Reinforce Roof to Up Load Limit

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Jan 13, 2022 | 11:16 AM

#11

greisinb

Recovery Vehicle

Joined: Aug 2019

Posts: 893

Likes: 366

From: Kitsap County, WA

Quote:

Originally Posted by za105

Whoa, 500 pounds, that is impressive. I have long wondered how roof top tents could work safely if maximum loads were supposed to be in the low 100 pounds, but I misunderstood that was a roof weight limit and not roofrack. Those are some strong gutter rails. In my other Disco in Africa there’s a basket roof rack on top, tied to the gutter rails, and I’ve crawled around up top with some heavy loads, but probably max 250lb total weight at one time.

So the bigger concern seems to be center of gravity rather than weight.

It’s important to remember that there is a difference between the static load (stopped) and the dynamic load (in motion). While moving the various accelerations will magnify the effect of the weight on the roof. The dynamic load is a fraction of the static load because the forces will magnify as you hit bumps and your vehicle will be very top heavy as you go around corners, etc. Remember the ultimate strength of the roof/gutter rails is strong enough to protect you in the event of a rollover, so it’s pretty significant.