Defender Roof Rack Options

[Drover]

Hey Guys,

I am in the market for a roof rack for the PUMA.

ARB is the obvious choice, but reasonable expensive at $1200.00 and the alloy version is not available for a Defender.

The problem that I am encountering with cheaper versions is the mounting brackets are too short to meet the distance from the gutter to the roof line (190mm) and of course no makes one specifically to suit the Defender, other than ARB.

I would very much appreciate input and ideas on any different brands that are being used by forum members, what works ?, what doesn’t, does some one want to sell one ?

Thanks for your help.

[PBob]

Rhino Rack have alum racks and brackets to suit Defender.:)

[MacFamily]

Wind cheetah Alloy WindCheetah - Dolium Pty Ltd (http://www.dolium.com.au/view/page/120/cat/Alloy_WindCheetah.html)

Hannibal Hannibal Safari Australia (http://www.hannibalsafari.com.au/roofRack.html) my choice and a few fender drivers on here have one plus lots of Accessories.

[kenleyfred]

I have the Hannibal and am very happy with it. Very robust. The slats run north south, not east west which is supposed to make it quieter. Probably does, but noise is not an issue with a Defender.

There are a lot of extras which can be added.
They are expensive, but in my opinion well worth it. The rear ladder is included.

Kenley

[Drover]

Just checked out the Hannibal, they do look the goods.:D

Are you using the full length 2200mm ?

Do you know the approximate cost ?

[numpty]

I have 3 Rhino bars and a Rhino rack mounted on top. Similar price to ARB, but very robust and has proven itself in some rugged country.

[dmdigital]

Hannibal is what I have and would recommend. Give Pete at Hannibal a call and he can fill you in on any details you need.

[kenleyfred]

Just checked out the Hannibal, they do look the goods.:D

Are you using the full length 2200mm ?

Do you know the approximate cost ?

I have the 2.8m rack with the 2.4m awning. From memory, $2800 all up including the ladder.
Very happy.
Have a double swag and often sleep up on the roof. That is until I can afford the roof top tent.
Kenley

[Michael2]

The
aforementioned racks all seem pretty good. I think TJM made an alloy rack to suit the Defender too.

I designed a low line, light weight rack (weighs only 23kg).

The photos for it are on the following link :

roofrack pictures by konstantinoufamily - Photobucket (http://s197.photobucket.com/albums/aa258/konstantinoufamily/roofrack/)

These photos should appear on the aulro discussion below, but photobucket must have rearranged their URLs or something, because I haven't moved the images, but they fail to link. Anyway, the following link will give you some more info, in case you want to consider getting a rack made up.

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/projects-tutorials/45325-low-line-alloy-roof-rack.html

[weeds]

opposite lock do a rack thats from south africa that is similar to the hannibal......a little cheaper apparantly

[dmdigital]

Yep sounds about right, from memory the rack was about $1800 when I bought mine. Hannibal's include the ladder for the 110 which is something that you have to add on to the price for just about any other rack.

[SVX37]

Hi Drover,

I bought the Rhino - 3 x bars and the roof rack on top. It is a 3/4 size of the roof and you can add attachments for Shovel, High Lift Jack, and gas bottle holder. I have all these on it. I am amazed that I get no noise from the thing whatsover. :) I like the Hannibal and the Doolium Wind Cheetah ones too (Oppy Lock) but happy with my purchase.

I personally wouldn't put an ARB roof rack on due to their weight. They are a quality bar though and had them previously on a SWB Paj years ago.

[Gav110]

The new range of Expedition Roof Racks from Land Rover are lighter than ARB, stronger than all the aluminium racks, and have more carrying depth: http://assets.config.landrover.com/lr/xi/l316/accoly_xi_l316_lr004101.jpg?122m

(this is the 90 version, but they do full length 110 racks for around $2800. Other equivalents from RovaCraft much cheaper - all with integrated ladders - see attached BearMach catalogue from RovaCraft)

Also include front and rear light mounts. I had a Hannibal for last 4 years on my old 110 - was a very capable and spacious rack. The only downside was strength of the upright side rails (narrow tracks with lots of trees, plus side slope = some bent rails!) although they were easy to straighten out and refit.

The slot system for taking tie-down rings, jerry can holders etc is very clever - as are the optional side rail mounts for hi-lift jacks and shovels. From what I can tell, Hannibal is the best of the alum; but am going to try the new lighter LR expedition rack on my new Puma.

