Roof racks

[nav27]

Whats the go? Is it better to mount roof racks over the cabin or over the canopy.
Which is stronger or better for carrying a load.

I have had the experience of having racks on the cabin,the ones which clamp down under the door sills. And after a trip to the Simpson the moved back and dented the roof!
The only weight we had was a spare tyre and 2 swags,so not a lot of weight.

Since then I have had put on the roof rails which seem a better option.

I am just about to buy a new 2012 d22 and want to get it right this time.

 

[Old.Tony]

It depends on the canopy's load rating. Your roof is probably similar to the D40s - about 95kg dynamic load.

The problem with this is the amount of "dynamic". 95kg on a highway surface is nothing, you'd never think twice about it. But on big corrugations or repeated thumping of the vehicle as it comes over dunes etc, that 95kg is going to be a major weight.

Most canopies are fibreglass and I'm not sure they'd withstand that sort of pounding. I think there are some with steel frames built into the canopy, these might be better.

Alternatively, put a rear bar on and a swing-away spare holder on the rear. Places the load down on the chassis, which will also help improve the vehicle's stability.

 

[nav27]

It depends on the canopy's load rating. Your roof is probably similar to the D40s - about 95kg dynamic load.

The problem with this is the amount of "dynamic". 95kg on a highway surface is nothing, you'd never think twice about it. But on big corrugations or repeated thumping of the vehicle as it comes over dunes etc, that 95kg is going to be a major weight.

Most canopies are fibreglass and I'm not sure they'd withstand that sort of pounding. I think there are some with steel frames built into the canopy, these might be better.

Alternatively, put a rear bar on and a swing-away spare holder on the rear. Places the load down on the chassis, which will also help improve the vehicle's stability.

Thanks for that. A lot to think about for this build, the 2nd time round. And wanting to get it all right.

 

[joshman]

I have had the experience of having racks on the cabin,the ones which clamp down under the door sills. And after a trip to the Simpson the moved back and dented the roof!
The only weight we had was a spare tyre and 2 swags,so not a lot of weight.

I had the exact same problem with my clamp down roof racks, absolute POS they were. I later changed to the permanent rail system, looks better and holds better. I think the dynamic loading of the cabin rails is either 75kg or 100kg, I can't remember which exactly, and I remember in the rhino booklet for my roof basket that the actual load rating for rough off road use is only 60% of the on road capability. So if your cabin is rated to 100kg, then you should only carry 60kg when headed off road.

Canopies by themselves have NO structural integrity at all, they're simply a shell. You can get steel inserts that form up inside the canopy and allow you to put racks and bars on the roof. I also have these and they're rated at 100kg.

 

[nav27]

I had the exact same problem with my clamp down roof racks, absolute POS they were. I later changed to the permanent rail system, looks better and holds better. I think the dynamic loading of the cabin rails is either 75kg or 100kg, I can't remember which exactly, and I remember in the rhino booklet for my roof basket that the actual load rating for rough off road use is only 60% of the on road capability. So if your cabin is rated to 100kg, then you should only carry 60kg when headed off road.

Canopies by themselves have NO structural integrity at all, they're simply a shell. You can get steel inserts that form up inside the canopy and allow you to put racks and bars on the roof. I also have these and they're rated at 100kg.

Yep that's what I meant. The internal struts which ARB use on the canopy to support the load.

Just need to sell my current
Nav first.