Rooftop tent on a fibreglass canopy

[Jesse26]

Hey all, I'm wanting to get a rooftop tent possibly the james baroud RTT. It weighs 60kg and is 198cm long. Is it okay to to attach the RTT to the 2 front rhino roof racks and also the canopy roof racks?

There's a sticker on the inside of the canopy that says the canopy roof racks can only hold 50kg. I have searched online and found some horizontal cross bars that can hold 75kg. Will that work? Or is the canopy roof racks still only suited to 50kg? I have also seen the support bars that go inside the canopy to further strengthen the canopy kg rating. But can I get away without doing that?

Any tips and advice is greatly appreciated cheers.

 

[79 Cruiser]

A mate of mine has a Dmax with fibreglass canopy and James Baroud rooftop, he went with internal bar work, no problems. Don't forget to add your weight as well!

 

[Jesse26]

A mate of mine has a Dmax with fibreglass canopy and James Baroud rooftop, he went with internal bar work, no problems. Don't forget to add your weight as well!

I did ask someone at ARB about my weight inside the rooftop tent on some roof racks and he said they're rated for when your driving so it's fine but I'm unsure if it's the same for a fibreglass canopy

 

[cam04]

Ute trays are solid mounted and the body is on flex mounts. The chassis also flexes. If you are going anywhere remotely rough I’d say it’s a no for mounting on both the canopy and the cab.
Fibreglass canopies which can carry heavy loads are called tradesmans canopies and have an internal bracing system so the load isn’t transferred through the fibreglass. Yours doesn’t look like one of those.
Also note with style sides and canopies, the rear sides of the style side get forced apart and they split if you carry too much weight on the canopy off-road. Hope that helps.

 

[peterfermtech]

Definitely don't share mounting between cab and tub. I was at a roof rack place a few of years ago and they showed me a photo which wasn't pretty.

 

[John U]

Slightly off topic but in the area.
My Oz tent is long. No dramas getting it on the arb rack I have but was thinking of ditching the rack for roof bars. I already have 2 for the canopy roof.
If I got another roof bar for the cab and tied the oztent to the 3 roof bars (2 on canopy 1 on cab) will the tent/canopy/cab be ok? Will the flex between cab and canopy destroy any of the parts involved?
The idea is to drop a bit of weight.

 

[Albynsw]

Slightly off topic but in the area.
My Oz tent is long. No dramas getting it on the arb rack I have but was thinking of ditching the rack for roof bars. I already have 2 for the canopy roof.
If I got another roof bar for the cab and tied the oztent to the 3 roof bars (2 on canopy 1 on cab) will the tent/canopy/cab be ok? Will the flex between cab and canopy destroy any of the parts involved?
The idea is to drop a bit of weight.

To give you an idea if the movement between a tray and the cabin on a ute.
I have a aluminium RTT on the tray of my 79 and a platform rack on the cab roof. There is a gap of nearly 30mm between the two items. I have a slight rub mark on the front of the RTT where the rack has touched it when the vehicle has articulated heavily.

 

[Jesse26]

Definitely don't share mounting between cab and tub. I was at a roof rack place a few of years ago and they showed me a photo which wasn't pretty.

So a hard shell RTT is out then?

 

[Jesse26]

Ute trays are solid mounted and the body is on flex mounts. The chassis also flexes. If you are going anywhere remotely rough I’d say it’s a no for mounting on both the canopy and the cab.
Fibreglass canopies which can carry heavy loads are called tradesmans canopies and have an internal bracing system so the load isn’t transferred through the fibreglass. Yours doesn’t look like one of those.
Also note with style sides and canopies, the sides of the style side get forced apart and they split if you carry too much weight on the canopy off-road. Hope that helps.

It seems i have learnt this a bit late after I just bought this Ute and assumed it would be fine now my plans to make this a tourer are a little bit ruined...

 

[FrankP]

Hey all, I'm wanting to get a rooftop tent possibly the james baroud RTT. It weighs 60kg and is 198cm long. Is it okay to to attach the RTT to the 2 front rhino roof racks and also the canopy roof racks?

There's a sticker on the inside of the canopy that says the canopy roof racks can only hold 50kg. I have searched online and found some horizontal cross bars that can hold 75kg. Will that work? Or is the canopy roof racks still only suited to 50kg? I have also seen the support bars that go inside the canopy to further strengthen the canopy kg rating. But can I get away without doing that?

Any tips and advice is greatly appreciated cheers.

IMHO, Jesse, you will need internal supporting structure. That's mostly to accommodate dynamic loads when travelling. Then find a bar system that will transfer the load to the internal supports. 75kg bars would be better. You said in another post you have a 2yo youngun. So I assume 2 adults and 2yo up there at night. I have no idea what size you and your partner are, but lets say about 170kg including bedding for occupants, plus 60kg for the unit, = 230kg. Dynamic loading at night is up to you

Definitely do not bridge between the canopy and the cabin roof - there is considerable relative movement and something would break.

 

[peterfermtech]

So a hard shell RTT is out then?

Not necessarily. I have a hardshell which I had on my D-max but that was without a canopy and the frame was mounted off the tub and bolted to the internal tie down mounting points. Something similar could be down either internally or externally of the canopy. Just remember with that weight sitting up high there is a fair amount of force applied when cornering. I have a forklift so I can easily remove the RTT when I'm not using it.

