Disco 1 max roof rack load

It's 75kg AFAIK.

Richard, I may be totally wrong (and someone here will tell me if I am) but I think the 50/75kg limit relates to the standard fit roof bars. They are only held in place by a couple of flimsy looking plastic pegs at each end.

HTH Regards Steve G

remove the nospam to email me

The official payload is pitifully low. ISTR reading that some of the Land Rover racks are actually heavier than the max weight. 75KG rings bells for me.

I carried a heavily laden rack for hundreds of miles offroad* in Iceland, and I didn't have any problems at all, apart from (a) rear sunroof leaking, which has since stopped, and may have been dust; and (b) scratches on the roof from bad loading, which was hardly the fault of the roofrack. I would guess my roofrack was at or above 150KG whilst moving, and you can add the weight of a fat adult for loading / unloading time. Plus the weight of the roofrack itself.

Mine mounts in 3 points each side, to the gutter. I didn't have any problems at all with handling, despite my 2" lift. And I've never really noticed any great difference in economy, whether the roofrack is fitted or not. (200Tdi)

David.

• Yes, I know it's illegal to go offroad in Iceland, we were actually on public "roads", but they would be classed as off-road virtually anywhere else in the world...

Hi,

I looked into this a while back as I was planning a trip to the Okavango. I think it is my posts that you have seen.

It is correct that the official load limit for the roof rack is 75kg on road, 50kg off road. This include the weight of the rack. Suppliers I spoke to said they could get more, and the trick is to spread the weight over the whole roof, by having the roof mounted on a bar which runs the whole lenght of the gutter.

The main problem is the rear door - if you put two much weight on the rear, the rear door will not close, so front load the rack (probably a good idea anyway not to put all the heavy items at the back - you want the weight centred over the wheels.

So the answer to your question is yes, people are successfully putting loads like this on a Disco, but you must do it with care.

Of course, with a roof top tent, the weight will be higher when it is occupied! Shouldn't be too much of a problem, as on the road it won't be. However, when in it, remember to be gentle with the car underneath, and just be careful your nocturnal antics don't rock the springs too much!!

Good Luck Graham Carter Harare Zimbabwe.

I have Rhino racks and a Howling Moon Tent on top of my Disco....There is a pic of the tent on my last Disco at

I decided against the Maggiolina on cost and wanting to keep things simple .....was wary of the raising mechanism letting me down.

Not with just me (95kgs) up top

TD5..... I guess as I was on holidays I drove slightly slower than usual...at 95kmh U dropped to about 29MPG from my usual 32mpg as I crossed Australia East to West. Coming back economy was near normal.

No probs with either...but I was aware of the higher centre of gravity so drove accordingly.

Mine has four each side (so ner ner!!) and hasn't complained with having me clambering on it. I am somewhat over the 50kg limit (oh, what the hell, nearly 120kg).

Main points to note are

i) high speed cornering should not be attempted!! ii) you will get a lot of wind noise (I've fixed this to a large degree by using domestic water pipe cladding to prevent resonance) iii) it is very easy to scratch the roof unless you fit some kind of floor iv) if you have a small child you will wonder how you ever managed without one! v) remember that the stuff on the roof is easily nickable if you park up for a stroll round town - I suddenly remembered the hugely expensive pram chassis whilst we were buying beer this afternoon (and thought sod it - i've got beer)

Come to think of it - I still haven't taken it off, so I guess it's pretty nickable now!!

Tim Hobbs

'58 Series 2 '77 101FC Ambulance '95 Discovery V8i

Good idea, I'll try that.

Hmm, yes. Another thing on my list of things to do.

Yes, but don't the police pull you over when the child starts crying?

Thanks Graham, David and Steve, if I remember correctly... Something went horribly wrong. Computerwise. But I managed to sort things out, for a change without getting my hands dirty.

The dealer also confirmed the 75 figure. So I guess, a rooftop tent and carriers shouldn't be a problem, as long as me and the missus watch our rooftop antics.

Richard

People I talked to (one had the Maggiolina for more than 30 years) had no complaints about the raising mechanism, but did change the mattress, wich was no good. Still, you're absolutely right, they cost a bundle. We looked for the seperable pods type because we're a bit fed up with mopping up after the rain and figureed that the polyester pods offer better protection against, let's say, water ingress, than tent-cloth. We regularly set up camp in the Ardennes and the Alps, where it rains abundantly - except maybe, this summer.

Gallon, as in 4,5 litres? The Imperial variety? In that case the 300 TDI is about the same (about 11 km/l). The caravan takes me down to about

7,5 to 8 km/l (21 to 22,6 mpg; Imperial mpg x 0.354 = km/l x 2,825 = Imperial mpg, for those interested).

I remember something about static load and dynamic load, the former being five times the figure of the latter (so, 375 and 75 respectively). So your - nearly - 120 kg shouldn't be a problem, I guess, so long as you climb down before the wife drives off.

How very true!