ASK ARB – roof
rack carrying capacity

Hi ARB, 

I am after some advice. I live in the outback of WA in a community called Burringurrah, more commonly known as Mount Augustus. We have to travel quite some distance to Perth and other places when we go on holidays or buy food. With a family of 5 in a 2005 Pajero, it’s no easy task. 

Carrying a trailer is quite often a pain in the rear end, as the roads up here can be unpassable. In fact, our roads have been closed since 18th December 2009 and should be open this week! 

But to cut to the chase, I have been talking to a few dealers about roof racks and I am hearing different stories and need to get some good advice. I have been told that I can put no more than 60kgs on the roof of the Pajero and that sort of defeats the purpose. I am struggling to get a straight answer and really need to sort out the space issue. 

– Richard 

Hi Richard,

Thanks very much for your question. The Pajero is a fine vehicle all right, and we have had quite a few on our fleet over the years and they have all given perfect service.

With roof racks, it’s very much our policy to be guided by the vehicle manufacturer’s recommendations, as they have the knowledge of what their roof structures are capable of, and for us to gain that knowledge independently is commercially unviable.

I would certainly not recommend you exceed the Mitsubishi nominated roof load.

We do a lot of work in the development stages of the ARB roof racks themselves, and do all sorts of computer simulation testing, physical testing to Australian Standards, and field testing on vehicles that are subjected to extreme conditions, so we know our product as well as the motor companies’ know theirs.

Thule make a range of roof bars and accessories for your vehicle that would allow you to put a few light but bulky items up there, but I would suggest that a full roof rack is not a good idea as much of the capacity will be taken by the rack itself, and it is for this reason we do not offer a full cage rack for your Pajero model. One of Thule’s roof boxes would be worth looking at. These offer a lightweight but roomy means of carrying light but bulky items with an aerodynamic advantage as well.

The later model Pajeros are rated to 100kg as they have stronger roof bar mounts, and we do offer our steel and alloy cages for these as a result, but again we recommend that the 100kg limit be respected, especially on poor roads.

Another way of maximising the cargo space in wagons is with a Milford Cargo Barrier. This is a safety device as well as an excellent ‘wall’ that you can stack all sorts of cargo against. If you can do without the third row seats (assuming you have them), this will allow you to get maximum use of the available space.

Other than those suggestions, as far as cargo capacity, you are still stuck with the trailer I’m afraid. If you do decide to maximise the load on the vehicle with or without the trailer, I would strongly advise you to upgrade the suspension, and we know some people – our friends in Old Man Emu land – who can help you out.

Greg Milton
(National Product & Services Manager)