Will my roof rack support 16 foot long 2x8's?

[morphius909]

In my infinite wisdom...I ordered all my decking and had it delivered.

Went to start bulding the beam composed of 3 laminated 2x8's.

DOH. Forgot to order those!!

Will the Roof Rack on the 4 generation 4runner support three (3) 2x8's-16 foot long????

Logistically I don't know what type of gong show it's going to be.:barf:

 

[spyne]

IIRC, the roof racks on 4th gens are rated for ~100 lbs. Depending on whether the wood you are using is kiln dried, pressure treated, or green your 2x8x16 boards will weigh roughly 43, 70 or 115 pounds each, respectively. Meaning that three of these boards together will weigh either 129, 210 or 345 lbs. and put you over the rated limit in each case.

You might be able to get away with carrying the kiln dried boards at the same time as long as you didn't stack them on top of each other (possibly crushing the cross pieces of your roof rack). However I'm going to assume you are using pressure treated boards which would weigh twice the rated capacity of the roof rack. Best bet is to make a couple of trips.

No matter what you decide to do, be sure to tie down both the front and rear of the boards as well as securing them to the roof rack. Sixteen foot boards are about the same length as the 4Runner, but if you only support the middle they will beat your truck up when they flex in the wind and over bumps. Not to mention the safety hazard they present when the front of the boards catches air and tries to pull itself off your roof (along with your roof rack).

Good luck :cheers:

 

[morphius909]

Oh man..

I need a new plan then.

Was going to get Pressure treated.

Maybe I'll do the 19.99 HD Rental Truck for an hour.

 

[Burt]

Kinda like this....

 

[810moto]

i've stacked 9 sheets of 3/4" plywood on mine with no problem. also a queen size bed on several occasions. still works like a champ.

 

[TechWrench]

Oh man..

I need a new plan then.

Was going to get Pressure treated.

Maybe I'll do the 19.99 HD Rental Truck for an hour.

If the boards were shorter, it wouldn't be a problem as long as they were tied down securely, but with 16 footers, I would go with the HD rental. Even if it takes more than one hour for round trip, it is still cheaper than the potential damage to 4Runner if things go 'bad' in the middle of the trip with the load on top.

 

[Barefoot]

Can you borrow a boat trailer?

They are pretty good for carrying long boards.