What are you going to use it for?
If you are just going to haul some sporting gear over weekends, most racks will suffice, but if you are planning longer trips over rough terrain, you need an expedition ready roof rack.
These heavy duty roof racks will allow you to carry much more cargo than a cheap knock-off. But before you start loading, make sure your vehicle’s roof can carry the load. The roof rack load capacity might be sufficient, but if your vehicle’s roof can’t carry the load you have a problem. Consider spreading the load with extra mounting hardware.
Rack types
Platform vs basket
Heavy duty safari roof racks come in two main forms, basket and platform. Basket racks tend to be more purpose made where platform racks are much more customizable. You can even turn many of the platform racks into basket racks by adding optional rail kits.Many overlanders prefer starting with a platform rack and customize it to suit their needs. This is much easier when using a modular roof rack system.
The benefits of modular racks
Recently modular racks have become quite popular. These roof racks bolt together making customization a breeze while still being tough and durable.
These modular racks normally consists of a frame with removable/movable, slotted slats that run from front to back or side to side, depending on the design. Accessories are added using captive or cage nuts that slide into a groove on the rack slats and tighten in the position you want.
Accessories
One of the biggest advantages of modular racks are the huge variety of accessories. From spade brackets & spare wheel holders to gas bottle cages and many more. You can truly customize your rack to suit your individual needs.
A word of warning though, different manufactures have different specs so an accessory from one manufacturer will not necessarily work on another manufacturer’s rack. Things like slot width and cage nut size may differ between manufacturers
Materials and manufacturing
Safari or expedition racks come in a variety of materials. Originally all racks were made from steel, but they tended to be quite heavy. The basic design of a steel mesh base that was spot-welded to the frame was very popular and versatile in it’s own way.
The alternative is a welded aluminum rack. These racks offer a significant weight saving over steel roof racks.
Mounting hardware and fitment
Mounting hardware design is important as bad designs might damage a vehicle’s roof. It’s also generally the first point of failure on a heavy duty rack. Most failures occur due to side to side motion of a fully loaded rack. This lateral motion put a lot of strain on what is generally the weakest part of ant expedition rack, the mounting feet.
Strain on the mounting points can be minimised by keeping the roof rack as close to the roof as possible. This reduces the lateral movement of the rack due to flexible mounting hardware. Mounting hardware needs to be slightly flexible though because the vehicle also flexes when going over rough terrain and a mounting system that is too rigid will result in metal fatigue and possible failure.
Another reason to keep the rack as low as possible is that it reduces the vehicle’s center of gravity (COG) by keeping the roof load weight as low as possible.
