Posted by Geoffrey Reynolds on May 29, 1998 at 06:14:38:

In Reply to: Re: Disco Roof rack weight ? posted by WCB on May 27, 1998 at 18:41:53:

Mike Green wrote:
LRNA & LRUK say 150 lbs... with stock car. WOuld have to up-rate
springs/shocks/tire pressures/etc. The less the better you
know. CT cars have exceeded (officially) 250 lbs, though poss more!

Aside from the less is better remark, I can't really agree with much
of the above.

Yes, Land Rover says around 150 lbs, but I feel that they say it
mostly from a liability standpoint as weight up top raises the center
of gravity and they have likely found 150 lbs to be more than safe
enough to recommend.

If you take a look at the Camel Trophy Discos, it's clear that they
usually have much more than 250 lbs up top. They also have a lot of
gear inside the vehicle, which helps balance out the higher center of
gravity. However, the Camel Trophy Discos do not mount the roof rack
to the gutter rails, so they aren't especially relevent to the topic
at hand.

I have had me plus 300-400 lbs of lumber on my Rovers North rack,
which attaches to the gutter rails with 5 clamps on each side with
no adverse effecs. Driving with the lumber up top, you can definitely
feel the change in the center of gravity but as long as you keep the
speed reasonable I wouldn't consider it unsafe. As to the load limit
of the gutter rails, I suspect it is much higher than 500 lbs, though
you have to take the driving conditions into consideration. When off
road, the load limit will be lower than when off road, as bouncing
around will add additional stress to the rails.

I would say that 200-300 lbs should be safe in most conditions as long
as you take the higher center of gravity into consideration AND you
have a rack that can handle the weight.

Geoffrey Reynolds
1995 Beluga Black Discovery
Rovers North Roof Rack
4 Hella Rallye 4000's
1 Hella Work Lamp

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