Loading on a roof rack

I had a heavy-duty roofrack that had strengthening struts running down to the body cappings, but even with that, no-one could or would tell me the maximum load. I think the reason was because anything much on the roof lifts the centre of gravity so high that the truck gets

*really* scary in the corners, especially with a lightly-loaded truck, extra weight in the rear can help lower the CoG again. If the kennel is very heavy, e.g. it'll take more than two people to lug it around the yard, it might be best to use the trailer, especially as it's physically large so wind would get it and its height will raise the CoG even higher still.

It'll make a very nice sail too!

Don't even think about looking it up - it'll scare the crap out of you. 2003 CSW + roofrack + 7 people with rucksacs was - according to Landrover overweight !!! 5.5 people and it was fine :)

Dave

I assume the kennel is dissassembled? ;)

Its a tricky choice. A very full roofrack isnt that fun, but neither is a trailer that overlaps the edges.

I think the ideal solution would be to borrow a 6 foot wide trailer!

How much will it overhang the front/back of the rack on the 110?

Atleast it is a tad more manageble than the 10x12 shed i moved > I have a 1990 Defender 110 County.

LR quote 50Kg max, I think. Even using Ian's idea of a rack with struts to the body cappings (a la Brownchurch) you won't find anyone who will guarantee much more than 50Kg. Any dog kennel have even built weighed a damn sight more than that, never mind one with a run attached. Use the trailer and make flags for the overhangy bits.

Good god ,, how big is the chuffing dog ??

..............Smurf

Hello,

Thanks for a useful set of replies, the trailer it is then!

It is a kennel and run, it will be used to house our boys when the girls are in season!

Have a happy and safe Christmas and may Santa bring you all that you wish for.

Cheers

Peter

I reckon you'll have the RSPCC after you if you put the kids in there !

AWEM

You haven't met my boys then....... :-)

Happy Christmas from a very soggy Wiltshire having just come back from taking my boys and a girl for a run in the local country park.

Cheers

Peter

I am tempted to say as much as it will take without bending, I see various data in handbooks, then you see what is put up there on transafrican expeditions and whatnot.

I wouldn't wonder if my roofrack alone does not exceed manufacturers recomendations.

I stand on my roof to take photographs, it's an excellent platform.

The only real bother is the effect it has on the centre of gravity.

That's what I bought my brownchurch roofrack for, and in fact the whole landy. I did a few airshow shoots many years ago standing on the roofrack or the bonnet of the landy to get over the heads of the crowds. Got some funny looks!

That was the big bother for me, it didn't take much load when moving house to make the truck wobble alarmingly in the bends. Mine doesn't have anti-roll bars on the suspension though, might not be as bad if there are anti-roll bars perhaps.

I'd still take the big kennel on the trailer though!

For what it is worth I notice the difference in handling when I put a full jerrycan on the back door and fill my water container which stands amidships. Though I suppose that both of those tend to lower the centre of gravity, but when I load up the back it does make the steering light. (gotto get myself some parabolics I suppose, but given the rest of what I need to spend that is always for tommorow and the day after)

The most awkward load I ever carried in any vehicle was to fill my Granny to capacity with milk cartons.

People Hi,

roofracks are always damaging to the handling of a vehicle. Only the very light aluminium made ones tend to have smaller negative effects. The heavy steel (galvanised, rislan coated etc) ones are heavy enough to alter the center of gravity significantly even when empty.

As an example I guess it is enough to say that it takes two strong men to handle the roofrack of a Camel Trophy specifications Discovery or Defender. The significant limiting factors of what can be loaded onto a roofrack are the contact points of the roofrack to the bodyshell, the amount of load that the axles of the vehicle can tolerate and the space/volume of the roofrack.

