Anyone have pics of a 109 extended roof rack?

[GregSC]

I have looked around by I can not find a good picture. I assume the windscreen overhang would be very similar to TeriAnne's custom rack which looks great. I have the option to purchase an extended Brownchurch rack for my 109 SW. Any thoughts on the extended vs. regular full length?

Thanks.

Greg
Greg@uricchio.com

[greenmeanie]

How much stuff are you planning on carrying? Bear in mind that is the weight and not volume that usually dictates how much you should put on a roof rack. As it is all to with CG and handling more rack may actually reduce your carrying capacity up top as you have to compensate for the extra rack weight. IIRC it also puts more stress on the roof mounts which is why you need the bars going down to the windscreen mounts which means that you are more likely to see cracks developing there.

Personally I would only get the extended rack if I was running something like dual roof tents or some other specialised requirement. Of course if the price is right and all that.

Gregor

[luckyjoe]

Greg,

What do you need to carry? I wold have to agree with Greenmeanie, and even go further to say get the smallest rack you need.

Regards,

[EASTTNROVER]

I'd buy it cause it looks sweet!! You never know what you could use it for...:D

[GregSC]

It is actually a combination of the two; the price is right and it just looks so good. My friend John has a Brownchurch rack on his 109 and it really seems to complete the Rover. I don't plan on putting much on top except maybe a tent and some duffel bags. I anticipate most of the weight will be there when parked. Will the rack handle the weight of two or three adults without cracking or damaging the rain gutters?

Greg
Greg@uricchio.com

[SafeAirOne]

Will the rack handle the weight of two or three adults without cracking or damaging the rain gutters?

When traveling to remote locations, I have loaded my rack (pictured below) with 80 liters of water plus 80 liters of diesel (8 Jerry cans total) plus about 200 lbs of equipment plus my own weight, about 245 lbs, while up top packing unpacking. The rack alone probably weighs 60lbs. My gutters have suffered no damage. I'm certain that it's more weight than anyone ever intended to be up there and it's all concentrated in a 4' stretch.

I would be more concerned about the weight of a loaded extended rack on the windscreen hinges--This area of the bulkhead is prone to rusting out from the inside. Before I rebuild my bulkhead, my right-side SIII windscreen hinge was actually not connected to anything--the bulkhead had rusted out around the hinge. I could watch the windscreen bouncing up and down as I travelled over washboard roads!

[TeriAnn]

I would be more concerned about the weight of a loaded extended rack on the windscreen hinges--This area of the bulkhead is prone to rusting out from the inside. Before I rebuild my bulkhead, my right-side SIII windscreen hinge was actually not connected to anything--the bulkhead had rusted out around the hinge. I could watch the windscreen bouncing up and down as I travelled over washboard roads!

Granted you should not connect a support to a part that is rusted out.

The strongest load bearing place for roof rack mounting is between the front door pillar and the vehicle rear. A rack that has mounts forward of that point can not hold as much weight forward of that point without risking off road damage. Pickup, Dormobile or Carawagon roof racks can not carry the same load as a rack mounted over hard top sides.

As you extend forward of the front door pillar (place where the door latch is) the roof becomes more of a lever that is supported in front by the strength of the windscreen frame. It is not unusual to have a windscreen crack when off roading with a heavy load sitting over the steering wheel area.

What a base of the windscreen front rack mount does is put the load on the bulkhead and not on the top of the windscreen. This allows more roof rack space for short roof racks or very long ones without putting the front load weight on the top of the windscreen frame.

BTW, You can expect a roof rack to lower your MPG, most noticeable at freeway speeds.

[SafeAirOne]

The strongest load bearing place for roof rack mounting is between the front door pillar and the vehicle rear. A rack that has mounts forward of that point can not hold as much weight forward of that point without risking off road damage.

Good point--I should have mentioned that the fuel and water cans were stored at the aft of my rack, between the door pillars with the cargo getting progressively lighter as you approached the front.