how much to trust roof bars?

i have a set of 3 bars that have the 2 pins at each end, i was wondering if they can be trusted to carry a decent load as they look to be plastic.

i want to carry some fairly heavy ladders on them but i don't want to see them crashing onto my bonnet when breaking for the first island i get to.

so does anyone use these bars to carry anything substantial? or would you advise getting a set that clamp to the bars or the roof lip.

thanks

when im taking any thing on roof i use gutter clamp bars

I've got a set of Halfords commercial bars that I put on the gutters. Land rover ones would be ok for a pigeon to perch on but not much more imho.

I've just done 3000 miles with a roofbox loaded with around 50 kg in and it stayed on even at 80mph. I get where your coming from though they don't look like they're up to the job.

I've carried some decent loads of timber on them (and i usually only put two on!) and also kayak, ladders etc.
I do always tend to lash the load to the rails as well as the bars tho...

They are not plastic but metal, I suspect aluminium. I had a set that had one peg broken which I set in the middle for safety. I personally would have anything heavier than a roofbox supported by the main rails too.

the LR user manual says "50 kg max and 30kg for off-road"

thanks for all your replys, i feel a little better about putting things up there now, i will probably invest in some gutter bars for the bigger stuff.

also i have some extra brackets on the rear of the roof that i have not seen on another disco (see photo) they do look pretty professional and the bars fit in to them nice. has anyone ever seen these befor?

disco_ben said:

also i have some extra brackets on the rear of the roof that i have not seen on another disco (see photo) they do look pretty professional and the bars fit in to them nice. has anyone ever seen these befor?

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Was it an ex-comapny vehicle maybe with a beacon along the rear roof?

matthew2riches said:

Was it an ex-comapny vehicle maybe with a beacon along the rear roof?

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it could have been i suppose, however there are no other signs of non standard equipment being fitted. it is quite good having this bracket though as it will help to spread the load further along the roof.

jyhelle said:

the LR user manual says "50 kg max and 30kg for off-road"

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I carried a double bed, not very impressive, but it was one of those electric raising ones, like a metal hospital bed, way over 50 kg and it worked fine for 20 miles across town.

Wouldn't take it across Africa though

elmer_d said:

I carried a double bed, not very impressive, but it was one of those electric raising ones, like a metal hospital bed, way over 50 kg and it worked fine for 20 miles across town.

Wouldn't take it across Africa though

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well that makes up my mind about putting ladders etc on them. cheers.

I once had a friend standing on two bars to saw several tree branches over the driveway, he was oscillating but the bars held ...

jyhelle said:

I once had a friend standing on two bars to saw several tree branches over the driveway, he was oscillating but the bars held ...

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good use for them i like it

When I Lived in Zimbabwe, I did a lot of research into roof racks, particularly for off road use. In the end I bought a trailer, as a roof rack that would have taken the load would probably have damaged the vehicle.

While there are many stories of people carrying large loads on Dicso roofracks, the problem (as explained to me by a South African roofrack supplier) is that a badly distributed load can twist the body shell leading to problems with the rear door closing. Remember that the rear pillars are quite thin - they haven't got a lost of strength. The abovementioned supplier said that the way to take a larger load was to get a full length roof rack to spread the load along the length of the whole roof. Heavier items shoul be over the front of the vehicle which is stronger.

Cheers!