Roof Racks
General Information:
Whilst browsing I came across a headline reading that Vehicle Insurance could be void if fitting a roof rack. Admittedly, I did not read the full article so I do not know what the print read suffice to say do check your Insurance small prints when coming in using your roof racks.
Only doing this for the sake of making a contribution.
I will have to ask mine. I slap a big one on every summer to take all the camping gear. I never though of that. Not that I am surprised any excuse not to pay..!!
I ve seen some instances where the roof racks have flown-off forwards under emergency braking, with a pedestrian in front. Happened to a friend of mine with a very sturdy roof rack that was screwed down with 8 clamps.
Might be why some insurance companies are not keen on them.
By the way, which roof racks do you guys use?
I have the Thule 951/952 which I used on my old RRoverClassic and air cooled 911
Don't know it looks like this.. It was made in Sheffield..
It's all bulky thinks that don't weigh too much.( honest gov)..
I have thought of getting a trailer any one got got pros and cons??
It's all bulky thinks that don't weigh too much.( honest gov)..
I have thought of getting a trailer any one got got pros and cons??
The South Africans seem to love their off road trailers and maybe the North Americans as well. There won't be many from the UK who will have a good word to say though.
As always it's down to personal preference and your intended use. I made an overland trailer out of an ex MOD Sankey. They are built like the proverbial brick outhouse. We used it for a trip through Morocco/ Western Sahara. It survived, the contents looked like they had been through giant food processor though. The trailer was air bourne for a high proportion of the time when off road
It was remarkably easy to tow but I wouldn't do it again.
I absolutely detest roof racks but I wouldn't recommend a trailer for off road either. The solution is easy, travel light. Major reliability benefits, less stress on you and the vehicle. The last time 3 of us travelled through Europe and Morocco for 6 weeks I would estimate we only took 100kg of "stuff". And of course no roof rack
I have a wife two young boys and a jackrussell. I think it might be time to get a lwb..!!
I have a wife two young boys and a jackrussell. I think it might be time to get a lwb..!!
Hi Lenny,
I also love to go camping, have 3 kids, a Bernese Mountain Dog and only have good things to say about the trailer idea. As Russ mentioned, it does get easier the older they get, but until then, lugging 'stuff' up and down from a high roof is a pain. Also, it is personal preference. What annoyed me the most about practically ALL of the expedition suppliers here in the UK is that they are aimed at the two-person (adult-only!) market. None of them cater for young families and a dog!
The big pro of a trailer over a roof rack is that you get more space for the kids+dog in your car AND you lift everything into it at about hip height and the kids can help in this process. The latter is very important, because otherwise YOU end up doing ALL the work yourself and the kids actually like to help! When you're not using the trailer, you can get in to car parks and use the car 'normally' and never have to think twice about your roof height. Also, from a driving point of view, towing is easy in a G as they were partly designed to do this for the armies of various countries. Stability is excellent and if you're not in a hurry to get anywhere, the handling of the total 'train' is very predictable and for me more than acceptable. Also the dictum that you don't have as much mass high up on your vehicle helps, but to be honest, I've had plenty up top on many occasions and - like the trailers - you just need to take it into account more when driving normally on windy roads and off road.
The cons are that it obviously requires more calculating off-road how to get past obstacles, but you will be amazed what you can get through with a trailer in tow. The Strata Florida and the Happy Valley trails are no problem at all. It takes a little more practice, but like all things you get used to the idea of having a weight behind you (as opposed to on top) and you compensate for it. Gs, like Landies and Pinzgauers, pull extremely well off road: all the gearing is set up to do this even in civilian drag. If you're in foreign countries it can also sometimes be a bit of a pain if you want to have a look at a city as most car parks don't cater for you: the solution is to find a farmer outside of the city you want to visit, have a conversation, and drop off the trailer in his yard and then go into town.
I've had sankies, rapiers, an ifor williams trailer - all of which I converted myself - and an australian-made trailer tent which was fairly ready-made. I am on my final solution.......I bought a galvanised Danish army generator trailer, stripped it and am in the motions of building it up to my specifications. The UK military trailers are sprung too hard (as Russ mentioned, all the contents end up shaken to bits) and the bases are far too heavy. The most important aspect of off-road trailers is that they have to be as lightweight as possible and relatively lightly sprung (so that they can absorb shocks easily as camping gear is very light in comparison to munitions, etc which the army lug around the back of their Landies and Pinzgauers). Also Sankies, in particular, have an all-steel bed which rusts to shreds fairly quickly. Hitching is up can be an issue, but there are plenty of very good solutions for avoiding 'ploughing' when off road.
If anyone else is interested in the family camping experience, I could start a new post as we've done quite a lot of it. In the meantime, I hope this helps you with ideas.
Ph
SO HOW IS IT THEN ARE YOU ARE INSURED WITH A ROOF RACK
IF YOU HAVE LESS THAN 200KG ??
Vaguely, there is some 200 kgs (SWB - LWB have slightly less rating) weighting for roof loads - doesn't look like 200 kgs to me. But who can see weight?