Roof Rack Weight Rating

Safety tips when using a roof rack.

Roof rack weight rating.

Roof racks that secure via fixing points or inside the door jamb don t need to be locked. The maximum capacity of your roof rack system will be dependent on the lowest rated part of the system. So if you have a roof mounted cargo box that has a weight capacity of 150 lbs roof rack crossbars that are rated at 200 lbs and these are on a roof rated at 100 lbs then you cannot load more than 100 lbs. For custom and unlisted vehicles it is up to the installer to determine the maximum weight for the given application.

Weight capacity how much weight are you planning on carrying. Something that is often overlooked is the weight of your roof rack itself. When you can only carry 100kg on the roof fitting a 60kg rack to only be able to carry 40kg seems a bit pointless. To calculate the off road load rating divide the load rating by the safety factor then subtract the weight of the racks this will tell you the safe off road cargo rating for your vehicle.

The thule and yakima racks 150lbs and the bars get bendy and unhappy. 150lb s is the bar and foot capability not the roof. The safety factor is 1 5 to 2 depending on the roof rack and fixture style you can find the safety factor in the roof rack instructions. The stock bars on the outback are 100lbs then they start getting bendy and unhappy.

Most of the racks on this list will hold 150 to 160 pounds which should be sufficient for most car trips. We installed a powerful 4 4 full length steel cage roof rack on a mates patrol a few years back and weighed it at at around 60kg. Be sure to bring your outdoor toys on all your off road excursions. Total weight 40 2 lbs.

You might be surprised that most modern sedans wagons suv and crossovers only have a roof capacity of 165 pounds.