest stretching out over night before installing.
2. Dry fit the fairing and account for curvature of fairing on each end. Use masking tape to mark 1” from the edge from fairing.
3. Remove fairing and clean surface with denatured alcohol.
4. Prepare a dish soap/water mixture in a squirt bottle. Spray roof area before applying the plastic strip.
5. Buy a $2 bondo sqeegy to remove the bubbles as you lay the strip down.
6. Peel the backing tape off in sections at a time. Get the first section started, place along the edge of masking tape, remove bubbles, then peel away some more.
If you do it right you can curve the rectangular protective strip so there is 1” of protection on either side of the fairing
You can go to the Gobi accessories web site and download some of the above instructions and see pictures.
My man! Thanks. My rack is arriving today so I want to make sure all my ducks are in a row before getting halfway through only to realize I'm missing something.
It's interesting they don't talk about using silicon sealant on anything when it seems most people on the forum use some when installing. But then again, the OEM rails don't use silicon sealant so it's kind of curious.
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