A word of caution for Roof Rack Tie Downs

[DaveR]

Hi There folks.
Had myself a small mishap the other day when heading off away.
I strapped down some broken old lengths of hardwood fence palings to the roof of the Tug to use as fire wood for the trip. The weight of the timber was not enough to "Overload" the roof.



I used good old fashioned Telecom Rope which we all know is certified for unlimited strength... 
The rope was used to Lace the timber in along 1 side of the rack, and I just looped the rope over the purpose made hooks along the sides, one can be seen in the next pic.



Any way, one of these hooks decided it was not up for the strain the telecom rope can apply to it and snapped of.





Yep, the quality of the welding can be seen by a Blind Man as they say. Guilty of assuming these hooks are suitable for the task which they are designed for.

Here is a clue where the rack came from, it is a tradesman roof rack.



Now I am lucky I guess, nothing bad happened with unsecured loads, and I can drag out the Mig Welder one day to sort it out.

I guess there are many racks such as this getting around now, thought I'd share this to encourage some simple checks to be made.

[D4D]

Thanks for the heads up. I've never been a fan of those 'hooks' on roof racks for the exact reason you have found. I prefer to secure to the main tube.

[MrCruza]

Is there any standards body that would be interested in that? That weld is probably indicative of all the other welds on that well known brand name rack.
Whose at fault if it comes adrift and causes damage to someone/thing?

[Rumpig]

Looks like you need to lose that cheap rack and get a good old  ARB one on there instead mate....oh did I mention I just happen to have one for sale in my shed at the moment?...lol
Looks like it's been rusting away for a while, good warning for others to check theirs out they have that brand rack on their vehicle I reckon.

[DaveR]

The original weld only took to one side, the hook, the small hole and the shinny bit on the hook is the part of the weld that held the 2 parts together.
Rust happened as movement allowed the paint to open up (humm, wonder how much is held together by the paint?)

Looks like you need to lose that cheap rack and get a good old  ARB one on there instead mate....oh did I mention I just happen to have one for sale in my shed at the moment?...lol

Thanks mate, but I think I'll stick with this one as it should be good after I get to it with the Welder.

[MarkGU]

seen this on the patrol page. made sure my 4 poster is well and truley tight after seeing this.

[Micklow]

Yowser! At least the brakes stopped the car
Pity about the rack though...
A good reminder.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Bird]

seen this on the patrol page. made sure my 4 poster is well and truley tight after seeing this.

how many mega tons are those racks and gutters rated for???

[DaveR]

Mine is about 150 kg ALL UP. That is from Toyota for this model car.
From that, take away the rack and awning weight, I guess 30 kg's.
So, I don't exceed 120kg worth of stuff sitting on it.

[KingBilly]

Mine is about 150 kg ALL UP. That is from Toyota for this model car.
From that, take away the rack and awning weight, I guess 30 kg's.
So, I don't exceed 120kg worth of stuff sitting on it.

Is that 150kg onroad or offroad?  Normally halve the capacity for offroad.

KB

[Footy Shorts Shane]

how many mega tons are those racks and gutters rated for???

Squillions.