roof rack load simpson desert

I had a landrover discovery,from memory landrover advised maximum roof loading of 100 kg for normal on roading and only 30 kg max loading for off road..

Perhaps your 200 series may also have a greatly reduced specified loading for off road..Others may provide accurate figures,have a safe and enjoyably trip.

Cole, just take your time and drive the dunes slowly and at a steady pace and you should be ok. When we crossed last year some vehicles had as much up top as they had below and were travelling ok. A bigger risk would be on the highway where you are travelling at highway speeds and the possibility of a sudden sharp turn.

Your car is designed to take the load so as long as you distribute it evenly then I see no problems.

Cheers

Dunc

Some of the loads I've seen on roof racks, Cole, I wouldn't worry too much!

Have seen loads, over a metre high, all covered by a $10 blue tarp, that is rapidly flapping itself into oblivion. :-)

Just a query, if there's only 3 of you, why so much on the roof? Surely you'd have room for clothes bags inside?

And who gets the one chair? On a roster basis, or first in, best seated..........

Enjoy the desert,
Bob

As said above. You should be okay if you are sensible and not mucking around.

We just came back and with a 3400 Kg vehicle total and about 95 Kgs plus the ARB steel rack on top we didn't have any issues.

Enjoy.

Phil

You should speak to the roofrack manufacturer about its off-road rating. A substantial discount is normal, and Dave at Mt Dare says racks are a common repair at his end.

Apart from that the lighter you are the easier the drive is esp. if the claypans are boggy.

I can't really see anything that heavy in your list and I'm surprised it adds up to 134kg.

I think they typically de-rate racks by a third (50kg in this case) for off-road but you'll probably be ok especially if the load is kept fairly low and evenly spread across the rack.

In my opinion its top heavy Cole , however as per other replies its in the grey area and basically up to the driver to drive to the conditions even sticking to the speed limit (40) would be a good start.

I have always been concerned about that issue as its the No1 cause of serious injury in 4wds.

The 200 series is not the worst but it is also not very good.
They have a roll over angle of 44 degree and I get nervous in cars with less than 1:1 i.e. 45 degrees.

Now the 44 is before your roof load , and there are definitely sections there in which a rut on one side can put the car on quite an angle.

I don't know your setup so can't really advice on changes , but in the many times we have done that drive we have never needed Max tracks , but those decisions need to be made on your own circumstances.
E.g. if traveling with someone and the desert hasn't been soaked recently then
don't take them (Mud is more of a problem that soft sand).

Its good to work over time at limiting the weight everywhere e.g. we would never take a roof rack and hence save the 30kg up front.

Some take lots of water , but we know from long experience that 2lt/day/person plus the 6lt clean water in the washers as back up is more than enough provided you have long distance comms or travel with another car.

Its amazing where the weight goes - I weighed friends camp chair the other day and it was 6kg whereas we would buy junk $6 chairs from Kmart and throw them away after trip. 3 of them weighed only slightly more than ours friends 1 chair.

And so it goes, simple things like gas bottles weight so much more that alternatives, but it does take some time to get it all right.

P.S. I would spend some time getting your tyre pressures right , and normally would not recommend this but I would run them a little higher that required , while its not as good , the 200 series is quite a capable car and pressures of say 4psi above recommended (often 18psi) will reduce the tyre flex and the tendency to roll on impulse.

I would be alert and not necessarily alarmed. Many approaches to the dunes are scalloped and those scallops are not even to each side of the wheel tracks. The net effect is that the vehicle can get up quite an oscillation rocking side to side, even at modest approach speeds. Approaches requiring maximum commitment can give bump stops a real workout. In those situations, roof rack attachment points get a serious test. Suck it and see but be ready to repack if cracks appear anywhere.

Iza

Cole, roof racks are an issue on the corrugated roads out there, if it's not bolted down securely then it will come loose. Also keep in mind that an alloy rack is a much harder repair in the bush compared to steel racks, I try to keep the weight off the roof rack as much as possible, but they are a necessary evil...

At least you aren't carrying 5x20L steel Jerry cans on the rack!, full of fuel(I know that weight gets less the futher you travel)....we had a roof top tent (70kg) barbie plate, shovel, axe and lightweight tent annex...Also a side awning on the roof rack, even with our roof rack(aluminium) being designed to fit as close to the roof as possible and with solid ally roof rack, block mounts.. we were weighty enough. Having good suspension will be worth considering ..
As mentioned above ..travel slowly. the frequent rolling and rocking motion of the track will test the suspension.
Anyway...at least you can re -arrange the things you have on your rack.
We no longer use our rooftop tent as we now enjoy the desert nomad lifestyle with our TVan...getting older too...apparently

Thank you all for your replies

Managed to reduce the weight by 15.5Kg.

Roof rack load 117Kg.

Roof rack 30kg

Total of 147kg roof rack & load

Before I weighed all the gear I assumed it would come in under 100kg. I was shocked at the actual load weight. Shocked .

Had a great laugh at the the rotating system. Chair ,toilet & bunk.

3 adults on board. 2 chairs on top of rear storage system. One on roof. So no need for the excellent idea of the rotating system, should help with keeping the weight down though.
One of our crew is older,hence the one stretcher bed. My partner & I use a queen air bed. Mystery solved.

To get an idea of the weights here is the list of items on rack.

1 msa roof top bag 2.1 x 1.2 m 16 kg
1 max traxs 9 kg
3 clothe bags 27 kg
2 doonas 10 kg
1 blanket 3 kg
1 strecther 8 kg
1 self inflating mattress 3.5 kg
4 poles 4kg
shoes 3.5 kg
1 toilet tent 4 kg
1 toilet seat 1.5 kg
1 chair 2.5 kg
2 picnic blankets 1 kg
2 tarps 4 kg
1 shovel 4.5 kg
1 hand saw & axe 2.5 kg
1 table 5 kg
8 sand pegs 2 kg
bungie straps .5 kg
fire wood 6 kg, burn this at first stop

TOTAL 117.5 kg
+ rack 30 kg

Cole

Heading off in an hour or so.

The weight adds up. Will have to relook at what's in the vehicle before the next trip.

Yes that's 16 kg bag empty.

Thanks all


Cole

Regardless of the reason you need to know ..... weight is deceptive and can get out of hand realy fast.

So many of the touring 4wds are well overloaded when packed to travel not good.

Good to see you have got to weighing stuff.

But regardless of the reason ....... don't rely on perception,...weigh everything.

I went to the quack this week ..... and got the usual 3 degree about weight ...... he would not belive that as I am dressed for work, in my boots with what I carry on my belt and in my pockets ..... my clothing weighs 4Kg.

Some stuff is very much heavier than other similar stuff ..... weigh everything.

cheers