I'm looking to put a Maggiolina Roof Top tent on my Fit. I already have Yakima bars but after a few trips I've noticed that the racks slide back on the roof (2 mtn bikes and a large cargo box driving 75-80mph in Utah winds doesn't help).

To improve things I was thinking of adding a 3rd bar to the roof. As well I'm planning on using the bolt on type towers for the front bar and then use the other bars as is (standard clips).

The rack, according to the Yakima site, is able to handle weights of 140lbs (dynamic weight). The tent is 119lbs and is a lower profile than my current box (and even lower than a couple of mtn bikes!)

Question - since I can't find anything about spacing of 3 bars on a Fit - any ideas of best place and spacing between the bars? I was thinking of moving the front one up from Yakima's specified location (and this one would be bolted down to the roof), the rear one moved further back and the middle one somewhat evenly spaced based on limiations of the clips to find purchase of course. Any thoughts of the layout? I recognize that the roof is curved somewhat which has some impact on how things end up attached so I have to make sure things aren't too out of alignment. The middle rack would be attached only when I'm taking the roof tent along as the bike rack and cargo box wouldn't gain much from having it on.

So any thoughts on the best setup on the roof would be great. I've seen pictures of this tent on a mini cooper! It's mainly to be used when I'll be driving lots (e.g. biking trips where I plan to hit multiple places and the distances between them are far). The bikes will be on a hitch mounted rack. Dog and gear in the hatch. Picking the tent up used so cheaper although still pricey.

AutoHome Maggiolina top roof tents for car camping

Thanx

 

The weight limits described by roof rack manufacturers mainly reflect roof-mounted weight limits published by the car manufacturer. The spacing of the usual two crossbar roof racks from Yakima and Thule is close to 24" between the front and the back bars. IMO, a third bar is not going to change or help anything. It won't add any more weight capacity to the roof. The load limit for roof loads is based on the car's wheelbase and its safety on the road regarding steering stability. None of that matters on a stationary car, but it will matter in getting the roof load to the place where you need to use the tent.

My suggestion is to mount a sheet of 3/4" marine plywood (rain won't warp it or dissolve the glue between plies). Cut the plywood to match the tent floor dimensions and bolt it to the crossbars.

I'm not familiar with the tent, and I assume that it must have some sort of fairly rigid floor if it is meant to be used on a roof rack. The plywood platform may not be necessary if the tent floor is rigid enough to support a person's weight, but you could add more rigidity to the rack by using 1" square aluminum tubing (available from architectural metal supply companies). Just fasten an aluminum rail across the bars on each side of the car, and cut the length to match the length of the tent floor. To further reduce weight, you could use square sided aluminum channel instead of the square tubing. Good luck.

 

Thanx for the response.

The bottom is fibreglass and is suppose to support 250kg (550lbs) so it shouldn't need reinforcement.

I was considering adding another bar to increase the distance between the front and back bars. With the front one bolted down. Currently my bars are 30" apart which is the min. for the tent. Max load is 125lbs and the tent is 119lbs (this is the dynamic load limit of course). I was hoping to move the bars apart another 6" using a middle bar. However perhaps that's not necessary and I should just add a track on the roof and change the towers to ones that use the track?

 

Sorry, I can't advise you on how track-type racks would differ or help (I use a Thule rack myself). My suggestion on the square tubing rails running lengthwise on each side of the car was made to offer more rigidity over a long span of weight bearing. Again, if the tent floor can support your weight, I can't see how the extra crossbar will help anything (since the "help" doesn't seem necessary). Drilling bolt holes through your roof seems to be unnecessary and really unattractive if you don't really need the bolted crossbar, particularly if you aren't going to need the tent everywhere you go.

If I were you, I would test the tent on the stock roof rack (FIRMLY clamped to the roof edges), and only consider drillling if the standard format rack absolutely cannot do the job. I'm just trying ot help here- it is your car and what you do to/with it is entirely up to you.

If you did not need the trailer hitch to hold your bike rack, here is another idea for handling roof mounted loads that take up a long space:

MAGIC!! Change Fitz into Trux - Honda Fit Forums

 

Thanx again and yes I'll test it all out before doing anything extra.

The bolting on of the towers was actually to deal with the fact that when I have my cargo box and bikes on the roof the rack slide back along the roof (scratch the paint and doing a bit of damage to the rear passenger door re: it's seal - wind now seems to get in although not rain luckily). I will always have a roof rack on the car - all I live for is to play (mtn bike, back country ski touring, white water kayaking, etc) so have a perm rack on the car is fine. But I'm going to play with the current setup to see if I can get it to hold firmer without being bolted down (to save $$ as it would require whole new towers if I want to bolt it down).

The link you added looked interesting for long loads like hang gliders :-) Might be useful at times for that.

 

I would love to see if this works out. I have the yakima roof rack mounted directly to my car's frame for added strength. Still I am not exactly aware of weight limitations. It is, however, a ton more secure then the traditional roof rack mounts provided by yakima, and my 16 ft sea kayak is very secure up there.
Please provide some photos once you get this rigged up??
regards.
~G

 

Give me a week and I'll post some pics up of it (I pick it up off the guy this Friday). I'm going to try just with the rack as it is but likely I'll move to the Yakima rack that uses the pads that bolt down.

 

when we purchased our RTT we were educated on the vehicle roof load limits....and were told this limit is set according to how much weight the vehicle can carry while still able to stay within safety limits according to road hazard corrections and roll over threat. most vehicles are designed to support their own weight when turned upside down...except for convertibles ...that do not have a roll bar.
the companies have to set limits to keep laws suits from being filed....so that load limit is just a guide line if you are worried about roof collapse.

we have a huge RTT on our 99 dodge caravan beater...6' wide x 8' folded out.
GD