School me on roof racks

I'm more interested in the.... physics of it? I don't understand is how Thule or Yakima can have a higher weight capacity than the oem rack when they mount to the same points on the roof. Anyway you slice it, you still have to distribute the weight to the same mounting points on the roof of the truck, right? So if those mounting points can only withstand 100lbs when fitted with the oem roof rack, how do they suddenly withstand more because the rack now says Thule?

 

They can't

It's the same with mounting them on caps , the rack capacity is irrelevant , unless the cap roof is reinforced

 

ive been considering ordering myself a yakima setup. talked to a few people who were unhappy with the oem rack but idk subbd for more info

 

Ya know, looking around on Thule and Yakima's websites this morning, I don't see where they make any capacity claims. I've read threads in here talking about different weight capacities though.

 

I cant see how anyone can complain about the oem racks. I love mine

 

The Yakima and Thules racks themselves can support more weight- but the weight of the load you can actually carry is limited by the weakest link which in this case is the roof. If manufacturers still put rain gutters on trucks like they should you would be able to carry a lot more weight. Yes, I'm a bit of a Luddite and like rain gutters as well as tie downs on the outside of the bed rails.

 

I think the biggest problem is the crossbars on the oem vs aftermarket. My Rhino Rack can hold 165lbs, but the crossbars are extremely sturdy and it mounts towards the outsides of the roof (like Thule and Yak) so it is less likely to buckle the roof.

 

tagged to watch thread. I have been wondering the same thing.

I imagine the greater the span of the rack vs the weight and mounting location of the item would determine maximum capacity. I wouldn't mount a kayak in the middle of the rack. On one side or the other where some of the weight would close to a mounting point would be good, if you mounted it in dead center of the rack the cross bars would act as leaf springs flexing up and down with each bump in the road or turn of a corner.

I have never had a roof rack on any vehicle, so I have no clue what I am talking about, just thinking out loud about weight distribution.

 

Although they would flex wouldn't placing the weight in the middle distribute the weight evenly to both sides? I'd think it would be better to have 50lbs on each side then say 75lbs on oneside and 25lbs on the other.

 

I was recently passing an SUV on the freeway with a cargo carrier similar to the one pictured mounted dead center on his roof rack. it was bouncing more on the roof than the rear suspension was on the road.

 

That's not really saying a lot though. For all we know he could have had 600lbs in there. Assuming it didn't flex you'd be better off centered.

Unless you're talking about one of the ones with a trolling motor, I don't think they make a kayak that would make the oem rack flex. Even then, I bet you'd have to leave the battery in to even begin to have a problem. My only complaint about the oem rack is that the bottom of the cross members don't hold the hooks from.straps or bungees, so there's a lack of tie down points to a degree.

 

That's because they look the best on white! imho

 

I've always had roof racks on just about everything. If I didn't like the factory rack or more often if the vehicle didn't have them I'd use a yakima or Thule. Look at the picture below and see if you think there is still a question of the weight the cab can actually support. I figure if the tacoma has a better than average rollover safety rating (4 star for double) then it's gotta have some strength. Besides what are you going to carry up there? If it weighs more than a tacoma then maybe you should trailer it. LOL just having fun guys. but really the rack mounts are farther to the edge for strength. I've stood on my racks before on a truck that isn't so highly rated, actually would probably owe the NHTSA some stars, and the roof was fine. BTW, I weigh 230lbs on my calibrated scale that is 5 lbs light to make my wife feel better. *clears throat*
but the weight was distributed to 4 points near the edge. I think the weakness would be the bars, if I was standing in the middle of one of the bars it might buckle esp if i was bouncing, but i was standing on my safari rack so it should have been distributed.

Ry

Think about it...

 

I would say the earth overloads the roof racks capability just a little!

 

Come on man, there's clearly no roof rack on that truck. Try to stay on topic.

 

Sure there is, just formerly known as frame rails.

 

Well for me, probably the most weight would be my 17' square stern canoe which I think is just over 100 lbs. I think the wind force at 70 mph would probably take some weight off the front rack and add some to the rear rack depending on the aerodynamics. I'm guessing that the rear rack might see a couple hundred pounds of force but without placing sensors (connected to a data logger) under the rack feet I have absolutely no way of knowing. The other thing is that the load is static when the truck is sitting still but it becomes dynamic when you go over a bump and the force could easily see something like 2 G's, well maybe but I really have no idea. In the end I don't worry about it though because the load contacts the rack at the outside near the feet and not in the middle of the bars so hopefully there is not a lot of flexing going on with the rack itself. I'm not worried about it.
Another scenario to think about would be something like a roof top tent with a couple people in it which could easily be more than 500 lbs. That would be a static load so not likely to matter as much.
I think the aftermarket rack feet are fairly close to where the factory rack would be so probably not likely to put dents in the roof like I did with my old Civic.

 

I'm thinking about ordering the rhino rack, have you been happy with it? I've had Yakimas in the past and been happy but the rhino looks good in pictures so maybe try something new

OP i often have carried 2 15' kayaks that weigh over 80# each on Yakima bars without any problems... I think it's key to distribute the weight towards the corners

 

I make a habit of overloading my Yakima rack and have yet to have a problem. I'm sure this practice contributed to the shortened lifespan of the fiberglass topper on my Nissan pickup (rail rider towers), but that was 10 years of regular abuse. My experience with Q tower setups has been impressive - though a bit noisy at times. And 2 overloaded rocket boxes do make you plan ahead on corners...

 

I love my rhino rack. I wasn't too hot on the silver crossbars, but when they started making black I bought one. Thing doesnt flex and barely makes noise under 70. I added an Inno fairing to it and it looks awesome.