Information about Roof Racks

If you have plenty of gear, a roof rack can be a handy device, however caution is needed. A rack will raise your centre of gravity. It will increase your fuel consumption on the highway. An overloaded rack is a recipe for disaster. You also need to be aware of your added height when travelling on timbered tracks or pulling in to undercover parks.

Steel roof racks are the toughest, and best suited for heavy-duty outback work. The trade off is they are heavy. We have an ARB steel rack we purchased in 1989 that we had galvanized a few years later. We are still using it today after 20 years of hard commercial Outback travel. You can’t beat ARB! Another disadvantage of steel is the problem of metal rubbing against metal and the associated wear such as with jerry cans or steel boxes. One solution is to place plywood between the objects. Another is to store metal objects in plastic trays and boxes.

Aluminum alloy is the ideal material for lightweight strength, however the feet are rarely strong enough and should be engineered from anodized or powder coated steel. We have seen so many alloy racks break under tough outback conditions.

The design of the feet of the rack is very important. Full-length feet are the most sturdy, but the rack should be able to twist with the vehicle to prevent damage occurring. Land Rover Defenders are particularly twisty. The other engineering challenge is to design heavy-duty racks for gutterless roofs. A clamp plate inside the roof had proved the strongest solution. Added insurance is to have gussets welded into the gutter legs. Flex and torsion will be your rack’s constant companions.

Ensure your rack has plenty of anchor points to tie things down. Ideally to fasten ratchet straps are best, elastic hooks or bungee ties are dangerous and wear quickly. Often a good packing solution is to secure with ratchets then cover the whole load with elastic netting.

We once helped out an explorer whose roof rack feet had snapped off in the middle of the Simpson Desert. We took his sleeping bags and packed them under the broken rack, then with the car windows ajar ran ratchets around the roof and tightened the broken rack to the roof. He successfully limped into Birdsville and had his rack repaired.

The most important thing is not to overload your rack. If you must put fuel up there, use it at the earliest available opportunity. We use our rack to carry tables and swags. On getting close to camp we load it up for short distances with wood. An overloaded rack can result in cracked windscreens; damage to pillars or worse still a serious vehicle accident. Pack heavy items in your vehicle, lightweight things on the roof.

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Best time to travel
Information on the best time to travel, which season is best to get the most out of your Outback adventure

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What you should consider and what preparation you should undertake to get your truck ship shape

Toolkit
What you should have in your toolkit, with handy tips from experts in Outback travel.

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What tyres you should run, what pressure you should put in them and how to repair them on the road

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Important information on what kind of trailer you should take and how to modify it for the outback

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Information and links to both paper and digital maps, what you need and where to get it

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Modern communications are essential in remote areas. Find out the what, why, where and when

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In the outback you could be several days from medical help. The RFDS can't get everywhere. Details of first aid kit contents and medical training. Essential!