[MacFamily]

Forgot about one of our site sponsor's expedition vehicle conversions, recreational vehicle conversions, camper conversions, land rover, toyota - Mulgo Pty Ltd - Australia (http://www.mulgo.com.au/)

[kenleyfred]

[QUOTE=Gavster;1198854]The new range of Expedition Roof Racks from Land Rover are lighter than ARB, stronger than all the aluminium racks, and have more carrying depth: http://assets.config.landrover.com/lr/xi/l316/accoly_xi_l316_lr004101.jpg?122m

Looks good, but in my case I have often slept on top and also walk around on top a fair bit be it playing about,getting a better view or strapping things down. The wider slats, although heavier, suit us better for walking/sleeping on.
Also my head used to get hot from sun through the sunroof, so the slats give better shade.

Kenley

[SVX37]

If you want a custom, or the Wind Cheetah type, I can definately recommend Daniel (Mulgo). His service and knowledge is first class on all things Landrover.

[Frenchie]

Wind cheetah Alloy WindCheetah - Dolium Pty Ltd (http://www.dolium.com.au/view/page/120/cat/Alloy_WindCheetah.html)

Hannibal Hannibal Safari Australia (http://www.hannibalsafari.com.au/roofRack.html) my choice and a few fender drivers on here have one plus lots of Accessories.

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:


Weight: 0.00 kg :D

[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

[Frenchie]

Hi Drover,

I bought the Rhino - 3 x bars and the roof rack on top. It is a 3/4 size of the roof and you can add attachments for Shovel, High Lift Jack, and gas bottle holder. I have all these on it. I am amazed that I get no noise from the thing whatsover. :) I like the Hannibal and the Doolium Wind Cheetah ones too (Oppy Lock) but happy with my purchase.

I personally wouldn't put an ARB roof rack on due to their weight. They are a quality bar though and had them previously on a SWB Paj years ago.

How easy is it to remove the rack (leaving just the bars)?

[Frenchie]

Don't know about the others,
The side rails are easily removed on the Hannibal, lowering it by 85mm.


Ah yes, just noticed that. ;):angel:

[Gav110]

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

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...

[Mulgo]

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


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

[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 ?

[Quigley]

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.

[Mulgo]

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

[dmdigital]

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.

[kram]

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!

[VladTepes]

/minot hijack

what about roof racks to suit the 130 ?

[87County]

IMHO...

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

....I made my own:)

[juddy]

/minot hijack

what about roof racks to suit the 130 ?

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/imported/2010/10/306.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2010/05/1019.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2010/05/1020.jpg

130 single cab rack

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2010/05/1021.jpg

double cab 110

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2010/05/1022.jpg

90
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2010/05/1023.jpg





Patriot 130 Rack

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2010/05/1024.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2010/05/1025.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2010/05/1026.jpg

Patriot 110 DC

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2010/05/1027.jpg

[SVX37]

How easy is it to remove the rack (leaving just the bars)?


I haven't done that yet - just easier to leave it on for my uses.

Depends on your definition of "easy" too! ;)

[geckos]

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2010/05/1002.jpg
heres one loaded up. Wind Cheetah 2.8m. Yes I know it is over loaded, I was moving.
gecko

[Savanahkelpy]

I have a cusom made one, aluminium, a sloping chequer plate floor over the cab to shade the roof. It used to be on my shorty, but i,m going to fit it on my defender, and as its not full roof length, i won,t have any problems with roof seperation due to stress and excess rigidity.:)

[firsttimedefender]

Go for the Hannibal.
Talking of cost is irrelevant, because you aren't comparing apples to apples with any other rack - I checked!!!. They are more expensive (I bought one last month at $2000, no annex), but they go full length, have full length support rails, include the rear ladder, not steel so lighter (therefore can carry more stuff compared with steel). Nobody else seems to give you this off the shelf.
I use mine for work as well carrying ladders, timber etc and it is magnificent. Everyday-use I don't use the side rails for easier access, but when I go away I plan to put the rails on. It is tough. My boofhead workmate climbs up there all the time tying down stuff and he weighs @100kilo - so far so good!
It's going to get a real test with three months of outback travel soon, so I'll give some real world feedback then.

[VladTepes]

further to this thread - any recommendations for a roof rack to suit a 130 twin cab ?

[dmdigital]

Hannibal do one for the 130 twin cab, should be pic's around the forum somewhere.

[juddy]

Hannibal and Pattriot do 130 HCPU Racks, if you have a 130 CC, then a Hannibal 90 rack will fit the cab....

