spectre6000
New member
Anyone have both? How's it fit?
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Whitson Rack + RTT?
- Thread starter spectre6000
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ChildrenOfBodom
Moderator
I never see any rooftop tents posted up... I would imagine it has something to do with the load rating of the roof...
Whitson racks are really new and I'm not sure anyone's even had the chance to do this yet.
Whitson racks are really new and I'm not sure anyone's even had the chance to do this yet.
spectre6000
New member
I don't think that's necessarily the case.
The factory rack isn't all that great (load rating = 150lbs?), but an aftermarket rack should be just fine.
The factory rack isn't all that great (load rating = 150lbs?), but an aftermarket rack should be just fine.
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Whitson Metalworks
New member
Yeah i havent sold any to anyone with intent to put a roof-top tent on one. Building an all flat one for tluu right now and he plans to mount a RTT, but it different all around. I have personally never even seen the bottom of a RTT (cuz i'm broke and so are my friends..) but i cant imagine why you couldnt mount one. The rack will hold fine, i think the roof becomes the week point.
anyone have info or shots of how they mount?
farmerjon
Senior Member
Rated for 250 lbs on my 1998 stock rack. Enough for me to lay up there plus a bit of gear.
Toymarshall
New member
the great him
Elite Member
the roof and or the factory mounting rails become the weak point with aftermarket racks. but from the looks of WR racks and their build quality (keep in mind i have not seen one in person, but have made a few roof racks my self for 3rd gens) they are more then capable of handling the load. WR makes a good product and has put a lot of thought into his builds, im sure they will be just fine.
spectre6000
New member
Hey Whitson, do you have any photos of the mounting situation on your racks? The stock rack may handle a max of X, but it looks like the load is spread a little further on your rack, and would that have a higher capacity. Have you done any actual testing for load rating?
ChildrenOfBodom
Moderator
spectre6000
New member
For reference, an older (pre-67) VW bus will hold a LOT on its roof... At least 4 hippies with an appropriate rack. There's a particularly iconic photo from Woodstock with a bus sporting two hippies and NO rack on a section of roof that I can tell you from intimate experience has little to no reinforcement (just an air box for inner structure). Buses are nowhere near as reinforced as 4runners and have much thinner steel. It's all about spreading the load.
If you're carrying everything across two cross bars mounted to two donut hole-sized points, yeah you're pretty limited. Spread it out across four otherwise identical cross bars and you're able to carry considerably more. Think about the forces that must be tolerated to handle a full rollover. There's a section immediately behind the sunroof that has very little reinforcement, but excepting that there's quite a bit of structure above the headliner.
From the racks I've seen, the Whitson rack looks like it's likely to be able to bear the heaviest load (depending on how it's mounted), and the fact that it's made so specifically for the 4Runner gives it even greater potential from what I can gather.
EDIT: I went to Whitson's profile and found threads he's started, and I see what he's doing. There's potential, I feel, for a much greater load bearing capacity but the design is pretty good. I'd still like to know if there's been any load testing to see what it can actually hold without hurting anything, but I don't think (given that the support at the front isn't going to be bearing much load due to the open area immediately behind it) it should be able to hold much more than the stock rack can without significant modification... I have an idea for a pretty serious expedition rig, and the Whitson rack looked pretty perfect at the surface... Still could be, but would require a lot of modification to serve as the base...
If you're carrying everything across two cross bars mounted to two donut hole-sized points, yeah you're pretty limited. Spread it out across four otherwise identical cross bars and you're able to carry considerably more. Think about the forces that must be tolerated to handle a full rollover. There's a section immediately behind the sunroof that has very little reinforcement, but excepting that there's quite a bit of structure above the headliner.
From the racks I've seen, the Whitson rack looks like it's likely to be able to bear the heaviest load (depending on how it's mounted), and the fact that it's made so specifically for the 4Runner gives it even greater potential from what I can gather.
EDIT: I went to Whitson's profile and found threads he's started, and I see what he's doing. There's potential, I feel, for a much greater load bearing capacity but the design is pretty good. I'd still like to know if there's been any load testing to see what it can actually hold without hurting anything, but I don't think (given that the support at the front isn't going to be bearing much load due to the open area immediately behind it) it should be able to hold much more than the stock rack can without significant modification... I have an idea for a pretty serious expedition rig, and the Whitson rack looked pretty perfect at the surface... Still could be, but would require a lot of modification to serve as the base...
