- Joined
- Jul 21, 2020
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- Location
- Washington
- Vehicle(s)
- 2011 Ranger XLT 4.0L - 4x4
- Your Bronco Model
- Badlands
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- #1
I'm sure I'm not the only one of us who has wanted to remove the middle panel of my hard top when suddenly finding yourself in some beautiful weather while out and about (especially here in the PNW), but there is no way to store it other than putting the rear seats down. I did a little messing around with my roof panels and I wondered this: can I safely store my rear panel on my Trailrax rack and strap it down? The answer is YES! A little back story: I spent the first summer of ownership in 2021 completely topless. Full hard top was removed and in the garage. I loved it but always planned on a roof rack for the utility. In the fall of 21 I added the Trailrax roof rack and since then have only been removing my front panels (frequently) and never messed with the middle panel because it was kind of difficult to remove and replace by myself when I didn't have a roof rack. I have to say, the rack actually makes it easier to remove the big panel by yourself because you can get in the back seat, slide it out, and prop it under the bars while you get out to finish removal/replacement. Before the rack was on, it was more awkward of a task.
The other day I had a nice sunny day and figured out the rear panel fits perfectly on the rack and the attachment hardware sits just inside of the bars. Nothing is wobbly and the panel sits flat on the bars nicely. The tapered rubber grommets are tight but you can muscle it in and strap it to your rack for a topless experience.
Just for kicks I timed how long it would take to put all the panels back on by myself from their positions on the rack and in the rear storage area. I did it in 4 minutes and 50 seconds. Here are a few pics. The close ups show the clearance of the 1/4 turn clamps and the hooks. The weird things on my crossbars are the boomerang mounts for my maxtraxx in case anyone asks. I'm not sure if @TrailRax engineered the rack intentionally for this but it works well.
This last one is how I propped the top panel to get it in myself.
The other day I had a nice sunny day and figured out the rear panel fits perfectly on the rack and the attachment hardware sits just inside of the bars. Nothing is wobbly and the panel sits flat on the bars nicely. The tapered rubber grommets are tight but you can muscle it in and strap it to your rack for a topless experience.
Just for kicks I timed how long it would take to put all the panels back on by myself from their positions on the rack and in the rear storage area. I did it in 4 minutes and 50 seconds. Here are a few pics. The close ups show the clearance of the 1/4 turn clamps and the hooks. The weird things on my crossbars are the boomerang mounts for my maxtraxx in case anyone asks. I'm not sure if @TrailRax engineered the rack intentionally for this but it works well.
This last one is how I propped the top panel to get it in myself.
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