Heres a pic of the 130 rack Hannibal.

http://gi354.photobucket.com/groups/r429/P2R1W1ZFPM/digtree6.jpg

[pbroz]

Just searching through some of the old threads concerning roof racks and came across this one. From what I can tell the wind cheetah is the lowest profile for the defender is this correct? I'm currently sporting three rhino racks, which I've had on the vehicle for the past five years... No issues. I'm looking at putting a full platform roof rack up top and am keen to keep my profile to the same or less than the rhino's... It current sits 2100mm from ground to the rear rack, how does this compare to the wind cheetah (or other)?

[Samblers]

I'd have to check, but i'm sure my hannibal with the sides removed is 2070mm from ground to rack

Thats a stock height 110 puma on stock tyres, which i guess makes a difference

[weeds]

Just searching through some of the old threads concerning roof racks and came across this one. From what I can tell the wind cheetah is the lowest profile for the defender is this correct? I'm currently sporting three rhino racks, which I've had on the vehicle for the past five years... No issues. I'm looking at putting a full platform roof rack up top and am keen to keep my profile to the same or less than the rhino's... It current sits 2100mm from ground to the rear rack, how does this compare to the wind cheetah (or other)?

i can measure mine if you like as i have a wind cheetah........it will off course depend on which springs you are running

[pbroz]

Thanks guys, that'd be great. Just for context, my 2100mm was measured on a 2008 Puma, rear bar (highest point)' standard springs and tyres (original General Grabbers minus -5mm)...

[MLD]

PBroz, if you have the rhino commercial bars you can save a few pennies and buy the Rhino flat rack. The legs (RL210) for the commercial bars are common to the flat rack. It will be a smidge lower (say 10mm lower) than your current set up. I have the 2200 mm rhino flat rack and if mounted in line with the rear of the defender (110) the leading edge will be about inline with the join in the roof. It will then reduce the wind noise because there is minimal overhang over the front third of the roof.

FYI a 2200 mm rack will accommodate a RTT, 33" mud tyre and a shovel mounted across (east/west)

A common complaint of the Wind cheetah and Opp Lock branded rack (re-badged wind cheetah) is the slats that run east west can result in wind noise. However mounting it in line with the rear of the defender will minimise the noise.

Hannibal and Rhino slats are north south.

as for ground to rack height, springs and tyres will affect that measurements so you might not get much assistance by asking for others to measure. Better measurement is gutter to top of rack. then you can apply to your set up.

MLD

[Yorkshire_Jon]

Why not measure from the gutter to top of rack... Since its the rack height that's the question, not so much overall height.

Sent using Forum Runner

[weeds]

Why not measure from the gutter to top of rack... Since its the rack height that's the question, not so much overall height.

Sent using Forum Runner

Great idea.....

270mm gutter to top off rack......wind cheetah

[Loubrey]

The new Wind Cheetah Mk2 which is the one you'll get if you order now, is major step forward for an already superb rack.


Completely modular and no wind noise whatsoever and a multitude of configuration options. Optional low profile legs and you can now space the slats independently to even facilitate a sunroof if you choose to do so.


Cheers,

Lou

[juddy]

The modular idea is nothing new.

Patriot came up with the idea years ago. Took a long time for someone to copy there idea.

I do however think the new discovery racks are excellent and suit the discovery.

[Samblers]

250mm gutter to top of rack - Hannibal (with sides removed)

Floor to top of rack is 2100mm

Sam


Great idea.....

270mm gutter to top off rack......wind cheetah

[51mondays]

i'm keen on trying roof bars/ load bars such as rhino or front-runner

that way they are light and modular so I can take them off easily on my own. 90% of the time there is nothing up there. Also I can carry long stuff without it fouling on the edge of a rack (although some properly flat platform racks don't prevent this)

I had a rhino pioneer platform on my hilux, now sold. It was pretty sturdy and pretty practical. I was happy with it. But cumbersome to remove

to store stuff like a roof-bag or a tire I thought I could use some bits of plywood customised to fit various objects. Keeping with the modular theme. Would this work for your set-ups>? I haven't done much touring that depends on stuff being on the roof. But perhaps in the end i'd have so much plywood up there i'd be better off with a platform.

in the foreseeable future (while 3 kids and dog are young) we'll travel with a camping trailer, as we struggle to fit all our crap in - mostly because of the ridiculously huge dog)


so the question is:

roof Bars vs Platform??