[magnat]

I am looking at High Camping options for the XL-7.
Reason being is I am not too fond of having Snakes, Dingo's or Crocs visiting my sleeping accomodation at night when I travel further up north in 2014.

Could the 2002 XL-7 take a Roof top tent ?

[Chop]

Yes it would, if all those wicked campers small hatchbacks can carry them

Just be ready for very bad economy! Maybe make a wind deflector?

[magnat]

I was a little concerned as the roof rails have to have some sort of weight restriction but I have not been able to find any answers as to what it is..

[Chop]

It can take the weight, because the static weight will have the people in it.

[Jezza86]

i have one of these hanabal impis. they are semi aerodybamic on a jimny, would be better in a xl7 with a longer roof. i have overhang over my windscreen causing an air dam effect.
their very comfortable, and setup/ down in seconds. you can also use it for extra storage if your pushed for cab space. i can fit a doona, 2 pillows, 2 camp chairs, and a lot of fishing gear up there.
its 70 kg which is a lot on the roof of a jimny bu you get used to it. just have to drive difficult terrain a bit difrently and be mindfull of bodyroll on high speed dirt sections.
living in gove, i go camping very freaquently. i wouldnt worry too much about the wildlife. i can gaurentee you will get a better sleep in one of these compared to a swag though.
http://hannibalsafari.com.au/index.php? ... shell-tent

[sideways]

The roof weight limits are for when you're moving. If the roof couldn't take the weight of a tent and a person, imagine how stuffed you'd be in a rollover.

[atari4x4]

you seen how easy the A pillar folds on a vitara.

[fordem]

They say a picture is worth a thousand words ...




The roof load limits in the owner's manual are "dynamic load limits" too much weight, too high up, will affect the stability of the vehicle and can be safely exceeded if the vehicle is parked on a level surface

[magnat]

Thanks Fordem !!
Thats exactly what I wanted to see...

[shakes]

Jezza86 wrote:

i can gaurentee you will get a better sleep in one of these compared to a swag though.

why?

[banga]

there is one of those tiny 2000 model barinas getting round the coast with one of those massive arb roof to campers on top of it. every time I see it i have a double take it always makes me shake my head.

[Jezza86]

shakes wrote:

Jezza86 wrote:

i can gaurentee you will get a better sleep in one of these compared to a swag though.

why?

A) more air and more vents, space to mount a fan. nt heat isnt always comfortable. swags get even hotter. the white finish on the pod reflects a lot of heat. it also protects the roof from scratches and keeps the sun off the roof keeping the car a tad cooler during the day/ while driving.
B) ants. i have never found a place in arnhem land there isnt ants when you least expect it. they find the gap between the zips and it shits me.
C) high position. buffalo are hard to see. often you smell them before you see them. waking up and geting out of the pod you still have 1.8m on a buff. in a swag your squished.
D) space, its a doubble bed, with enough space to put a thicker than a standard swag matress. you can also hang wet clothes up. they have a evaperoative cooling effect making it a bit more comfortable.
E) flat bottom. your drunk rolling out your swag and dont care about rocks, roots, whatever. the base of the pod is flat. you crawl in on all fours and if you spew hard enough it will miss the rear of your car.

[shep]

Jezza86 wrote:

shakes wrote:

Jezza86 wrote:

i can gaurentee you will get a better sleep in one of these compared to a swag though.

why?

A) more air and more vents, space to mount a fan. nt heat isnt always comfortable. swags get even hotter. the white finish on the pod reflects a lot of heat. it also protects the roof from scratches and keeps the sun off the roof keeping the car a tad cooler during the day/ while driving.
B) ants. i have never found a place in arnhem land there isnt ants when you least expect it. they find the gap between the zips and it shits me.
C) high position. buffalo are hard to see. often you smell them before you see them. waking up and geting out of the pod you still have 1.8m on a buff. in a swag your squished.
D) space, its a doubble bed, with enough space to put a thicker than a standard swag matress. you can also hang wet clothes up. they have a evaperoative cooling effect making it a bit more comfortable.
E) flat bottom. your drunk rolling out your swag and dont care about rocks, roots, whatever. the base of the pod is flat. you crawl in on all fours and if you spew hard enough it will miss the rear of your car.

Absolutely guarantee that a traditional style swag on a stretcher will be cooler to sleep in then a RTT, it's only the girlie modern style swags that are shit in the tropics. And yes I camp with both setups.

[onetoomany]

Not my picture, but an awesome setup nonetheless:



I think the poster said the tent cost them $3,500 though :O

[Abraxix]

from in the past vechicles the 3x that i've had have all had load ratings of the lowest i've seen is 60kg's a corner - so all up you're talking 240kg's on the roof top when moving that was on a tiny little mazda 626.

my old suzuki had load ratings of 80kg's and the Jeep we just sold were 80Kg's..

thinking that with the weight dispersed correctly you'd be really more than safe having a roof top tent up there

[scorpydude]

GV and XL7 is 75kg max on the factory rails. So i don't see how any of those roof top tents would be legal in AU QLD.

