Thread: Defender Roof Rack Options

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

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.

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 ?

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