Weight Loading Considerations 110 CSW

Any tips on weight loading considerations for 110 CSW.
Eg Roof Tent weight 90kg plus roof rack (weight unknown), plus human cargo (2 adults/2 children) not exceeding 30 stone/420 pounds total.
Given that need to load spare wheel, kitchen, engel fridge, clothes, food, water etc. etc. is there a recommended weight load that shouldn't be exceeded? Also when people talk about the 'centre of gravity' of the vehicle - what exactly do they mean?

on my old works 90 the transport manager insited my legal limit was somthing rediculas like 75kg on the roof rack
the roof rack came as an optonal extra so not sure what that weighed
although legal limits vary from country to country
id say you could put you 90kg roof tent on a 110 no probs

as for other loading best way ive found is to evenly distribute heavy items low down then lighter stuff higher up

one think to bear in mind re roof rack is wind resistance can cause drastic rise in fuel consumption
best to figure that into plans with regards to refueling
have you considered a fairing for r/rack

kerb weight which i thinks vehicle empty 1800-2041kg dependent on model

gross weight vehicle loaded 3050kg

so youve got roughly 1000kg fer people fuel r/rack n every thing else
depending on your licence(when passed test)
you can two another 3000kg including trailer

so if it weighs 1500kg
youve got 2500kg capacity overall with a trailer
hope my facts are right

ps if you want to check weights
local landfill site will have a weigh brige sure if you call and explain theyll let you do a few trial loads n drive down n check

This link should help - an excerpt from the HOLY GRAIL of expedition books.

http://www.rgs.org/NR/rdonlyres/7A814B01-5B83-4C27-A1F9-8B051E4294D6/0/HBETve.pdf

fascinating, as they say.

Thanks for info - plenty to keep me busy. Impressed with Royal Geo Soc article - very interesting. That Tom Sheppard chap certainly knows what he's talking about - how does his book compare to Sahara Overland. Went onto the RGS website also - worth a look. Like the idea of visiting local refuse dump and being weighed!!

In your question you asked about centre of gravity. Here is a link that demonstrates the concept BBC Forensic Engineering - Solve the Riddle - Centre of Gravity

If tipping of the vehicle results in the centre of gravity stepping outside its contact area i.e. the rectangle made by four tyre contact points it will tip over.

When considering centre of gravity in the context of loading a vehicle you will also need to account for moving/movable items. So, if you start to approach the tipping point and any of your load moves in the direction of lean you will suddenly get nearer to tipping over.

Fluids stored on a vehicle (fuel, water, spare fuel) will slosh about as you travel over bumpy surfaces. If you have a couple of alternating bumps followed by an extreme angle you may find all the fluids slosh to the side you're leaning towards and suddenly shift the centre of gravity, again tipping you over. Oddly, a full tank will do this less than one say half full.

Sloshing of fluids on roll-on roll-off ferries has been enough to flip them over with disastrous results.

Also having the centre of gravity too far forward or back in the vehicle will result in odd handling under extreme circumstances. Slamming the brakes on with a rear weighted vehicle may result in it penduluming and/or spinning round (swapping ends, a tendency seen in old VW beetles etc).

Years ago, before power steering, truck drivers would place loads at the rear of their load beds to lighten the steering. Not recommended!

So ideally you need to keep the C of G low, fairly central (or slightly front weighted) and as stable (non-moving) as possible. This means fluids, spare wheels, tools etc inside the vehicle on the floor and preferably tied down. With lighter stuff on the roof.

Plenty of people get away with more on the roof but they are limiting the off-road potential of their vehicle and also potentially affecting emergency handling on-road.

As always it will depend on what you want to be able to do.

I've yet to work out how two of us can sleep on the roof with the combined weight of rack and tent without collapsing the gutters on my 110, probably need to lose some weight?

That's my homework sorted out for the next few days. Muchos gracias for that information. Will keep me busy. Thank you!

There is no real problem with sleeping two people on the rack of a 110 with a roof tent. or come to that 3 or 4 .
The trick with the roof rack is not having legs that concentrate the load. On my rack which I built using 25mm square tube, and marine ply base and sides etc I used 40mm x 5mm strip on its side as the base for the legs so that the load is distributed the whole length of the gutter.
I have had no problems during 16 years of use on dirt and corrugated roads . That with a large h/duty self designed roof tent with a base 1.5 landrovers wide. HTSH

Thanks for the reassurance.

