Defender Roof Rack Options

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kenleyfred

Don't know about the others,
The side rails are easily removed on the Hannibal, lowering it by 85mm.
Ive left mine on cos we find them handy.

By the way. Scorecard at home
Carport downpipe 0
Hannibal Rack 1

Match report. Carport Guttering totally destroyed, needed angle grinder to finish job. Slight dent in Hannibal side rail and some powder coating scratched. Left as is to remind wife to be more carefull in future.

Kenley

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Alas the match report from my last incident involving a 'fracas' with a tree following a partial track collapse and side slide into it = Tree 1, Hannibal rack side rails bent to the sh_____ouse with captive bolt slot ripped... :mad:

Ended up able to jury rig an easy fix by bending bars back (they are indeed very easy to remove with a spanner due to the captive action of the bolt in the channel/slot) with hand pressure pressure only, and moving the whole side rail assembly backwards slightly. All done back at camp, so hats off to the rack for ease of repair...

My assessment of alum racks (all IMHO): OK for most light touring applications, ideal for rooftop tents (it's no surprise Hannibal sells both), but if you need a "working roof rack" - used day in/out or are likely to bash it off road ("it will never happen" ;)) then a lightweight steel option is better.

That's just from my own personal, [painful] experience. Then again, I could just be a crap driver :o - willing to concede ;) - perhaps just pushing it all too far - but then they are Defenders aren't they, and we are here to do proper off-roading right?!

When I get my LR steel rack in June will provide an update...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Frenchie

I like the look of the Wind Cheetah due to the low profile, I have a Jaram which is very good but it's a pain getting into car parks etc so I'm thinking of replacing it.

Best thing about the Wind Cheetah: 0.00 kg

:D

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Here are the weights for Wind Cheetah roof racks (give or take 1kg):

Defender 2m length: 33kg
Defender 2.8m full length: 41kg
Defender 2.8m full length (incl. 1/2 side rail): 45kg.

Cheers,
Daniel

The weight difference between all of the racks that are being discussed in this thread seems to be only slight.

ARB state 44kg's for the 2200mm(length)

Wind Cheetah 41kg's for their 2800mm.

600mm is not that much shorter and 3kg's is nothing.

Can both of these weights be correct ?

Drover,
TJM definetly do an aluminium full length roof rack for Defenders. I purchased one 4 months ago and am happy with it. They were also able to supply some other brand rear ladder.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Drover

The weight difference between all of the racks that are being discussed in this thread seems to be only slight.

ARB state 44kg's for the 2200mm(length)

Wind Cheetah 41kg's for their 2800mm.

600mm is not that much shorter and 3kg's is nothing.

Can both of these weights be correct ?

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Interesting - just called up the ARB head office in Melbourne. The sales person on the phone could not give me an exact figure for the weights. All he said is: (quote) The steel version is about 50kg's. (unquote)

The weights for the Wind Cheetah roof racks I got directly from the importer. They ship them around the country on a regular basis so I assume the weights are accurate.

This means, if we take the 50kg's for the steel rack and compare it with the same length it would mean that the ARB steel rack is around 63kg's @2800.
As a result you could load the Wind Cheetah with 39kg's and the ARB steel rack with 17kg's - before you exceed the LR recommended 80kg's.

When choosing a roof rack for me there are a few things to look at. Weight, material, loading capacity and support (feet), aerodynamics

In terms of weight, I want it to be as light as possible that I have more flexibility for loading it.
Material, again - the lighter the better. Aluminium is extremely strong, when extrusions are used to build it. IMHO if you stick with the 80kg's max weight on the roof, Aluminium is always strong enough.
Loading capacity - again, the lighter the roof rack, the more I can put on it.
Support - the more 'legs' the better. Some manufacturers connect the 'legs' with steel bars which is a good thing. I would however prefer to have more 'legs' than having that steel bar.
Aerodynamics - ok, we are driving Defenders and this might not be that important, nevertheless, the lower the roof rack to the roof the better.

Cheers,
Daniel

All I can tell you is that it is a struggle for 4 people to lift on a 3/4 length ARB rack and a breeze for 2 people to lift on a full length Hannibal rack.

Ok well i thought is should put my two cents worth in to the roof rack discussion! I have searched and researched so many types and came to the decision that i would go with the Hannibal full length roof rack. Now all i can say is that I am so impressed with the quality, the low profile and the low noise that you get driving along the freeway (we drove from Melbourne to Fraser Island) - Its just my opinion but i think they are the best on a number of fronts - lightweight, strong, versatile, low profile, low noise, come with a ladder and extra step etc etc. Although they might not be the cheapest on the market they are definately worth the $ - Oh yeah and the awning - well that is a whole other rant on how good it is - here are some pics!

/minot hijack

what about roof racks to suit the 130 ?

IMHO...

Hannibal is the best quality
Rhino looks the best
... & ARB make their money too easily

....I made my own:)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by VladTepes

/minot hijack

what about roof racks to suit the 130 ?

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Patriot, Hannibal, and even land rover make racks for the 130, and maybe some others.
I belive only Hannibal and patriot make full leanght racks for the 130, and these will only fit HCPU types. Other small racks are avaiable from the other manufatures, that just fit over the cab, single and double cab racks can also be purchased.

I cant comment on what quality any other 130 racks are like, because other than hannibal no one else was selling such a rack when we purchased ours. The cost of a patriot one imported from the Uk at the time was more expensive ( there opening a Australian office this year )

I have had the rack nearly 2 years now and its been fantastic, done everything and more i have wanted, very well made, and more so fantastic service from hannibal Australia...



Heres a few pics of the Hannibal rack...

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...010/10/306.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...10/05/1019.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...10/05/1020.jpg

130 single cab rack

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...10/05/1021.jpg

double cab 110

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...10/05/1022.jpg

90
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...10/05/1023.jpg





Patriot 130 Rack

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...10/05/1024.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...10/05/1025.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...10/05/1026.jpg

Patriot 110 DC

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...10/05/1027.jpg