I'm driving from Connecticut to Los Angeles, CA. Not enough room in my short wheelbase van so I am planning on mounting ladder bars and covering the roof with watertight-sealed plastic bins full of light stuff (fleece ski clothes, boxes of knick-knacks packed in newspaper, etc). Strapping them down with ratcheting straps to ladder racks and improvised side bars.

I was planning on about 360 pounds spread out over the entire roof. This particular van has two small vents that will leak if the roof buckles, otherwise I wouldn't care as the van is just for the one trip.

Anyone know how much weight I can place directly on the roof without having it buckle?

-Bill

 

I may have answered my own question. I climbed up on the roof (I weigh 165) and crawled around, sat, etc. No give or sign of buckling except over the front seats, and I suspect with only 160 lbs spread out over the entire front section it would hold up fine I didn't want to lay down there as it rained last night, may dry it off and try again to be sure).

Wish me luck!

 

I agree that with that amount of weight spread over the entire roof you will not have any issues. The only issue I foresee is the paint getting scratched if you don't put something down on the roof before the containers go on.

 

Keep in mind the ratcheting straps will increase the weight of the boxes depending on how ratchet happy you get.

DO you know where you are going to hook them?

They might tear up, or even bend the underside of the roof gutters if that is your only choice.

Beware of the first time an 18 wheeler decides to pass you. The extra wind surface and weight up there might make it a little unnerving.

Look at your tire sidewalls and run the Max PSI listed.
Don't climb grades or fight strong headwinds in overdrive.

Good luck

 

Definitely thought about that. I'm bolting 2x4s to the ladder racks for side rails (going for that white trash look, but it's what makes the most sense). I'd prefer square aluminum tubing but don't have time to special order it. The ratcheting straps are for stability more than anything else: I KNOW ratcheting straps won't loosen up, while standard buckles will, so I won't be putting more pressure than I need to keep the tubs stable. Plus the side rails will limit how much the tubs can shift.

Also adding strips of the sticky-web material used to hold rugs in place under the tubs so they can't really shift around easily. Using Gorilla tape to secure the strips to the tubs. Using 4 inch shrink-wrap tape (with a dab of Gorilla tape) to secure the lids and keep contents dry.

Hate to do this part: adding load-leveling shocks on the rear to shore up the rear suspension. Air springs over the leaf springs would be far better, but again I'm out of time to order them and they aren't available locally. I figure the worst that can happen is I snap an upper shock bolt and have to find a welder along the way (the lower shock mount looks beefy enough to handle the load from the coil-over self-leveling shocks). And I am not up to another add-a-leaf install; did one for my son's 1998 Cherokee, it was not fun. At all.

So wish me luck! Will keep posting news and pics as long as anyone is interested. Going to stop in the Rockies and at Moab, Utah.