Hey y'all. New guy here from MN. Looking at getting a RTT. My question and concern came when I spoke to Tepui about their 'Lightning' hard-shell tent. They said that I would need a bar system that allowed for 195lbs. After further research it seems my vehicle—a 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee—has a roof weight limit of 70kg's or roughly 155lbs. I was recommended to reach out to 'Rhino Rack' and inquire about their heavy duty bars that can hold 220lb. From what I understand, even if the bars can hold a higher capacity, the weakest link (my roof's capacity) is the strongest part. They also said that if the roof can hold '155lbs' I would have to subtract the weight of the roof bar system ~10lbs from the capacity, leaving me at about 145lbs. The hard-shell RTT's I am interested in are exactly 145lb, and some are 165lb. So, I have a few questions for y'all who are probably much more knowledgeable than I:
1. I've seen quite a few people with RTT's on their vehicles, is it safe to say that most are pushing or exceeding the dynamic weight capacity? Would going over 20-30lb's cause issues?
2. After doing more research, some of the research suggested getting rid of the factory flush mount, and bolting in directly a 'roof rack' from for example, Gobi. Gobi's roof rack shows a 300lb dynamic weight limit. However, since it bolts directly into the roof, wouldn't it have the same '155'lb limit?
The rep at Gobi stated that, the rack actually increases the limit since it's not the actual roof that has a limit, but the factory flush mount. So, clarification/affirmation on this subject would be helpful, since if the rep was right a roof rack would provide a good piece of mind as to not be maxing out the roof's limit.
Thank you!
1. I've seen quite a few people with RTT's on their vehicles, is it safe to say that most are pushing or exceeding the dynamic weight capacity? Would going over 20-30lb's cause issues?
2. After doing more research, some of the research suggested getting rid of the factory flush mount, and bolting in directly a 'roof rack' from for example, Gobi. Gobi's roof rack shows a 300lb dynamic weight limit. However, since it bolts directly into the roof, wouldn't it have the same '155'lb limit?
The rep at Gobi stated that, the rack actually increases the limit since it's not the actual roof that has a limit, but the factory flush mount. So, clarification/affirmation on this subject would be helpful, since if the rep was right a roof rack would provide a good piece of mind as to not be maxing out the roof's limit.
Thank you!
