Most of the racks on this list will hold 150 to 160 pounds which should be sufficient for most car trips.
Roof rack weight rating.
We installed a powerful 4 4 full length steel cage roof rack on a mates patrol a few years back and weighed it at at around 60kg.
Something that is often overlooked is the weight of your roof rack itself.
The maximum capacity of your roof rack system will be dependent on the lowest rated part of the system.
Our maximum static weight rating is 600 lbs.
The stock bars on the outback are 100lbs then they start getting bendy and unhappy.
Safety tips when using a roof rack.
165 lbs limit 40 2 lbs rack accessories 124 8 lbs available load capacity.
Roof racks that secure via fixing points or inside the door jamb don t need to be locked.
The thule and yakima racks 150lbs and the bars get bendy and unhappy.
150lb s is the bar and foot capability not the roof.
The safety factor is 1 5 to 2 depending on the roof rack and fixture style you can find the safety factor in the roof rack instructions.
So if you have a roof mounted cargo box that has a weight capacity of 150 lbs roof rack crossbars that are rated at 200 lbs and these are on a roof rated at 100 lbs then you cannot load more than 100 lbs.
Be sure to bring your outdoor toys on all your off road excursions.
To calculate the off road load rating divide the load rating by the safety factor then subtract the weight of the racks this will tell you the safe off road cargo rating for your vehicle.
For custom and unlisted vehicles it is up to the installer to determine the maximum weight for the given application.
Total weight 40 2 lbs.
You might be surprised that most modern sedans wagons suv and crossovers only have a roof capacity of 165 pounds.