Roof Racks versus a trailer

We travelled extensively with 3 kids for 15 odd years all over Oz.
Except for the CSR and Simpson we always towed a light hard floor camper which was basically just a tent on wheels as I figured if I was going to tow there had to be an advantage other than just carrying gear.
When we did the CSR in the middle of a 3 month trip we left the camper at home and used a roof rack and tent(s).
Either the roof rack or the camper cost us approx 2 mpg in fuel consumption.

You would need to know the recommended roof weight for the 100 series (100kgs?). As you would probable need a roof rack (Rhino make one around 20kgs) you may not be able to put all your camping goodies on the roof.
I guess you also need to consider the total recommended car load - I'm sure it is between 500 and 600 kilos for the 100 series(would be in the handbbok).

The trailer may be the more convenient option.

Cheers,
Bob

We tow a heavy duty off road trailer just to put all our gear in. Its a bit of a pain but we can take what we like with us, we carry 2 x 9kg gas cylinders on the drawbar along with two 20 litre jerry's.
In the trailer, depending on where we are going, 4 more 20 litre jerry's of diesel, 6 x 20ltrs water 5 x 60 litre, those black rectangular recycling bins with lid, and clothes, tools kitchen gear, food, all have a bin each.. 4 big umbrella chairs 18 kg touring tent and a huge dome tent, a shower tent and big portable toilet. And of course, other bits and pieces. The back of the patrol (check my rig photo) has the 90 litre fridge and all the pillows and sleeping bags shoved around the fridge. I dont normally take the third row seats out because i have enough room with the trailer. I have a full length roof rack and use it mainly to take the boys bikes with us.
Putting stuff up on the roof is hard work and i think i will continue with the trailer until i do a trip that is not suitable for it.. It may come as a shock when i cant take the trailer sometime in the future.. Michael

I think you will be limited by the amount of WEIGHT you will be able to carry in the roof. My understanding is that the total of EVERYTHING on the roof cannot exceed 100KG when driving. This is a safety measure related to the forces acting on the roof mounts during hard braking, or worse, a collision. It's the shear force acting on the mounts that is important, not the downforce on the roof when the vehcle is staionary (I really hope someone will correct me if'n I'm wrong here).

I have a RhinoRak, which I considered to be the best quality system available, and also have a large Bushranger BushPak (which is also excellent by the way). The roof bag can hold an enormous amount of stuff. If I were to fill it with GENERAL camping equipment (tents, gas, mattress, stove, lights, a bag for each person, bike helmets, food etc) it would far exceed the 100kg (which is actually about 70 KG when you take into account the weight of the rack an bars)


We manage 2 adults and 3 kids with no trailer, only because we can use the rear cargo area for fridge (40kg at least), tent (26kg), slab (12 kg), sundry heavy food items such as tinned fruit, soft drinks, additional water etc. The rest goes in the roof bag.


I think it's going to be stretch for you, unless of course one of the kids would benefit from a day or so on the roof rack - Wind therapy :)

The other advantage of a trailer is that it is MUCH easier to pack that a rooftop bag, and is multipurpose.


Hope this helps a little. Cheers

Hi toucan68,

We have an 80series and only 2 kids. No trailer. We take bleep loads of gear too. Apart from too much weight on the roof, the vehicle probably weighs too much as well.

Another factor is the actual packing and unpacking; it is a hassle packing the roof and it is a hassle making it all fit. There is an art to it but it is still time consuming. It has become the bane of our travels; I get stressed with the time it takes me to pack the vehicle. My lovely wife can't help because she must keep the kids occupied and out of my way.

WE ARE GETTING A TRAILER LOL :-))

regards

Brian

Hey we only have a couple of kids, and since they've come along we have always used a camper trailer. Before that it was in the back of a Ute with canopy. But now that we have settled down, living pretty much in the bush and have downsized the car (from an 80 series to a Forester - yes I'm still getting used to a pretend 4x4) we are selling the camper to make up for the extra $$ we spent (need it for the house we're building - oops).

Anyway in a similar situation to you, once the camper goes we will be in limbo and when we eventually do decide to go camping on school holidays visiting family well we'll have to consider a roof rack or a trailer (to give you an idea the 60L engel fits in the back of the Subi, and not much more unless you stack it on top).

It's a hard one, but a good idea would be to weigh the gear you carry at the moment, if it's in the ballpark of what the roof can carry then it just comes down to how bulky the stuff is. There are plenty of bike racks out there, but I agree with what someone else said - 6 bikes is a bit too much, I'd leave them home.

I know with us we would probably have to get a small trailer, I wouldn't like that much gear on the roof, but roof racks are not that expensive really, so you could always get some and then you have the option to use them for some items, or the shoreter trips when you don't need as much gear (yeah I know those last few words are probably hard to comprehend with 6 kids, I can't imagine, I pack too much with just two!).

Here is an interesting article I found talking about fuel economy...
Roof Rack VS Trailer

If you are looking at roof racks I'd consider Thule as well, but of course Rhino is Aussie made.

I like the trailer formula - firstly because I take 'too much gear' but also because I can spread the load over 6 wheels, thereby giving the tyres and other hardware an easier life. With 4 kids and their 'baggage' , it would seem the trailer is indicated as the best practical and safest option ..... ?

In years gone by I have camped with a roof rack, about 11 years ago we bought a soft floor camper and have never looked back.

The biggest problem we have had with the camper is finding parking in towns, particularly up and down the east coast during summer.

In the bush I would much rather tow a trailer than have extra weight up high on a roof rack. We have taken our trailer to lots of places where people have said a trailer couldn't go and had no problems. It does make you think about things a bit more and deciding on a route around/through or over an obstacle can require more planning but we have not been stopped by the trailer.

On the other side of the equation I have had a couple of very close calls with near roll overs because of the extra weight up high on the roof. The first came in the Victorian High Country. The thought of rolling sideways off the side of that track still scares me. I have since towed my camper along the same track and it felt a whole lot safer.

The second was on Fraser Island and came totally unexpectedly while travelling along the beach. A moments lapse in concentration and the car was trying to lie on its side. Luckily I cought it but again the mind took me to where the car was going and it was not a pretty sight.

My camper provides me with the ability to sleep comfortably, set up quickly and carry heaps of gear for 5 of us. The kids were aged between 9 and 3 when we bought the Trak Shak they are now between 20 and 14 and we still travel as a family.

I would not travel any other way.

Duncs

Thanks everyone for the advice. We have decided to stick with a trailer. The topic came up when the trailer we use ( my brothers ) is about to fall apart. So we are going to invest in a new one.
thanks again

Toucan,
I think you've made the right decision. We also had 4 kids who were aged close together and are now all in their 20's.
Outback trips with a trailer were a lot easier. We had a troopie, but still had to cull the list so we could just fit the bare essentials in. And no matter what, it was always a lot of work to lift stuff onto the roofrack and pack it tight. We also had a couple of scary moments when a flat tyre (split rim) would suddenly go flat and the top heavy troopie felt like it was going to tip.