Defender 90, Roof rack/bars + Roof Tent

Hi All,

Looking at getting a rooftent for my 90, i do alot of camping and always take the defender and load the back up with tent, sleepings bags, camp beds etc etc id rather have a tent/bed ready to pull out and use on the roof. and be able to use the back of the 90 for other things.

Im also hoping to do a trip to Morocco next year with a couple other defenders, so it will be usefull for that.

Questions:

Do i needa roof rack or can i just use roof bars to bolt the roof tent too?
Any Manufactures to stay away from?
Anyone got, roof tent, rack or bars for sale?

Cheers Sam

Hi Sam,
For a roof tent you only need two roof bars but I prefer them on three for better load spreading.

Be aware that you will need something like a 40 x 40 roof bars or those with a 70/75 kg rating. Some 'aero' roof bars are shallower then 40 mm but wider so still have 70/75 kg rating. The standard 'U' bolt (inverted) may not be wide enough to cope with the 'wider' aero bars. This means either fabricating/modifying roof clamps or drilling through the roof bar.

Keep away from the 20 x 40 mm bars/40kg rated bars.

Bars or roof rack? Decent roof bars (3 off) would be in range £130-330 whereas decent roof racks would be in range £600-1,000

Roof racks are heavier then roof bars and more expensive but can be used as an additional platform. Be careful not to overload roof/make vehicle too top heavy

Cheaper roof bars are steel and zinc plated to different qualities. More expensive ones are ali, powder coated.

With racks positioning of some roof tents can be problematical dependent on construction of rack and position/mechanism of catches. Not a problem with roof bars.

HTH

Brendan

PS

Anyone got, roof tent, rack or bars for sale?

Click to expand...

Yep have just a few for sale ;-)

leeds said:

Hi Sam,
For a roof tent you only need two roof bars but I prefer them on three for better load spreading.

Be aware that you will need something like a 40 x 40 roof bars or those with a 70/75 kg rating. Some 'aero' roof bars are shallower then 40 mm but wider so still have 70/75 kg rating. The standard 'U' bolt (inverted) may not be wide enough to cope with the 'wider' aero bars. This means either fabricating/modifying roof clamps or drilling through the roof bar.

Keep away from the 20 x 40 mm bars/40kg rated bars.

Bars or roof rack? Decent roof bars (3 off) would be in range £130-330 whereas decent roof racks would be in range £600-1,000

Roof racks are heavier then roof bars and more expensive but can be used as an additional platform. Be careful not to overload roof/make vehicle too top heavy

Cheaper roof bars are steel and zinc plated to different qualities. More expensive ones are ali, powder coated.

With racks positioning of some roof tents can be problematical dependent on construction of rack and position/mechanism of catches. Not a problem with roof bars.

HTH

Brendan

Click to expand...

Many Thanks!

I have found a set of 3 HD roof bars, not sure on dimensions but are rated at 75kg.

Like you say the price difference of bars to rack is what will sway me into buying Bars!

Cheers Sam

My bars came from FirstFour and are seriously strong.
Can thoroughly recommend them.

Looking at Trew 90 roof bars which are shall we say are 'inboard' roof bars. Not all roof tents may fit on them due to available width.

Check your roof bars/rack against the roof tent you want to ensure they are compatible


Brendan

My rack takes an 8ft x 4ft sheet perfectly.

They look nice trew and well strong!!

Ill have a look on First Four

Cheers Sam

Treworgey 90 said:

My rack takes an 8ft x 4ft sheet perfectly.

Click to expand...

4ft is approx 1.2m. Typical small roof tent is 1.3 m wide, medium 1.45m and large 1.6m wide

The small uprights on your roof bars might cause problems.

It is a good idea to check compatability of different components before purchasing them

HTH


Brendan

Can recommend FirstFour very helpfull. Peter the owner is an engineer by trade so more than capable of finding a solution.

Personnaly use a Howling Moon roof tent - extremely well made. Like anything get the best you can afford at the time.