Looking for some advice and brainstorming here.... I want to put rack rails on my TJ hard top for light duty use, to be exact, carry up to 4 snowboards in the winter. I do not want to install the big windshield to rear bumper rack systems offered by Kargo Master and others, i just want to put rails on my hardtop and that's it.
I do understand that limits my use to having the hard top on in order to use the racks, but i'm fine with that.
I see Thule offers rack rails for jeeps for price, but what about the idea of going to a wrecking yard and pulling off a set of roof racks from say... a chev s10 blazer or similar? Why not? Has anyone else ever thought of this idea and tried it?

 

Doable for sure. There's a lengthy thread about it on JF.
Done right it looks really nice.
I'd say go for it and post some pictures on the way.

 

i looked on Jeepforum.com and didn't see any threads about guys taking other-make roof racks and using those. ie..from an SUV like a blazer, pathfinder, etc.
i did however find lots of threads of guys using aftermarket companies for their roof racks. not really what i'm after. I'm measuring up some various SUVS with flat roofs that have rack rails that i can take off. If anyone finds any threads with the info i'm after or has experience on this please input your knowledge. thanks alot.

 

Here's the JF link. I'm pretty sure it's exactly what you are looking for.
Junkyard Roof Rack
Cheers.

 

This was a great thread and I am in the process of doing the exact same thing, thanks for posting the link

 

I'm tempted to do it as well, but I don't ski and I lose the hardtop from May to October, so I'm no sure it's worth it for me.

How's the Jeeping on The Rock?

 

I will also be taking the hard top during the summer months but it will work great for the winter months. As far as jeepin the Rock goes I am having a blast. Went muddin last weekend and found the first week spot "the exhaust tail pipe" which I bent all to crap while backin out of a deep mud hole. It is being repositioned to up behind the rear wheel so that wont happen again. Sooner or later I will get sum pics up. This is a great web site

 

Here's an update for those interested:

i went to a junkyard and bought a roof rack from a 95 Pathfinder. Got it home, then had second thoughts... it said on the side that it was rated for max of 91lbs. Not that i would carry that much weight on top but I got thinking it is structuraly a weaker roof rack than others.... so i researched... i found the Chevy Blazer is the best one, it's rated for 200lbs and it's much more tougher. The aluminum side rails need to be cut to 33" long.
I'm currently in the middle of painting the rack flat black and i'll begin supplying pictures documenting what i'm doing.
So far this seems the best way to go. For a mere $25.00 I have a very good roof rack. Compare that to new Yakima or Thule Jeep roof rack rails at a price of around $250.00.
Pictures and notes to follow... probably next week.

 

25 bucks and a labor of love sure beats 250 ++.
Keep us posted. I still may do this myself, even though I really don't need it.
The link I posted above has some great advice about this mod.

 

Yo Jeepers,
My roof rack is complete, here's the details. In my biased opinion i'd say it's nicer than aftermarket ones if i do say so myself!

I used a roof rack from a 97 Blazer S10. Used all the parts from it, including bolts. As you can see in the picture, i painted the rack flat black. I painted the tip of the bolts flat white.
The steel plates are 2" wide, about 1/8" thick, I taped the holes to M6x1 because that's the thread size of the stock bolts. i also bought a rubber washer (Home Depot #3499) to add extra sealant to the bolt head. i used a 1/4" drill bit to drill into the roof.
I modified the roof rack slightly. I cut the side rails to 33" and reassembled, then painted flat black. So overall this is about 54" in length. The stock width of the roof rack fit perfectly on the sides of the rain gutters on the roof.
Also, underneath the roof rack, i used a dab of silicone where the bolt holes go through.
This is the perfect roof rack for what i'm want. Just to pack snowboards and small stuff in the winter. I found this rack much superior to any other OEM rack out there, i looked at all of them, cherokee, explorer, pathfinder, etc. this one has 200lb load rating and is just built well and solid, so i went with it.

Cost:
Roof rack from a junkyard :$25.00
Rubber washers from Home Depot $2.40
Steel from Home Depot $12.99
TOTAL COST: $40 BUCKS
Flat black & white paint. (already had)
M6x1 Tap (already had)