Pro 4x Frontier Roof Capacity
- Thread starter JakeH
- Start date
The cross bars are the weak point of the rack. I believe they are rated at only 125lbs of evenly distributed weight. Unfortunately, I don't think you will find any official statement specifically related to the weight capacity of the main bars. It's hard to say if Nissan is limiting weight due to structural strength of the rack, or due to the strength of the mounting points. In any case, I would not load more than the weight limit on the cross bars, for the main bars, you could probly get away with a little more and be safe, but you have to take dynamic loading into account. I've seen frontiers with RTT that seem to do fine.
bigskypylot
Explorer
I know the Xterra factory crossbars were ~ 150# limit
I removed the crossbars and dropped a DepHep basket in and was going to use his crossbar mounts for my RTT but went with Dave's low-profile rooftray which worked out pretty darn good for me. I believe Front Runners makes a good rack for the Frontier?
I removed the crossbars and dropped a DepHep basket in and was going to use his crossbar mounts for my RTT but went with Dave's low-profile rooftray which worked out pretty darn good for me. I believe Front Runners makes a good rack for the Frontier?
The weight limit is not 150lb. It says 125 evenly distributed in the Frontier manual.
https://owners.nissanusa.com/conten.../Frontier/2016/2016-Frontier-owner-manual.pdf
Section 2-47
https://owners.nissanusa.com/conten.../Frontier/2016/2016-Frontier-owner-manual.pdf
Section 2-47
bigskypylot
Explorer
Notice I said Xterra lol
Nissan manual says that the weight limit for the roof rack is 150lbs.
bigskypylot
Explorer
I see now you were replying to travhale lol
Yes, what's funny? I wasn't being smart, my reply was in response to Burton... just making sure that the OP, and anyone else who might read this, is clear that the ratings for the frontier and xterra roof racks are not the same.
bigskypylot
Explorer
I meant burton58...
That's not great, but its 3 girls worth of 50lb suitcases--Better than nothing! What if I scrap the factory crossbars & mount a platform or basket to the main tubes in their place? Would the stock load ratings still apply, or would that replace the weakest link in the system & buy me a bit more capacity?
bigskypylot
Explorer
That's what I did with my Xterra. Ditched the crossbars as they are the limiting factor. For the most part. You have the factory mounting holes that with any heavy load will take quite a long, long time to show any effects, if any. I had a DepHep basket with extension but moved to the Maxterra drop-in roof-tray to lower the mounting points for my RTT. It sits a couple inches lower than a comparable setup with the DepHep. Makes a big difference when you are multiplying the load factor and reducing the C.o.G o n your rig with an RTT.
I'm thinking of removing factory crossbars & using a giant mesh platform from rhino rack instead, over top of the big tubes. That would give me tons of width & unlimited mounting points for a roof bag in the middle & either bikes or boards on either side. It would sit higher though. On daily duty, it would be really low profile without cargo or mounts, only about 2" thick... I don't carry a hi lift or axe or anything, so it wouldn't see daily use.
bigskypylot
Explorer
Danny's Red Dragon! He will get you set up for sure.