Educate me on Roof Racks for RTT

Black Dynamite

New member
I am not purchasing a RTT in the near future but would like to get one down the road. What should I be looking for in a roof rack? I have an LR4 2012. I would like to use the rack for general load carrying on different adventures but also use it for a RTT on others. Am I limited to a flat style with no side bars? I am new to this so just trying to get info before I purchase the wrong thing. Is there a rack and or RTT that can suit a 5 person family? or will a few of us be on top and others inside?

Vic
 

JimmyHall

New member
To support a roof top tent on the Land Rover Discovery, you'll need a strong rack system that attaches to the rain gutters.

Rhino-Rack offers the best solution for this application. A three bar roof rack is recommended for hard shell type tent . This Rhino-Rack roof rack connects to the vehicle's rain gutters for the strongest support. I think this may be valid for you as you are looking for roof racks for RTT. There you can look for different roof fitters.
 

Ray_G

Explorer
Stu has already pointed out that the 3 & 4's doing have rain gutters so that style of rack is N/A.

You are likely stuck with flat sides (or a rack with a flat portion designed for a RTT, which are out there for the platform).

I'd suggest diving through the depths of the inter web a bit and looking at the various iterations of this truck with RTT's on it to get a sense of what rack suits your needs best for a variety of reasons....

Meaning you can get it done with a Front Runner 3/4 rack and a standard (ARB) canvas RTT for sure...there are derivations of this for various racks (Baja and the like).

If you decide you want hard shell you can still pull that off with a flat rack, or even a prospeed (which is flat, but follows the truck's lines).

As I consider what I'm going to do I've got a nice sketch of the load area of my rack (a prospeed) and the footprint of a variety of hardshell tents (we considered, and then disregarded the soft style) that takes into account size, weight, cost, etc. The process of the research is going to give you a better sense for what works for you-if that's how you process info.

For a family of 5 I'd suggest a 3 person capable canvas tent, on a front runner rack, with an annex room that you can put up under it to facilitate spreading the family out. I don't believe I've ever seen a double RTT 3 or 4 ala what folks can do with the 110.

R-
Ray
 

kcabpilot

Observer
The RTT’s are pretty adaptable. I mounted mine to an SD style rack (which has side rails) on top of my D2. Because it was on the side rails it was a bit higher and I had to buy the short ladder extension that is about a foot and a half or two feet long. As for getting five people into a RTT, doesn’t sound like much fun.
 

waveridin1959

New member
I've mounted our RTT on two Thule Crossbars on our LR3, but I have a Front Runner Full Rack coming in the mail tomorrow. I went with the Front Runner to get a true flat rack. I didnt want a rack that is more Safety Devices in style. I had one on my Disco I and found it to be pretty useless. I believe the Baja and Voyager racks are much heavier than the Front Runner.

I was inbetween the K9 and the Front Runner. Got a better deal through RoversNorth on the FR.
 

Avio Wine

New member
Looking for some additional information: The Thule crossbars are only rated to 220lbs for the pair. So how do you put a tent on them with people? I have seen a lot of setups this way and not any comments about breaking them. The LandRovers have tracks in the roof. The RangeRover model has three mounting points, thus three bars. But the specs from the manufacturers (Thule and Rhino) state that the total load over all bars is still 220lbs. So, what is the recommendation/solution?
 

Kgh

Let’s go already!
We have the Voyager RTT specific rack on our LR4, with a Tepui RTT. Works well, annex adds lots of space, and place to stay dry if raining, location for Dometic toilet, and place for the dog to sleep. With tent off there are rails to convert to full rack.

One of the best items we bought is Nakatanenga’s RTT mount system. Allows quick mount and dismount, and allows for rotation of tent opening by 90 degrees. FrontRunner also sell quick disconnect system.
 

CodyMcD

New member
Vic, Using the Rhino-Rack Backbone for the LR4 would offer a low profile system with static load ratings of 600LBS +. Their product attaches to the factory fixed points with no drilling required. I have one for my Toyota 4 Runner and it keeps the noise down. Its also very lightweight which is great for wheeling. The Pioneer is highly modular allowing for fair amount of accessories to attach in when the tent isn't mounted. ie: maxxtrax, roto, bike/ski/kayak.
 

ze_zaskar

Observer
Looking for some additional information: The Thule crossbars are only rated to 220lbs for the pair. So how do you put a tent on them with people?

That's a dynamic load rating, in other words the load they'll manage on the move.

Static load (stopped vehicle, with people inside the tent) ratings are generally much higher
 

Forum statistics

Threads
185,530
Messages
2,875,576
Members
224,922
Latest member
Randy Towles
Top