When set up correctly, a roof rack is like the Swiss army knife of off-road accessories. A properly fitted roof rack can provide a place to sleep, storage, shade, lighting, and security for your equipment, tools, and outdoor gear. It allows you to free up space inside your rig, keep dirty or smelly items out of the truck, and even offer a convenient place to stand up high to get a better view of wildlife or the road ahead (though only while the vehicle is stopped, please).
A well-put-together rack system can easily last the lifetime of your vehicle, and mount securely enough that you never have to give it a second thought. It should be an extension of your off-road vehicle itself and blend in seamlessly with your rig’s bodywork rather than just be a separate accessory.
So that brings us to how to decide which roof rack is best for you? How do we determine if it will handle the weight we need to carry? How can we outfit our racks to pull as much utility out of them as we can? How do we make sure our vehicles stay safe both on the trails and on the tarmac with a load up top? As Clay from X Overland says, “As little as possible but as much as necessary”
What Are You Carrying and When? Static Load vs Dynamic Load
In nearly all cases, the roof rack or rails that your vehicle came equipped with from the factory was given a manufacturer load rating that falls between 100 and 150 pounds. That’s honestly not a whole lot. A rooftop itself will usually weigh in 150 and 200 pounds, never mind the jerry cans, an awning, boxes, firewood, and whatever other wacky things we like to bolt to our roofs..
But why such a low number? The truth is that most stock roof racks can reasonably handle more than 150 pounds of weight -- but over that, vehicle stability becomes a concern for manufacturers. Adding all that weight too high up raises the center of gravity, which can have dramatic effects on how it handles both on road and off.
If you’ve ever driven an SUV with a heavily loaded roof rack or a truck with a tall camper on it, you know that tippy feeling as you get around corners well. Especially in the case of an emergency maneuver, that extra weight does more than you might think to upset the vehicle’s balance, and in extreme cases this can even contribute to a rollover.
This is why it’s always important to carefully consider both what you’re going to load on the roof, and how you might modify the rest of your vehicle to compensate for that extra weight. To make these calculations, there are two kinds of load ratings to think about: static load limit and dynamic load limit.
The static load is the total weight of everything you load onto the rack while your vehicle is stationary. The dynamic load takes into account the forces that the total weight imparts on the vehicle while it's in motion. For any roof rack, the dynamic load rating is always going to be lower than static load ratings.
For example, let’s say you’re looking for a rack for your XJ Cherokee, maybe the Warrior Platform Roof Rack, which has a static load rating of up to 600 pounds. That same rack’s dynamic rating, however, is only 400 pounds. So why take into account both numbers? If you can’t go down the road with that full 600lbs on top, why bother thinking about the static load?
The best example of needing to consider both numbers is with a rooftop tent. While in motion, the empty tent might only contribute 150 pounds of weight to the total, but when you get ready to tuck into bed for the night, you might be adding 300-400 pounds or more with people and various items while sleeping in camp.
As a rule of thumb, the higher the dynamic load rating that your roof rack is rated for, the more wiggle room you’ll have for static loads.
Loading Your Roof Rack
Because of the changes in the center of gravity that heavy items impart on a vehicle that’s already likely pretty tall, the lighter and lower profile the load you can manage, the better. Planning ahead of time what you might want to load up top will help guide your buying decision.
Lightweight and weather-tight storage boxes and rooftop cargo bags, like those from Mopar and Rightline Gear, are great accessories for storing lighter items like clothing and weather-sensitive tools or spare parts up high. Awnings themselves can easily weigh thirty or forty pounds, but mobile shade solutions are nearly a must if you plan to travel a lot in remote places. Lengthy and often grimy tools like shovels, axes, and traction boards are also great candidates for roof rack storage.
You almost never want to carry extra fuel inside your vehicle (both for smell and safety), but liquids are heavy, and hauling five-gallon jerry cans up and down off the roof demands a strong back. The same goes for spare wheels and heavy recovery tools like Hi-Lift jacks. If your vehicle can accommodate a bumper-mounted solution for these kinds of weighty items, you may be better off.
Roof racks can also affect vehicle aerodynamics and therefore fuel economy. My old school Land Rover Defender is not exactly a wind tunnel champion, but I was surprised to gain 3-4 MPGs in highway driving with my - admittedly very tall - roof rack removed. So, keeping your loads as close to the roofline as possible will be a loading strategy that can benefit any vehicle.
Choosing the Right Roof Rack
With these weight and loading variables in mind, what’s the best way to go about choosing a rack for your vehicle? Gone are the days of totally generic roof rack applications - all the best manufacturers make racks that are designed specifically for most modern off-road vehicles.
The popular “flat rack” option, like those offered by ARB, Front Runner, and Warrior, create a strong, solid base that bolts directly to your rig’s existing mounting points. Their low-profile hugs the roofline for better aerodynamics. Flat racks’ modular construction also makes for easy installation and adjustments, and opens up a wide universe of accessories and load-lashing options.
Don’t need a full-length rack for your rig? You can look at more traditional cross bars like Rhino-Rack’s Backbone or Vortex models, also designed with your specific rig in mind. These are especially good for loading up outdoor equipment that make your adventures that much more fun, like kayaks, fly rods, and bikes.
Questions about racks? Want to talk roof accessories? Hit one of our experts up with a call or hop into a chat and we'll help you hash out the roof rack details for your rig.