Also, a 10cm high roof rack took my GV from 9.5L/100k to 11.5k/100K on highway driving. So i shudder to think what a 30-45cm roof top tent would do. Easier just to chuck out a 3man tent when you get there IMO and costs a hellovalot less.

The arguments posted above about getting off the ground if your heading into buffalo country are defiantly worth listening to though - not sure what i would do in that situation.

[Chop]

scorpydude wrote:

GV and XL7 is 75kg max on the factory rails. So i don't see how any of those roof top tents would be legal in AU QLD.

Think you'll find that style of rooftop is around 55kg.

[magnat]

Fitted a Set of Roof Racks rated at 90kg..
So at least I have that part taken care of..
Yes the tents weigh a maximum of 60kg.. and as it has been said.. Moving weight is different from static weight..

[Abraxix]

sorry my post as refering to 80KG's a corner:

so all up potentially dispersed correctly you can carry roughly: 80X4 - 320kg's when parked!!! so deffs weigth enough for the tent plus two full adults / kids if necessary!!!!
but others are correct it'll be the fuel economy that will hurt the most more than thinking about the load rating on the roof top!! and it's not so much the roof racks weight can carry it's the actual roof weigth points that you need to find numbers on. it's not good buying 90kg rated roof racks if your roof anchor points can only sustain 50kg's of weight and you load up you'll bend / buckle / weaken your roof points!! (and by points i'm meaning the pillars where the weight would be held!

overall you should be completley fine just don't go loading up the roof with a ton be smart

[scorpydude]

Where did you confirm that it's 75KG a corner? My GV manual states it 75KG but does not mention per corner.

[Abraxix]

my previous X-90 was rated as 40, and as stated my old Jeep was written 80kg's per corner. owners manual for the jeep (now that's gone i can't prove) but we had the roof top loaded numerous times with upwards of 80k's easily, numerous numerous times and more likely way psat the limit, the XL7 is 'unlisted' thus far.

hence i was making statment it's not guy buying roof racks that state they can support 90kg's of weight if your roof top mounts can only support 50kg's.
you wouldn't want to load up more than 50kg's of weight even if your racks are rated at 90kg's... that'd be pointless!!!

[jimny_timmy]

A jimny has a roof load rating of 20kg's according to the owners manual... I can tell you now my roof rack is nearly 20 kgs lol

[scorpydude]

Yes, that sounds more believable then 80kg per corner. There is no way the GV or XL7 can hold 300KG total on the roof and even if it can you would most likely be putting yourself and others at risk if you were to travel like that. When I fitted my ARB roof rack to my GV the ARB guy told me no more then 40KG additionally to the roof rack on the GV. That was just his opinion but was still made more sense then assuming a GV/XL7 has the same capability as a Patrol/Landcruiser to haul roof cargo.

From what little I know about land cruisers and patrols I think I've heard that they are capable of that sort of roof load because of the 8 mounting points the roof rack has and the way the roof is designed near the rack mounting points along with the pillars. The GV/XL7 doesn't have that sort of design and therefore capability.

Of all the shit I've read on GV/XL7 i've never read anything of the sort of this "per corner" rating before and I would warn anyone else who might be taking it seriously to find the source and read it yourself. I doubt you will find it though as it's most likely far from correct. As Jimny_timmy stated, even the newer Jimnis are only rated at 20kgs.

[fordem]

The roof load limits in the owner's manual are dynamic load limits - if you like, a "do not exceed whilst driving" limit - it's a stability issue rather than a strength issue - I've had more than double the stated roof load limit on my GV (whilst stationary and parked on level ground) with no problems, and would not hesitate to do it again.

[Chop]

Straight from my gv owners manual- the gross weight of the roof rack plus cargo must not exceed the loading capacity (45kg (100lbs)).

[Abraxix]

i think that so far ScorpyDude: has been on the money in which i was guessing it'd be something near 70kg's based off my old Jeep but again as he stated build completley differently and then pointed out that the GVXL7 has been 'unlisted' again it'd be a guess...

from a jimmy being 20kg's X-90 40kg's a jeep being 80kg's you'll probably find that the XL7 may only be 50/60kg's

[christover1]

I've given my roof bars a 0kg load rating for touring and off road.
I have no desire for the loss of stability and aerodynamics, especially as I have a lift etc.
As for using it to pick stuff up locally, I give it a common sense rating,
and drive very sedately when its got stuff up there..
Have been known to carry my recovery waffle boards up there occasionally.

[Chop]

Abraxix, do you not have a manual in your glovebox? I'd say it ain't going to much different to what is stated in my 2003 manual. An xl7 isn't going to have a higher roof load because the roof is stretched by a small amount.

[Abraxix]

oh yeah sorry i thought you meant for the Jeep - i'll look when i get home Stella came with an owners manual so i'll deffs have a looksie