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econhonda
New member
Would love to see a pic of the flat setup. Have hopes of rtt'ing it up soon as well.
Sent from my HTC Arrive using Board Express
Sent from my HTC Arrive using Board Express
Whitson Metalworks
New member
Hi all, the only super high-tech load testing done was with my drz400 (~300lb) parked on a stand in the center of a similar rack and me seeing how much deflection there was under the load, this was sitting on the ground of-course. there was maybe 1/4-3/8", which is great since no-one will load a rack that poorly. so im sure the rack will hold it. for peace of mind, i can offer to weld on 2 more mounts midways between the standards for anyone with express intent to mount a RTT. The front section i feel just shouldnt be overloaded, even with a sunroof insert as that section of the roof was clearly never meant to carry weight (otherwise toyota would have put rails/crossbars further up). happy to here/see ideas from folks with RTT info.
reinforce the roof
Here is an option to reinforce the roof to help carry extra load if you're concerned. I have not done it yet, but plan to soon in preparation for a roof rack. As to the RTT I would think that whitson's rack will have no problem holding the weight. And a note on the VW bus, I think those had channel mount roof racks (?) and should hold more weight than ours mounted straight on the roof.
Living Overland: Reinforcing the Roof
And same thing pretty much again, but different post.
UltimateYota.com - Reinforcing the Roof of our '98 4Runner
Here is an option to reinforce the roof to help carry extra load if you're concerned. I have not done it yet, but plan to soon in preparation for a roof rack. As to the RTT I would think that whitson's rack will have no problem holding the weight. And a note on the VW bus, I think those had channel mount roof racks (?) and should hold more weight than ours mounted straight on the roof.
Living Overland: Reinforcing the Roof
And same thing pretty much again, but different post.
UltimateYota.com - Reinforcing the Roof of our '98 4Runner
spectre6000
New member
According to the DOT, a vehicle must be able to sustain its own weight on its roof. Further, the A-pillar section is the strongest part of the roof! The strength is there, you just can't rely on the factory cross bars or putting stuff directly on the roof. It's possible to walk on water (which probably wouldn't pass a DOT rollover test) if your weight is distributed enough.
theizzardking
New member
i'm actually planning on making my own custom roof top tent built around the rack itself, it's a few months out but i already have a few design ideas. i'm basically going to use 4~6 handrail t's and tie it all together with some pvc pipe and get the mother in law to sew a tarp tent together that fits it, shouldn't cost more than $200 total for materials and labour
pipe t things, they clamp on the middle of the bar so no need to cut....
you can make some pretty cool structures out of pvc and a tarp
New Emergency and Disaster Relief Portable Geodesic Yurt Dome Tent Shelters and Tarp Fasteners
for now i'm just going to see how my back packing tent fits up there, i was laying down on it to see size and fit for a tent and seems to be OK, 2 people max i would say regardless of weight limitations of the roof. also personally i like having the side rails on the rack for a RTT.. at home i sleep against a wall, those side rails just give me something solid to lean against, me and my wife laying on the rack on the cement saw very little deflection or movement, yes i made my wife come out to the garage and laydown on a bare steel roof rack, lol....:whipping2
pipe t things, they clamp on the middle of the bar so no need to cut....
you can make some pretty cool structures out of pvc and a tarp
New Emergency and Disaster Relief Portable Geodesic Yurt Dome Tent Shelters and Tarp Fasteners
for now i'm just going to see how my back packing tent fits up there, i was laying down on it to see size and fit for a tent and seems to be OK, 2 people max i would say regardless of weight limitations of the roof. also personally i like having the side rails on the rack for a RTT.. at home i sleep against a wall, those side rails just give me something solid to lean against, me and my wife laying on the rack on the cement saw very little deflection or movement, yes i made my wife come out to the garage and laydown on a bare steel roof rack, lol....:whipping2
fish0281
New member
What is the draw to having your tent on top of your truck? It has never made much sense to me and it made even less sense when I saw the price for one of those things!
If a person wanted to make their truck transform into a tent, it seems much more logical to have something come off the back to enclose from the rear hatch (i.e., sleep inside the truck w/the tent enclosing a space beyond the open hatch)...
If a person wanted to make their truck transform into a tent, it seems much more logical to have something come off the back to enclose from the rear hatch (i.e., sleep inside the truck w/the tent enclosing a space beyond the open hatch)...
theizzardking
New member
It's so lions don't eat you next time you drive across afracia ....
