Roof Top Tent on a Suburban - Help! | 4WDTalk - Overlanding and offroad Forum
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Roof Top Tent on a Suburban - Help!

SuedePflow

SuedePflow

Active member
I'm wanting to put my Condor XL on the rood of my 2013 Suburban. I need some kind of roof rack system that will support the weight. All of the bar systems that I find for it seem to only be rated for 150-220 lbs. I don't know if that's a static or dynamic rating, but I need something that can handle 900 lbs of tent and occupants.

I see RTT's mounted on the roofs of smaller cars with these simple low-rated roof bar systems all the time. What gives? I'm struggling to find a way to put 900 lbs on my Suburban's roof and I feel like there is something that I don't know about as far as weight ratings. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
That's right most of the rack systems are clamped on, which are limited to ~250lbs. Have you looked at Rhino Rack or any of the ones you need to drill holes into your roof? Those are going to have the higher dynamic and static weight limits. How are you getting to 900lbs?
 
I would reach out to someone like:

metalcloak.com

OverCab Rack System | JT Gladiator

The OverCab Rack is the most capable carrying system available for the Jeep JT Gladiator. The highest payload, strength, rigidity, and stability as well as an assortment of unique modifications are feature characteristics of this cargo management system. Features Include: Allows for Freedom Top...
metalcloak.com metalcloak.com

or https://www.gobiracks.com/

These companies make exoskeleton like frames that go around these trucks, while they may not have one for yours, they might be able to point you in the right direction.

Good luck!
 
100% - Gobi Racks might be able to help you out. With regards to what you see others doing, many of those people are likely not doing things correct. Example: I just saw a Jeep Wrangler with JCR roofrack, which I know for a fact is rated for 100lbs, and not only did they have a roof tent on it, they had bicycle on one side and kayak on the other. That had to been easily over 200-250lbs over. Not saying that is right, it isn't, just example of don't pay to much attention to what others are doing.
 
Here's what doesn't make sense. I can find countless images online of RTT's mounted to OE-like 150# capacity crossbars. How are they getting away with this? Something I don't know about the ratings system?

Here's a YouTube video of a professional installer using the Yakima Syline system, which is only rated for 165 lbs. The tent on there weighs that much alone without the 3-4 people that it's rated for. What am I missing?
 

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I've checked GOBI. They don't offering any Chevy products at all. Same with Front Runner and Prinsu. Rhino and Yakima only offer the low capacity cross bar kits, similar to OE.
 
Tough one, not a lot of options for that truck. I think people are just 'going for it' and hoping for the best. Big gamble if you ask me. If you tossing iKamper on top, and that falls off on freeway speeds that could jack that thing up bad.
 
What sort of frame is on the roof of these trucks? I wouldn't wing it. Honesty I would make something custom and mount four plates in each corner where you want a rack, bolt them down to the trucks frame. Then mount a Rhino Rack on that. Going this route you should be good for some serious weight on that truck.
 
I called a couple manufacturers and here's what I learned. Roof racks have two ratings, but only 1 is ever advertised. There is a dynamic load racing and a static load rating. The dynamic rating, which is what we see advertised, is the amount of weight that the roof rack can support while the vehicle is in motion. The static load rating is the amount of weight a roof system can handle while the vehicle is parked. This static rating is rarely shared because the limitation is often the vehicle's roof rather than the manufacturer's rack system. I don't know why manufacturers of roof rack systems don't share this info about how the ratings work...

I also have no clue how to discover the actual rating of the roof of a vehicle. One manufacturer stated a good rule of thumb is ~800 lbs. At this point, I'm confident that I can max out my tent's capacity at 910 lbs total roof weight. I'll be going with a Rhino Vortex roof rack system.
 
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Well, I got the trailer set up this weekend. I fabbed up this apparatus that bolts to the trailer and holds the tent. Zero blockage of the rearview mirror and plenty of storage under the tent. Using the trailer for the tent is nice because I can disconnect the vehicle and leave camp set-up. And the trailer will house everything else I bring (gear, grill, firewood, fuel, generator, etc...) I also welded on corner jacks to stabilize the trailer. Looking forward to it's maiden voyage in a couple weeks!

I'm still waiting for my Rhino Rack to come in. But it will be nice to have the option to use the tend on the trailer or the Suburban.

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I'm completely digging that trailer set up!!! Damn nice work, did you do that yourself? That trailer has a ton of space for bikes, and many other big items most of use can't bring out with us!!
 
Solution found. I wouldn't even fuss over putting the tent on the truck. That trailer has so much potential! Love the set up. What else do you plan to do with that trailer?
 
Chad Hahn said:
I'm completely digging that trailer set up!!! Damn nice work, did you do that yourself? That trailer has a ton of space for bikes, and many other big items most of use can't bring out with us!!
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Thanks! Yeah, built it myself. I'm an "extreme DIY" kind of guy, so if I own it and it's made of steel, there's a 50% chance it's homemade. :)
Yeah, this 6x12 trailer has ample room to grow into on camping trips. Should be fun!
Sergey Offroad said:
Solution found. I wouldn't even fuss over putting the tent on the truck. That trailer has so much potential! Love the set up. What else do you plan to do with that trailer?
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I use it for general 'around the house' type stuff. Hauling tubing, lumber, soil, the lawn mower, etc... I also fabricated a bolt-on rack to haul my argon tanks to get exchanged. It'll hold 6 of them, but I usually only take 4 t a time.

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And when I bought the trailer a month ago, I put new wheels/tires on it and kept an old one for a spare. So I framed up an area up front, and mounted the spare and also a tongue box.

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