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Was Expedition Roof Rack Now Weight

G

Guest

Guest
a lot of weight. Too much. But necessary...
Strange but true...I know all the "experts" warn against "overloading" the
roofrack but sometimes it just has to be done, and it can be done safely.
One of the pre-requisites for overloading is having a good HD suspension set
up, it may be painfull driving the vehicle unladen but once you get into
Africa you'll appreciate it. My vehicle has a GVM of 2510kg but on my last
trip it weighed in at 3100kg (there is a handy TANROADS weighbridge at
Mikumi), however you must learn to balance the load as best as you can.
If you have a rooftent mounted at the rear, this will let you get away with
putting some heavy stuff behind the back axle, so this is where I stuck
tools and water. Last trip into Zim I carried 6 jerrycans - empty until
Livingstone and then we filled up before crossing the border - and I loaded
them three aside (handle side down) between the two axles. I wouldn't worry
about having all that kit and another spare on the roof, before I got a
under car carrier I often had two spares on the roof; however it makes them
difficult, and back breaking, to get on and off. I now carry two spares: one
underslung behind the rear axle (great for helping stabilize the COG with
all that kit on the roof) and the other (in the worst possible place)
mounted on a side pillar swing away carrier at the rear of my vehicle.
However, since that is the place that gets the most movement - I help
support it by running a ratchet strap from the tow bar mounting, up and over
the tyre and fastened at the front of the roofrack.
Something else that some people don't consider is that you'll be driving at
much slower speeds than in the UK - I travel mainly in the 80-100kmh zone -
even if road conditions are good. Your vehicle will behave differently when
heavily laden so practice in the UK - load up all your kit fill jerrycans,
water cans - everything. Make sure your vehicle is still sitting level and
then take it off-road, not savagely but gently. I lost 1st gear on my last
trip and so had a lot of fun trying to pull away from standstill whilst
parked on a hill! For some reason police always seem to prefer stopping you
whilst you're going uphill rather than down!
Anyway, would love to see all that kit sometime!
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.5.503 / Virus Database: 269.15.8/1089 - Release Date: 23/10/2007
19:39
 
hi,
some good advice from . may i add to it that, perhaps to a lesser
degree than landrovers, our landcruiser also may develop cracks at the
top of a and b posts if driven for long distances with very heavy
loads on the roof rack.
it's a possible to reduce the problem by switching heavy loads between
the internal load space and the roof rack, eg. empty jerry cans can
happily travel on the roof rack, but when full it's better to put them
inside and move clothes or other bulky but light stuff to the roof
rack.
--
rgds,
roman (london, uk)
'92 hdj80 (auto)
on 10/24/07, <[email address removed]> wrote:
 
thanks roman - i forgot to mention that as you travel you have to keep
reassessing your requirements/loading plan. for most of my travels i only
keep 1 or 2 fuel jerrys in the rear of my truck and it was only at times of
shortage, such as zim, that i filled everything i could lay my hands on.when
you've got half a dozen empty jerry cans rattling around on the roof there
is a cheap and easy way of keeping them from rattling/chaffing against each
other: cut old inner tubes into long strips and wind them, like a bandage,
around the jerrys. may not look pretty but it does quieten them and allow
them to be strapped tight together.
for security i thread one of those plastic covered metal multistrand towing
cables with the pre-formed eyes through the handles and then multilok it to
the roofrack. roman - it's not really distances but corrugations that crack
posts (it's worse on landys as it tends to put cracks in the windscreen too)
and anyway, as you know, it's all about keeping as much weight as low as
possible and spreading whatever's left. oh yes, and never driving with a
saggy arse - that's a recipe for shock failure. by the way, hope you've gone
for gas shocks - they run cooler and are therefore "better" (less prone to
failure) on corrugated roads.
-----original message-----
from: [email address removed] [mailto:[email address removed]] on
behalf of roman
sent: 24 october 2007 18:08
to: [email address removed]
subject: re: [elco] was: expedition roof rack now: weight
hi,
some good advice from . may i add to it that, perhaps to a lesser
degree than landrovers, our landcruiser also may develop cracks at the
top of a and b posts if driven for long distances with very heavy
loads on the roof rack.
it's a possible to reduce the problem by switching heavy loads between
the internal load space and the roof rack, eg. empty jerry cans can
happily travel on the roof rack, but when full it's better to put them
inside and move clothes or other bulky but light stuff to the roof
rack.
--
rgds,
roman (london, uk)
'92 hdj80 (auto)
on 10/24/07, <[email address removed]> wrote:

no virus found in this incoming message.
checked by avg free edition.
version: 7.5.503 / virus database: 269.15.8/1089 - release date: 23/10/2007
19:39
no virus found in this outgoing message.
checked by avg free edition.
version: 7.5.503 / virus database: 269.15.8/1089 - release date: 23/10/2007
19:39
 
on 10/25/07, <[email address removed]> wrote:
,
this, or something similar is what i'll need to carry 8 jerry cans. i
was thinking of glueing patches of old carpet to one side of each can.
i know. what i meant , of course, is the accumulated distance on bad roads.
double shocks cause heat to dissipate much more efficiently, even
better than monotube gas shocks.
--
rgds,
roman (london, uk)
'92 hdj80 (auto)
 
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