Top heavy

[O Dog Find all posts View Profile Close O Dog]

Hi all, just like to find out, how much weight do you put up on the roof.. I know about limits, but just like to hear, how much people do actually put on their roof racks.. Cheers guy.. Odog

[JimmyC Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close JimmyC]

Most I've ever had up there would be a spare tyre, 10L water, chainsaw and TREDs (full of mud so a good 20kg). So maybe 60kg all up?

[awwricecracker Member Find all posts View Profile Close awwricecracker]

On the 120 I've had a steel rack with 4 fibreglass ladders and 120 lengths of 25mm conduit.. So i'd say closer to 200kg bouncing down a corrugated dirt road. Everything survived, used lots of fuel

[O Dog Find all posts View Profile Close O Dog]

Hey Jimmy, got a trip coming up, very soon, but adding up the weight on the roof is getting a bit much, just wanted to see what people put up on the rack... Think I'm around 20 odd kilos over? Has Mt Dare to Birdsville in the middle of a 6 week trip.. Your from around that way, sort of? You think I should be concerned? Cheers Owen

[O Dog Find all posts View Profile Close O Dog]

Thanks for that, that's a lot of weight, I'm not that much over.. Cheers

[Brett1979 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Brett1979]

I've got a 3/4 length alloy rack and won't conciously go over 100kg for a trip. I have put 200kg odd in it before of chain sawed fire wood which I took back to the camp site from high up tracks at Jenowen Hills before which was a bit scary on downward steepish cambered tracks let me tell you. I didn't go for a steel rack because a full length one takes up half of your total load rating for the roof. I know people have gone well and truly over this though.

The load rating basically allows for a decent amount of suspension compression in a dip in the road at highway speeds and then coming out of the dip you get all 4 wheels a little bit airborne. Basically multiplying the downward force of the load momentarily. Double the max load rating you're carrying in this scenario and you really are running the gauntlet of fatiguing or snapping something up top.
Bad corrugations and the other obvious one is that it increases your risk of rolling over on a cambered off-roading track.

[O Dog Find all posts View Profile Close O Dog]

Thanks Guys, I've reduced the load a bit, and will take it easy, and see how it feels. Cheers for the replies. Safe travels... O