The contact points of the roofrack are usually the ones that give up first. On serious roofracks which are expected to carry heavy loads over very rough terrain and for long distances the best way to secure them are to fit them directly on a rollcage and then mount the rollcage either on extended areas of the bodyshell (as in the case of CT specs Discos) or on the chassis outriggers (as in the case of CT specs Defenders) Most people though follow the route of fitting them on the rain gutters of the roof. On some occasions the contact points ("legs") are sturdy and numerous enough to distribute even heavy loads onto this area. But on certain occasions of overloaded roofracks and usually while traveling over rough terrain at speed it happens to see the roofrack get detached from the vehicle. (BTDT back in the early '80's while traveling with my LADA COSACK (Niva in Greece) with about 8 windsurf boards, masts etc loaded on a flimsy roofrack with only four legs attached to the gutters.)

The amount of load that the axles can take can be easily checked since all Landies have the GVW quoted by the factory.

As for the volume since the upper side has only the sky as the limit it is up to common sense to decide what is enough.

Loading a heavy item (such as a spare wheel or a full jerry can) way behind the rear bumper always alters the "feeling" of the steering wheel and front tyres. Remember that the weight is actually multiplies because it is applied way behind from the actual point of contact to the ground so the rules of leverage apply.

As a rule of thumb it is always advisable to load heavy items with small volume (such as water and fuel cans and reservoirs) as low and as close to the center of gravity of the vehicle as possible. This is where five door vehicles are useful even when only two persons travels. The additional two rear passengers doors provide easy access to the fuel and water which are ideally located in the footwell area of the rear passengers and then a flat wooden or aluminium board can make the whole loadspace area lever from the 5th door up to the backs of the driver's and co-driver's seats.(preferably with a mesh or bars type "dog"guard separating the area so as to ensure that nothing will find its way to the back of their necks when braking hard)

Spare tyres unfortunately are too bulky to be easily located inside the car without stealing valuable space and volume.

As for the trailer I guess this is what I would choose if I were to travel far, relatively fast and on a windy road. Of course it is always a hassle trying to reverse with a trailer but then again one an always detach it, reverse and re-attach it.

Take care and happy holidays season to everybody Pantelis

I have one of those heavy duty roofracks, quietly rusting away, so if I ever want to remove it or replace it with a lighter one I am going to have a struggle then. My spare tyre used to live up there, but given the struggle to get it on and off there, it now lives on the bonnet instead.

Nah, I hauled a Brownchurch heavy duty on and off my 110 roof myself, and lugged it around the garden, and I'm a not particularly strong computer nerd. I do have a knack for lifting heavy stuff though but even so, it's certainly a struggle but not a major one.

Ours is quite light but still a two people job to fit without putting your back out. I've added chequre plate floor to 2/3rd of it as I wanted to have a platform but also to have shade under the sheet to create a safari roof type effect in the heat of spain. This worked well when stationary and the main heat we suffered came from the gearbox tunnel on the autoroutes.

As for getting the spare up top. I use a ratchet strap through a piece of wood. Put the ratchet strap through the centre of the wheel then loop it back using the wood to make a T that hooks within the wheel. With the back door open on the 110 I can then lower the wheel down without risk of body damage / broken windows. I've had three or four 6ft by 6ft fence pannels up there before now but I didn't enjoy the experience.

Lighter items when caravanning go up there, Aquarolls (empty), Sun chair frames, lightweight tables and plastic boxes with the likes of BBQ fuel (wrapped in a bin liner). Over the top of this lot goes the awning mesh floor which helps reduce drag from the various items and also helps retain the various items up there once all strapped down with three or four ratchet straps.

Lee D

Bet you couldnt do that with a 101 wheel! ;) think im gonna make a light ally ladder which i can slide the wheel up onto the roof with the aid of a little hand winch.

Yep a 101 tyre would be a bit more of a challenge but then again the 110 has

235/85 r16's so there isn't that much in it.

I managed to get the two petlas up there fine minus the rim when delivering them to Simon at the August unofficial. The extra height of the 101 may just tip the balance mind.

Bung it up front and then you can sneak about in the event of WWIII pretending it's a split screen VW :-)

Lee D