Thule roof rack on 320 boondock/outback edition

Cbusguy

Looked through the owners manuals and could not locate any specs.....   Is there a load rating/weight limit anywhere?     They have removed the basket and spare tire and was thinking it would be slick to add a cargo carrier.    

Has anyone done it and what were the result?    I wonder how much it impacts the air flow over the trailer.

4ncar

If I recall Thule rates the rack for 100lbs, HOWEVER, NuCamp rates the rack to 75 Lbs due to the means by which they have attached it to the trailer.

Cbusguy

disappointing if that is the case,   so the cargo basket and spare tire pretty much took up the load limit.

guess I need to break out the scales and see if the gear I was thinking about storing in the carrier is light enough.   the smallest thule roof top carrier is 35 pounds by itself with a load capacity of 110 pounds.    

I imagine that the load capacity if very dependent on how the rack is anchored to the vehicle.

morey000

the Thule roof rack looks cool- but it's a very expensive way to mount the tire.  on the good side, it takes weight off the hitch, which may be useful for some TVs.  but, it's not like you could put a lot else on that rack once the tire is there.  

pthomas745

The Outback rack carries many things for many owners.  The weight limits being discussed are for how much you can carry on an installed rack.  Lots of threads and photos.

https://www.google.com/search?ei=z-qDXO6JL4rN-gSC0YHoBw&q=outback+rack+uses+site:tab-rv.vanillaforums.com&oq=outback+rack+uses+site:tab-rv.vanillaforums.com&gs_l=psy-ab.3...11063.12218..13578...0.0..0.64.305.5......0....1..gws-wiz.-1oNF6KCZ2U

db_cooper

Have they switched to Thule on new models? Website still shows Yakima like our 2015.

Verna

I had a Yakima rack and basket installed on my 320 at üCamp17 by Austin, nüCamp’s Service Manager. 

Cbusguy

potato potatoe,  yakima thule,   the roof rack.   

Honestly it doesn't look that useful.  I have seen the pictures of the what I consider seriously overloaded campers.    

maybe I am being too conservative.   but spare tires multiple bikes......If the load rating is truly 125 pounds,  add wind loading with the odd install angle/location.  Just not sure it is worth damaging the trailer.

Galoolie

I’m in the process of mounting a generic basket to carry folding chairs and a screen room. Note the the bottom cross bar is bolted through the roof. If you loosen it, the nuts are not captured so they will just spin. I was told access to the nuts is possible by removing the speakers. Kinda of a Mickey Mouse way to secure the bottom crossbar imho.

Bill_F

Reinforced bottom crossbar on Yakima rack. Doubled the number of basket attachment brackets to limit further flex on both unreinforced top bar and reinforced  lower bar.

AnOldUR

Bill_F said:

Doubled the number of basket attachment brackets ...

The four points of attachment to the flexible rail is a weakness in this system. It eliminates any advantage of having ten rail to frame connections on each side. But I’m not sure if adding four more brackets would be possible because of the curvature of the roof.