Pro 4x Frontier Roof Capacity

travhale

Observer
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?
 

travhale

Observer
Notice I said Xterra lol

Nissan manual says that the weight limit for the roof rack is 150lbs.

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
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.
I meant burton58...
 

JakeH

Adventurer
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 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?

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.
 

JakeH

Adventurer
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.
 

kylevd23

Observer
I actually found this on xterra performance that sells the cvt tents. I imagine if they promoted this picture then the factory rack without cross bars should be able to maintain the weight of more than 125-150lb.frontier rtt.JPG
 

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