In order to have enough room to sleep inside the Jeep, we knew we’d need to be able to store things outside the Jeep. And since we were using the trailer hitch for our hitch-mounted bike rack, there was no way around getting a roof rack.

Choosing a roof rack

There are a ton of options out there for Wrangler roof racks, and the price range is massive. With most SUV’s, it’s as simple as adding a basket to the roof rails, which can be fairly easy and inexpensive. But with a Wrangler, it’s a little more complicated.

So I spent a lot of time researching racks and considering different options:

• There are several roof-mounted racks that require drilling into the hardtop, or through the hardtop and into the sport bars in some cases. Rhino-Rack makes a good one, which I think looks good and gets great reviews, but I really wanted to avoid drilling into the top.
• Gutter-mounted racks like the Smittybilt Defender are among the least expensive and probably the easiest to install. I like that there’s no drilling required, but I was concerned about all that weight resting on the hardtop gutters.
• The alternative to roof-mounted racks is mounting directly to the chassis, like the Garvin Expedition and the Gobi Stealth. This results in a rack that’s strong enough to stand on or mount a rooftop tent.

Gobi Stealth

I decided right away that I didn’t want to drill into the roof. And despite the higher prices, I decided that I wanted a chassis-mounted rack, so I wouldn’t be limited by the weight I could carry on the rack. I also like the idea that I can stand on the rack when I’m accessing my roof boxes, and I can mount a rooftop tent in the future.

Ultimately I chose the Gobi Stealth, because in my opinion it has the highest quality of the racks I looked at, and doesn’t require any drilling. They’re definitely not cheap, but I decided that a roof rack was one case where I was willing to pay a premium for the top quality. Plus, I think it’ll retain its resale value pretty well, and probably outlast my Jeep (at which point I could sell it or more likely transfer it to my next Jeep).

I bought the “multi-light” light-bar setup, although sadly I have yet to add any lights. I also went with dual rear ladders, which I think is a lot more convenient (especially if you have two people up there at the same time), plus I like the symmetrical look better. The most valuable add-on, I think, is the sunroof insert, which significantly increases the usable area of the rack, but is easy to remove when it’s not needed.

Installation

It’s worth mentioning that one consequence of Gobi’s high quality is that everything is made to order, so it takes a long time to get your stuff. Apparently 2-3 month lead times are common. The good news is the wait was the most painful part of the installation process.

Overall, installation took my wife and I a few hours. Parts of it are definitely a 2-person job though, so don’t start it when you’re home alone, like I did. The instructions were pretty thorough, so there weren’t really any curveballs.

Using the rack

I generally keep 4 roof boxes, a folding table, 2 camp chairs, a side awning, and a gas can up on the rack, and there’s still extra capacity to carry more stuff, like stand-up paddleboards. I also attach my rear-view camera to the back of the rack.

It’s also nice to be able to get on top of the car for accessing the stuff on the roof, taking pictures, or enjoying views (the roof boxes double as seats).