 

[hulsty]

As others have said, you cannot bridge between the canopy and vehicle roof and the tent is above that canopy roof load, no go. If you want to carry high loads on the canopy, try a ARB classic canopy with internal frame, I think they are 100 or 150kg rated dynamically and you can go 400kg static.

 

[cam04]

It seems i have learnt this a bit late after I just bought this Ute and assumed it would be fine now my plans to make this a tourer are a little bit ruined...

What brand canopy is it? There may be a retrofit HD rack system for it.
The easy way around it would be to set up the RTT on the cab roof only. You could set up a platform rack first for even more room and have awnings and all the gear up there also.

 

[Jesse26]

What brand canopy is it? There may be a retrofit HD rack system for it.
The easy way around it would be to set up the RTT on the cab roof only. You could set up a platform rack first for even more room and have awnings and all the gear up there also.

It's a Mitsubishi canopy, online it reckons the canopy can hold 110kg but that sticker says otherwise unless it means something else?

Was just looking and measuring the car then if I sit the 2m long RTT just on the cars roof racks it will have a bit of overhang on either side which should be fine? I could then attach a solar panel or some maxtrax to the bit of room left on the canopy. Is it okay if the RTT is just leaning on the racks of the canopy and not actually attached? Just unsure if the RTT is high enough to not touch the canopies roof racks.

 

[Kippie]

Have a look at these

1 x Canopy Internal Frame Rhino-Rack Vortex Rack (1 internal support frame and 1 bar) - Roof Rack World

Internal Ute Canopy arched sub frame, stools and cross bar. DIY kit, made to suit most types of canopy, load rated to 80kgs.

roofrack.com.au

150kg Roof Rack Kit for EGR Canopy VOLKSWAGEN Amarok 4dr Ute Dual Cab 02/11 On

150kg Roof Rack Kit for EGR Canopy VOLKSWAGEN Amarok 4dr Ute Dual Cab 02/11 On. EGR canopy roof racking system using an internal support frame.

www.auburncanopies.com.au

 

[Jesse26]

IMHO, Jesse, you will need internal supporting structure. That's mostly to accommodate dynamic loads when travelling. Then find a bar system that will transfer the load to the internal supports. 75kg bars would be better. You said in another post you have a 2yo youngun. So I assume 2 adults and 2yo up there at night. I have no idea what size you and your partner are, but lets say about 170kg including bedding for occupants, plus 60kg for the unit, = 230kg. Dynamic loading at night is up to you

Definitely do not bridge between the canopy and the cabin roof - there is considerable relative movement and something would break.

Hey Frank no 2yo just yet just me and the misses

I had a look inside the canopy and I can feel 3 support structures holding the roof up underneath the fabric, does that mean anything or do all canopies have that?

 

[cam04]

It's a Mitsubishi canopy, online it reckons the canopy can hold 110kg but that sticker says otherwise unless it means something else?

Was just looking and measuring the car then if I sit the 2m long RTT just on the cars roof racks it will have a bit of overhang on either side which should be fine? I could then attach a solar panel or some maxtrax to the bit of room left on the canopy. Is it okay if the RTT is just leaning on the racks of the canopy and not actually attached? Just unsure if the RTT is high enough to not touch the canopies roof racks.

From the Mitsubishi home page it looks like they are EGR canopies.
The HD (150 kg) rack kit is a retrofit if you want to buy it.

If yours is HD it will have a metal support tube system running from the ute to the rack

EGR Auto

Reliability, ultimate quality and design come together across all of the EGR range. Whether life in or out of the city streets, the EGR brand is designed to drive you and your family to every adventure with reliability, practicality and style.

www.egrauto.com

 

[FrankP]

Hey Frank no 2yo just yet just me and the misses

I had a look inside the canopy and I can feel 3 support structures holding the roof up underneath the fabric, does that mean anything or do all canopies have that?

Sorry mate, mixed you up with someone else somewhere else in a similar situation

Someone who is more familiar with the Mitsu canopy will be able to help you with specifics better than I can. I just know that in general terms a fibreglass canopy needs internal framework if you want it to support more than a light load.

 

[Jackbyo]

There's still options mate dont stress.

Definitely cant share the load between canopy and cabin roof. Cabin is on flexible body mounts, canopy/tub is hard mounted to chassis. Theyll flex apart and youll break something (maybe your cabin roof).

Internal bracing is a definite if you want a fibreglass canopy. Someone clever could custom one for that specific canopy if needed, or sell it and get a fibreglass canopy that does have bracing already

You could also consider something like the ozroo tub rack, or a frame and canvas canopy style like from https://www.wallabytrack.com.au/tub-back-utes.htm

Otherwise there's some cool steel or aluminium canopies these days

Mitsubishi Triton • RSI SMARTCANOPY®

rsismartcanopy.com.au

Mitsubishi Triton Canopy

Mitsubishi Triton Tub Canopy by Utemaster. Features full-width doors for easy access, superior weatherproofing, security...

www.utemaster.com.au

 

[dabbler]

Two people ? Forget the RTT and buy an awning tent. Only need mount an awning and don't need to modify anything.