The gutters on my 110 are already a little out of shape due to Land Rover's build quality. If I mount a roof bar with a foot near the nearside rear door I can't open the door without the rack leg clamp catching the top of the door frame.

So I'm going to have to find or make a rack with your gutter rails and feet/clamps that can be made to align with the A pillar, B pillar and two or three spaced along the rear. Preferably in aluminium.

Thanks again.

T2Man - do you have photos of roof rack? Understand what you mean re: ply and sides - would be interested to see what you mean by the tubing?
Thanks

Cassie, dont have any photos to hand , cant do any as rack was dismantled to make a trailer camper that I used behind a vitara on a trip to Tassie, just before shipping back to UK . I will pm you with more info .

p.s. did you have a look at the tent that comes out from under the rack to the rear of the landie?

T2Man - thanks. Re: Tent - Which one do you mean? The one I've looked at is the Howling Moon 2.4m x 2.4m - sits on roof and extends past the rear of the vehicle. Can store mattresses etc. and fold out/down in seconds. Can have extension at rear base. Is this the one you mean? Decided will take a trip to North Yorkshire at end of the week to go and have a look in the flesh.

Hi Cassie, sorry got mixed up with forums and threads , there are a lot of similar on different forums. The under rack tent I meant for you to look at is here
autospace

Have a look and tell me what you think, it does not preclude having a tent on roof as well

Yup - uh huh - have had a look. Not bad. Have been reading other reports and stuff via Google re: rooftents. The Howling Moon for example - couple of issues re: rainproofing - OK if heading South I suppose but UK and Europe use - needs more investigating to be sure. Company may have addressed since the dates on the older reports I have read.
Think need to have a good look at a range of rooftents (bring the kids along too so they can try and test how it all works). Next on my list - the Oztent and the Maggiolina - latter looks interesting and almost retro in terms of its style - but looks scary in weight at first glance. Might have to pop along to one of the shows to see who's got what roof tents in tow.

Magiolina does not need full rack beneath so saves on weight that way , dont know what like for storm proof , good idea is to go along to Billing show, lots of people camp in their Landies, more roof top tents of all types than you can shake a stick at, get the info from the horses mouth,
It was a long time ago when I wanted a roof top tent, not as big a selection back then, after talking to a lot of people decided to do my own, made of h/dty Birkmire Canvas , never let me down , even in cyclone type conditions, mind you the old landy rocked about a fair bit, (not caused by me ) . I thought the under rack one was good if kids sleeping in landy, and ideal for eating etc in bad weather. Keep looking no need to rush eh!

T2Man - thanks - have just been looking at the Billing dates - will wait till July and have a good nose around. I haven't bought a thing yet - starting to kill me but I know patience will be virture - hopefully!! Thanks for PM also - still looking at it.

Just thought I'd give an update on where I am. I read the RHS stuff with lots of valuable information. That Tom Sheppard chap is excellent.
I also checked and re-checked via handbook and other web resources and it remains that Defender Roof Load should not exceed 75KG. However - doesn't seem to differentiate the weight whether 90 or 110 - so surely a 110 CSW can cope with more? Anyway, without further ado, after much deliberation, investigation of other brands etc. I have now been and seen TrekOverland in North Yorkshire and purchased Howling Moon 2.4m x 2.4m roof tent at 90kg+. (I am still recovering from the cost - very expensive - this tent will need to die with me but definately rugged, child proof etc.). In addition, I have purchased an Aluminium Survivor Flat Roof Rack with Full Gutter Rails to support. Just waiting delivery of both. My view is that the tent will take almost the entire roof leaving only 40cm spare so good weight spread across the whole of vehicle. Risk is going to be apparent if vehicle off-road or steep gradient or possibly sharp bend - vehicle rolling the issue. However, plan is not to do any of these things deliberately or willingly. Also willing to sacrifice and deduct overall weight load to compensate. Am thinking about roll bars as a result of decision - not sure if overkill but with children involved - will consider - hoping not to go there. Will post picture of roof tent and rack as soon as arrived and fitted - due end May.

It would be great if you could let us have a review and some pictures once you've got it all fitted.

Cheers,

Will do!