You might remember we took a look at one of Bestop’s Roof Racks a few months back on a CJ, though that system was a modified unit that simply utilized the tray from Bestop only. The unit for the JK is a little different, as this Overhead Rack is designed to be a quick and simple addition for any Jeeper who does not want to drill holes in their body and attach a large roof rack that is permanent. In fact, Bestop’s simple rail and rack system installs within minutes and can be removed by one person. The rack rails lie against the Jeep’s body via large, spongy pads and clamp up and over the top body rail, into the inside of the cab.

The rack tubes then slide into the rails and use clamps to snug them down. The entire system combined is very solid in construction, simple, and promises to hold up to 150 pounds of weight. That’s a lot of weight, considering that most tents, chairs and other camping equipment is lightweight stuff. 

We chose to run one Bestop tray on our rack. This gives us enough room for most of our extras; however, we will be ordering one additional tray for those extra long trips out of state where we need more outside cargo room. The Bestop trays are made from a very durable, lightweight plastic material, so adding another should not significantly impact the capacity of weight we can carry up top. 

While we like the fact that we can quickly and easily remove the entire Overhead Rack and tray from our Jeep in minutes, but we did encounter a down side to this flexibility.  The large, spongy pads that help in this rack’s versatility also allows excessive movement, especially while at highway speeds and during bumpy off-road travel. We’ve noticed that when our rack is loaded up with gear, it tends to wobble from side to side, mostly due to the soft material used in the pads. While we don’t see any short- or long-term problems with this, due to its 6061 T6 Aviation grade aluminum construction, we do feel that a more firm pad should be used to minimize any movement in the rack.

One thing we didn’t think about until on the trail was removal of our soft top. Unlike many other roof racks, we are able to take the top down with the rack still on. This is very handy, as many racks require modification or complete removal to lower the Jeep JK soft top.  The rear side curtains of the soft top can also be easily removed while the rack is on the Jeep. 

Bestop also engineered this rack to be compatible with popular rack accessories from other manufacturers. Many bicycle trays, ski and snowboard racks and other cargo trays will fit on the tubes to give any Jeep owner the versatility to enjoy all of their favorite hobbies.