When it comes to rooftop tents and accessories, there’s a gap in expertise: many tent sellers don’t fully understand roof racking, and many roof rack sellers don’t understand rooftop tents, awnings and all the other accessories we love carrying on or in our cars.
Recently, we helped someone who received poor advice from a well-known roof rack retailer.
Their vehicle was fitted with inappropriate racks for their needs and incorrect weight rating advice—a common issue we’ve seen before. If you find this post helpful, let us know; we’ve got plenty more case studies to share!
The Retailer's Mistake
This particular case involved a Mitsubishi Pajero Sport with factory-fitted "flush" rails:
Roof racks (bars): Rated to 100kg (good).
Towers (or legs): Also rated to 100kg (good).
Fitting kit (feet): Rated to only 75kg (not great for off-road adventuring with a rooftop tent).
The retailer advised the buyer that the whole setup was rated to 100kg and that this rating didn’t degrade off-road—both of which were incorrect. Firstly, the weakest point in a system downgrades the entire system. Secondly, most rack manufacturers will downgrade the rating off-road due to many reasons including unpredictable road surfaces and the more pronounced up/down and side-to-side forces at play.
The fitting kit used pre-defined mounting points on the vehicle’s rails, spaced 65–70cm apart. While fine for many uses (like bikes, a cargo box, or an Ikea table setting), this setup wasn’t suitable for the buyer’s intended rooftop tent and 180 degree awning.
Overlooked Options
The retailer missed two better options, both from the same brand and available from the retailer's inventory:
Alternative Fitting Kit (feet): A different kit from the same brand could have maintained the system’s 100kg rating on-road (degrading to approx 66–70kg off-road). It costs a little more. It squeezes the rail v's slotting into it which is a stronger attachment.
RuggedLine Steel Rail: Replacing the factory rails with a steel rail system would have provided a more secure fit, especially for a rooftop tent (or other heavier loads). This option isn’t available for all vehicles but offers several additional advantages to overlanders:
Increased Mounting Points: Six rack fitting points instead of the standard four, allowing for an additional rack (3) which is always better for bigger, heavier rooftop tents
Greater Rack Spread: A wider distance between front and rear racks, ideal for larger tents but also larger awnings (e.g., 180° or 270°) to prevent flex and potential damage.
Higher Durability: Better weight distribution and support for heavy-duty awning brackets, especially important for the stress caused by awning arms swinging out at the hinges (ends of the awning).
Instead, the buyer ended up with a rack system rated for 75kg on-road (~50kg off-road) when they could have been offered a setup to maximise their roof load limit of 80kg. They may not have known to ask, and the retailer didn’t provide the right guidance or questions related to use.
Key Takeaways
It’s important to understand your vehicle and roof racking needs before purchasing a whole lot of gear. We help our clients plan and consolidate their purchases and installations. Retailers are supposed to provide expert advice, but large stores often prioritise other things over proper training. And not everyone can afford to hire an army of experts.
But we think they should.
This story has a happy ending: we’ll soon share a video showing the removal of the current racks and installation of a better system for the intended use. It’ll cover roof load limits, rack weight limits, mounting point locations, rack spread, and the benefits of upgrading factory rails for overlanding purposes.
While options like RuggedLine can cost 2-3x more (plus installation fees) than standard racks, the investment is worth it for confidence on-road, off-road, and look let's be honest, even navigating Melbourne’s ever-increasing potholes!
A Note for Fellow Adventurers
At ROOZE, we do sell and install racks, tents and more (in Melbourne only for the time being) so we have a vested interest in you calling us for better advice and rooftop camping ideas. Our bigger goal is to educate and help adventurers like you (anywhere in Australia) get the most from your equipment for better trips and more of them.
When requesting roof racks, make sure to ask:
How can I maximise my vehicle’s roof load limit? On and off-road.
What setup is best to support my rooftop camping and touring aspirations? If they don't offer a lot of expertise here, move on
(Don't go cheap - especially when safety for you and other drivers is at stake). If you have to economise on the vehicle or racking, then limit the weight you put up top as much as possible. There's nothing wrong with a well-built swag!
If you have questions, feel free to email us at info@rooze.com.au. Even if you’re far from Melbourne, we’re happy to provide ideas and perspectives.
And to be fair, if the retailer in this particular case didn’t know what the customer intended to use the racks for, it’s not entirely their fault. However, they should have made this enquiry - that's just good customer service. Plus, the misinformation they provided to the buyer could have led to dangerous outcomes for everyone on the road including you and me.
JP
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