How much Fuel and Tyres can I fit on a Roof Rack

Well it depends how strong your roof rack is.

Rule of thumb is not to carry more than around 150kg on the roof. That would be one spare tyre and about 5 or 6 jerrycans excluding the weight of the roof rack. A while back I had two wheels and a swag on the roof rack (over some hard country) and broke all 6 legs of that rack which was bought from a well known aftermarket accessory outlet!!

Hav'nt you seen the Supercheap Ad , Rodney went home in the taxi, well that's how much you can put on,

Jethro,
I agree with the 150Kg limit
It mainly depends on driving to conditions. There are sections where you will have a good lean on due to track having different level between the left and right wheels and you cant avoid it.
I traveled to CY this year in an 80 series with a tent, chain saw, 1 JJ diesel, light table and 3 chairs and a tyre (no wheel) on the roof rack . I was heavily loaded low down so the CofG was not too bad. However I felt that I was near the limit of safety a few times.

Last year I traveled Syd to Perth via Inaaminka, Simpson, AB Hwy with about 300kg on top. 6 split rims with tyres, a lawn mower, bicycle and 1 box, without any problems, but would not recommend it,

I would be putting a rear wheel carrier on and I don’t think really need a 2nd spare for CY

Cheers
Peter

I always thought it was about 100kgs recommended for a roof rack, and couldn't work out how that would be cause I weight that and I climb up there to load the stuff up there?

Maybe 150 is the right figure, I will watch this thread with interest.

I have had the rack bend the gutters on a GQ, after a hammering from Lake Frome south to the Highway.Mine is a heavy home made job and I use proper ARB weight distribution rails with it.

I think from memory it's 100 Kg on a cruiser & patrol. It's 80 on a Pajero. If you have the owner's book that should tell you about loads etc...if not give your friendly Yota dealer a call

Hi Jethro

I have lpg on my 80 series.
And for a trip across the Simpson Desert i bought rhino bars and made a bracket to hold the second spare on the roof bars and two jerry's in home made welded carriers. in front of the roof basket.
Plus i had 2 jerry's on the back and 1 inside.Plus 60 litres of water 3 occupants and gear food spares etc, Recovery gear

Note the 2 jerry's did whistle at a bout 60klm per hr and i never tested them before i went DOH'H .

But it all stayed there and worked very well.

I only filled the two jerrys on the roof and one inside at the last reliable fuel stop Mt DARE and emptied these first.And if needed leave the jerry's behind on return at Birdsville for any one that wanted them . but bought them back anyway.
Sure it was over loaded but what else.Worked ok for me and the 80 handled it very good.

Haven't been to the Cape but that is next on the list.
and from what i have calculated out fuel wise i would only take 2 jerry's on the rear carrier as the fuel stops are a lot closer and more of them.
And always run on ulp and save the lpg for reserve
have a look at my profile more pictures there.



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Rob.

G'day Geoff
If you want to cut down your weight try ditching one of your spare tyres. I know it goes against the grain these days, but invest in some good tyres, lightly load your vehicle & drive to preserve your tyres & you probably won't use a spare at all. Take some good tyre repair gear including good quality tyre leavers. Not cheapies that will bend, but good ones.
I believe in traveling lightly loaded & have never had a blowout. Some blokes get one every trip. Not sure what the differance is yet , but that might make a good thread.
Back to those tyre leavers. I have been carrying a pair I paid about (I think)$300 for 14 years ago & have never used them on a tyre. I haven't been doing the isolated stuff but have done probably 20 to 30,000k of dirt roads through the Kimberleys, Tanami, NT, Northern SA, SW Qld the Gulf & Cape York Peninsular with only one spare.
The peninsular is not as isolated as people think either. They sell fuel & tyres up there as well as groceries. You don't need to carry a months worth of supplies when you leave Cairns as a lot of people do. Cut back as much as you can on what you take & save your car & tyres from excessive wear. I know this goes against the grain with some people as well, but I swear by travelling light.
Good luck

Dont know about the 80 but a 100 ser has a rack capacity of 200kg including weight of rack.

Look in the Handbook

IMHO you'd be better off putting your spare tyres in the back and putting lighter stuff on the roof. You obviously want to minimise the weight up there as much as you can. Maybe stuff like chairs, mattresses, maybe the tent if it's pretty light, empty water containers. You want to put stuff up there that is big and bulky but doesn't weigh too much. Obviously you've gotta think about rain though. So I wouldn't be putting stuff like clothes or shoes up there unless they're well sealed.

Anyway, hope that helps.

matt

I wouldn't mind knowing about the cruiser ute?

What would the maximum loading be for that be?
I'd like to put two spares on the roof and one under the tray.

Cheers
Alan

Gday Geoff,
The laws are changing for how much weight you can put up on the roof.Maximum load for 2 roof bars is 40 kg,s and 100kg,s for a rack.They now talk about projectile weight of whats up top.Roof rack manufactures will have to certify how much weight their racks can carry.

Cheers Guy

Thanks guys,

I generally go as light as possible, so I think I might pull out the back seat, get some tyre pliers and store the spares on the floor behind the front seats. I never fill the back of the cruiser on our normal camping trips so with the back seat removed I'm sure we'll go ok.

I'll get away with a couple of jerry cans on the roof which doesn't worry me too much.

Regards

Like your ideas.

I've just had a look and there is a bloody lot of room in the footwell, My tent will fit under there. I wonder what else I can put in there, I love making stuff out a heavy ply, always weighs a ton but it's easy to use and strong.

See you late I'm off to Bunnings for some ply.

Regards
Geoff

Just be aware if you remove the second row seats the vehicle needs to be recomplianced to be legal.

I have only the front two seats in my cruiser and had to go to a engineer to get a blue plate for it.

It is about the fact that it changes the definition of type of the vehicle.

Only cost $60 and has to be redone when I get back home and put them ALL back to get it back to original.

The ADR's state that you may not remove seats that are bolted in for more

than a short period. Say a few days but not for weeks at a time.

The engineer said when he did the course the instructor said NEVER

However look at all the Patrols that have rearfold ups removed.

Is a bit of a stupid rule but its there according to the engineer.

Hi jethro ,
in 2005 my mates an I did a trip down the CSR .on my GQ roof rack I had a
box made to carry 7 full jerry cans , a second spare for the vehicle , 2 tyres for the motor bikes . and 5 swags , plus 8 tent poles . didn,t have any problems ar all .
cheers mechpete . the best trip ever ,7 blokes an 3 bikes .

Hi Geoff

Its more about the inertia of the load and likehood of it contributing to a rollover when wheels go into a rut etc.

Last thing to put on roof is the fuel, or anything else that could explode.

Go light and consider as some do, to put back the petrol tank instead of gas for that trip.

2 wheels are a waste of time also , the 40kg of a 2nd spare is better used with tyre changing stuff, spare tubes , spare shocks etc.