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Load carrying on roof using inbuilt rails only

davidgmo

davidgmo

GO'nwiTheFLO
Messages
86
Location
Leicestershire UK
Vehicle
T5 SE 180
Has anyone considered loading soft (but waterproof) baggage on a Cali roof using only T-anchors/bolts in the inbuilt roof rails and a very strong cargo net/straps. I have looked at roof racks and roof bars but as the roof itself already has rails and the surface seems to be ribbed and strong, why not maybe use a protective rubber mat, bags ontop and a net secured to t-rail anchor points?

Roof racks already add weight and thus detract from the load carrying capacity which seems to be 50kg with the roof down and 25kg with the pop top up

Has anyone done or thought of doing this for on-roof -storage? It may also present a lower profile for wind resistance than a rook rack,bars plus box, Is it worth a try?
 
Although, with a suitable intermediate base layer of say latex rubber it might still be possible without damage especially if you have soft baggage? Still a risk though with Ali
 
I would take care with how you strap onto the rails. They are probably not designed to be pulled sideways.
 
Has anyone considered loading soft (but waterproof) baggage on a Cali roof using only T-anchors/bolts in the inbuilt roof rails and a very strong cargo net/straps. I have looked at roof racks and roof bars but as the roof itself already has rails and the surface seems to be ribbed and strong, why not maybe use a protective rubber mat, bags ontop and a net secured to t-rail anchor points?

Roof racks already add weight and thus detract from the load carrying capacity which seems to be 50kg with the roof down and 25kg with the pop top up

Has anyone done or thought of doing this for on-roof -storage? It may also present a lower profile for wind resistance than a rook rack,bars plus box, Is it worth a try?

@davidgmo, not done it, but the things that I would consider
1. The roof rails are built to take load from all directions, (think about forces - when the vehicle goes over a pothole, versus wind force when on a motorway, versus when taking a turn) so a lashing point on there will be fine. The sides of the roof where the rails are, are raised and also seem to be structurally strengthened so all good on that.
2. However, as others have said, the centre part of the Alu roof is not built to take a lot of load, so with a lighter load, your approach should be fine. Effectively you will reduce the weight of the roof bars and box etc, but then you have to reduce the load on the roof as you now do not have any method to spread the effective load across the strong part of the roof (which is what the roof bars did).

You mention about roof racks adding weight, but remember, they also help spread the weight to the strengthened areas of the roof and off the central area. No one has tested the weight limit, but I suspect, in the ribbed/channeled area, it will be much lower than 25 Kgs. The ribbed areas are for rigidity and not so much to do with weight bearing.

On aerodynamics, the roof box will work better as it is shaped well and wind can therefore travel both below and above the box. If you have a static load close to the roof, because of a square-ish shape, it will cause more turbulence and therefore less aerodynamic and so no real benefits from the approach.

Interestingly, if you make the load thinner at the front, it may just act like a rear spoiler/wing and produce downforce - again negatively impacting the aerodynamic ability of what is already a box.

So, don't see any benefits of doing that really, other than reducing the overall height. But then as soon as you go above 2 mtrs, many parking places in towns become inaccessible.

Hope that information helps with your decision :thumb
 
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