roofracks - alloy vs steel

[AndyCook]

Im looking into roofracks again... to get one next year...

I often read about alloy racks being more likely to fail than steel, and not easy to repair on the road.
does this argument hold for the likes of the rhino rack, african outback and big country alloy racks?

Did anyone ever get a freeways latitude steel rack in the group buy escapade?

http://www.freewayslattitude.com/galeri ... -toit.html
wondering what the quality of them and the fixings are like?
these freeways ones look nearly 1/2 the price of the above alloy racks, but weigh 45kg,

the rhino pioneer alloy platform and 3x HD rhino bars come to 23kg
African outback and leg kit 37kg?
not sure about weight of the Big Country rack?

 

[Julian]

From some research I did before purchasing mine
Alloy racks are generally lighter so impact handling less, with less weight high up
BUT Aluminium is generally a more brittle material so is more likely to suffer from fatigue cracking and IMHO you are less likely to bump into somebody who can weld Aluminium in the back end of beyond
Steel is generally heavier but my rational for buying steel is that the rack weight is a pretty low proportion of the total weight of the roof load, especially if you have a spare tyre and jerry cans up there. Also welding steel is pretty low tech and repairs should be easier to achieve
From my last trip we had a number of different types of racks, Hannibal, my ARB and some nasty nasty cheap ones, the one thing I did learn was that all the cheap ones failed resulting in all sorts of hassle trying to get them fixed up and some nasty looking damaged roofs
The freeways one looks nice but it does look heavy, what are you thinking of carrying on it?

 

[AndyCook]

thanks for info Julian
the rack would be for a rooftop tent
foxwing awning
1 or 2 jerrycans

and if in a non-theiving area!
aluminium table
bag of lightweight mtb gear

yes the rack is 45kg, however, i think the ARB steel racks are heavier than this e.g. 50kg+ - what does your ARB weigh?

 

[Julian]

Andy, that is going to be a fair amount of weight up high, over corrugations the rack is going to take a fair hammering

To be honest I didn't weigh mine before I put it on, but it didn't strike me as particularly heavy. 2 of us put it on with ease

Just a note if you are going for a roof tent, the ARB one you would want is the touring one, basically it only has the basket bit at the front

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

The latest issue of OJ has a review of 4 racks covering aluminium and steel but I lent my copy to next door last night so I don't have it on hand to quote actual weights for you. I was surprised how heavy even the aluminium racks are though

I love the flexibility of the Rhino bars to only have the minimum weight up top and the ease with which you can get them on / off and stored away when not in use. The legs are some sort of glass reinforced resin so they may be more difficult to repair if you manage to break one but they should be less likely to suffer any kind of fatigue failure anyway.

 

[Gary Stockton]

I'm surprised at those quoted weights I can lug around the Big Country rack (2.2 x 1.2 metres) comfortably on my own, and get it hoisted up into the car-port roof and locked away when not in use quite comfortably. I'll see if I can get an idea of weight when I next take it off.

Cheers

 

[AndyCook]

Julian - a google search quoted the ARB touring rack as weighing in at 58kg - heavier than the freeways lat one
do you have a RTT on your ARB rack as well?

I was suprised too Gary, i will do more searching to see if i can collaborate that figure, since most alloy ones are under 30kg

would be interested to know the figures John when you get the mag back

 

[Julian]

Andy 58KG sounds like a lot, I would be surprised at that, if any thing it has less metal than mine

No I have a standard ARB rack and don't have a roof tent

 

[AndyCook]

weight is going to be deciding factor i think..

owners manual says 100kg load limit for roof

a alloy rhino pioneer tray is = 29.5kg
foxwing awning = 15kg
1.4m RTT e.g. Hannibal = 55kg

thats 100kg...

questions the point of getting a rack! since i wont have any weight "allowance" left to hold waffleboards, jerry cans etc etc...

may as well get 3x rhino bars for RTT and a couple thule bars and maybe a basket in front of RTT to hold other stuff...

 

[Crushers]

curious, is the factory roof rack recommendation?

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

It does puzzle me why you'd add the weight of a rack just to put an RT on instead of some bars

 

[AndyCook]

curious, is the factory roof rack recommendation?

90/120 series = 100kg...

100-series can handle 200kg

 

[AndyCook]

It does puzzle me why you'd add the weight of a rack just to put an RT on instead of some bars

i wouldn't
i wanted a rack to carry a RTT, foxwing and other "stuff"

but if rack, RTT & awning = 100kg, that extra space on the rack for "stuff" is no use..

i.e. if it is going exceed the load limit specs of the vehcile there is no point

reckon quite a lot of people exceed the limit without realizing

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

I meant why put a rack on if you're going to cover most of it up with an RT, you'd be better with some bars for the tent and some bars to make a mini rack on for the stuff

 

[AndyCook]

exactly Jon!

but i do notice many guys on here have a rack with RTT on top of it
but mostly on 80 & 100 series which have double the load limit of a collie

 

[munster]

What about the weight of the two people in the tent

 

[AndyCook]

What about the weight of the two people in the tent

mmm - load limit probably relates to vehicle stability at speed?

and i am thinking of insurance purposes, not a consideration at night when sleeping on roof
unless someone drives into the vehicle...

 

[munster]

Hope your right as there will be more than 100KG on top of mine when we stop for the night

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

roof load ratings are usually specified for driving not when stationary. AFAIK they are not based on structural strength but the point beyond which the manufacturer feels the vehicles stability would be compromised too much. With a lifted truck you're already eating into that really.

 

[BrendanB]

Roof racks weigh between say 30- 50kg and cost in the range of £500-1200

Roof bars will weigh a few kg and cost about £100 each

If you want to carry a roof tent plus gear on your roof consider roof bars under the roof tents plus a couple of bars with a basket on.


Brendan