Black KJ with a great rack

dieselenthusiast · **Posted:** Sat Feb 14, 2009 12:23 pm

Tom, what is the middle tab for?

riptricket · **Posted:** Sat Feb 14, 2009 12:52 pm

2006 KJ · **Posted:** Sat Feb 14, 2009 4:00 pm

that is really really nice looking!

Boiler · **Posted:** Sat Feb 14, 2009 11:39 pm

Man black KJ's are sweet!

Sean150 · **Posted:** Sat Feb 14, 2009 11:46 pm

hey I thought you were gonna call me to help you put it on. :cry:

2006 KJ · **Posted:** Sat Feb 14, 2009 11:52 pm

tommud.... i've noticed a pattern. everytime i see your KJ it's on pavement... i think that calls for a visit to PA :twisted:

03CDKJ · **Posted:** Sun Feb 15, 2009 12:23 am

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!!!

THIS IS A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT

Rev Mudd will not be holding any services this weekend....
He will continue his sermon on Monday.... :wink:

Any person wanting one of these beautiful racks should contact Rock Lizard .... They are available for purchase!

So please no REPLICAS!!!

We will now continue with your regular posting.

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!

501 · **Posted:** Sun Feb 15, 2009 1:42 am

^^^

^^^

Looking good Tom!

Boiler · **Posted:** Sun Feb 15, 2009 2:40 am

Wow, I hadn't seen those racks before now, very nice. Now I just need a 53rd week in the year to pay for one....

Tokyojoe · **Posted:** Sun Feb 15, 2009 12:41 pm

Looks awesome painted black on a black KJ.

WoodysKJ · **Posted:** Sun Feb 15, 2009 1:17 pm

It does look awesome Tom,

But I am a bit prejudice ...

600 watts of KC's up there and all is well. Aimed at the exact level of the average eyeballs of BMW owners at 100 feet. VERY scientifically aimed

Now I have the Sliders from RL.

Tom, Still waiting to see the plumbing for the lights/antenna.

Like they always say, "Once you go Black, You Never Go Back."

Boiler · **Posted:** Fri Feb 27, 2009 10:06 am

Tom,

I'm attempting to make a jig that details the mounting points and crown in the roof so that I can make my roof rack and also make more custom ones. When you fit this rack onto your roof, what issues were there? Were the foot plates pretty much on, but the nutzerts were not lined up with the holes?

I'd love to see how the factory installs those nutzerts. It looks like there is a little 5/8" land area that they can randomly fall in. The guy I'm working on this with thinks that they probably all have the same spacing between nutzerts, but I'm betting that each one varies from the center of that land by up to 3/16" in any direction. Besides, even if the nutzerts are spaced the same every time, the spacing still needs to be consistant with the roof for the feet to land in the right spot.

Has anyone else looked at this? I'm starting to think generous slotting or hole oversizing is the way to go. Or maybe just put a minimal hole in it and instruct the installer to drill them out. You guys think that is acceptable?

WoodysKJ · **Posted:** Fri Feb 27, 2009 11:48 am

The holes on my Gecko were dead on. Only issue I had was UPS and their goons bending the feet in shipping, A BFH and a little opening of the holes and it dropped right on.

On a personal note. I would hope that anybody who is trying to build their own custom anything for their KJ would do their OWN research and testing and not rely on Marty's hard work as their source of information.

Not making any judgments here, JMHO.

tommudd · **Posted:** Fri Feb 27, 2009 12:16 pm

WoodysKJ wrote:

The holes on my Gecko were dead on. Only issue I had was UPS and their goons bending the feet in shipping, A BFH and a little opening of the holes and it dropped right on.

On a personal note. I would hope that anybody who is trying to build their own custom anything for their KJ would do their OWN research and testing and not rely on Marty's hard work as their source of information.

Not making any judgments here, JMHO.

Mine was the same way , 2 slightly bent feet, flattened them out and had to make the holes just a smidge bigger and on it went
and on the personal note, I have always agreed fully on that :wink:

Boiler · **Posted:** Fri Feb 27, 2009 12:20 pm

I've never held his rack with my hand or even looked at one in person. It was more or less a question of how ANY rack with fixed holes / feet fit a variety of KJ.

What I'd really like to know is how much the roofs of KJ's vary. Not actual dimension or anything, just if it is a problem or not. I already built something off my roof to make a jig from, but if what comes off it only fits MY roof, its pointless.

When I get my rack done, I'm sure there will be the usual complaining that it looks like X's rack or Y's rack. I obviously looked at pictures of lots of different baskets and racks that are out there for ideas, but this is all being designed straight from my roof and I'm sizing all of the materials from a wish list of capacity, safety factor, & dynamic loading considerations.

I'm really just asking if a rack that fits one KJ will fit all KJ, not about that rack in particular. I will have to say this for Rock Lizard: they've got a fiercely devoted following. I'm almost afraid to discuss their products in public!

So...back to the nutzerts...any ideas on their variation?

Boiler · **Posted:** Fri Feb 27, 2009 12:43 pm

Sounds like at least you two had consistant mounting nutzerts. How typical is it to need to drill out or slot holes slightly or make small adjustments when mounting aftermarket rails, skids, bumpers, rock rails, hitches, etc? Is that something that we have to typically deal with due to variations between particular KJ, or are they pretty consistant?

If I make that stuff to fit mine, and decide to make another for someone else, can I assume that if it fits mine it should fit theirs?

WoodysKJ · **Posted:** Fri Feb 27, 2009 12:49 pm

The old saying about A.S.S.U.M.E has always held true for me.

BUT, I would disclose the possibility of slight variations with the placement of the pair of nutzerst at each location. I have never seen that or any part of the assembly line in Toledo, or where ever the roof panels are stamped and drilled. But I would A.S.S.U.M.E. that the holes for the nutzerst are all drilled at the sam time on some sort of 8 drill bit jig.

A bigger issue is not if ALL of the nutzerts are the same from the factory, rather if the KJ, since leaving the factory, had been in some kind of fender bender which can throw the entire geometry off and make fitting anything like that a real witch.

Boiler · **Posted:** Fri Feb 27, 2009 12:59 pm

True enough. Yeah I hate to assume that too. About the only thing I can do is make one to match mine and then go find KJ's to test mount it on I think. Guessing that may be more difficult than it sounds. Guy I'm working with talked about going out to the junkyard and test fitting, but I told him basically the same thing you said, "who could say if a wrecked jeep's roof is twisted or not, even if it looks ok".

Sorry for the complete and total hijack Tom. Congrats on the new rack.

tommudd · **Posted:** Fri Feb 27, 2009 1:06 pm

Boiler wrote:

True enough. Yeah I hate to assume that too. About the only thing I can do is make one to match mine and then go find KJ's to test mount it on I think. Guessing that may be more difficult than it sounds. Guy I'm working with talked about going out to the junkyard and test fitting, but I told him basically the same thing you said, "who could say if a wrecked jeep's roof is twisted or not, even if it looks ok".

Sorry for the complete and total hijack Tom. Congrats on the new rack.

Not a problem Boiler, I sent you a PM as well

Black KJ with a great rack

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