I was thinking the other day, maybe I'm gonna need an extra -luggage carier.
My RAV doesn't have the roof rails, and I don't fancy them very much, so, I was wandering, what about the roof racks? They seem to be easy to fit or to remove, but I'm asking you how much weight can they support? Or it's just for ski or surfboards etc. ?

PS Any instructions about the fitting of the roof racks would be great.

I got the rack which mounts on the rails, Toyota OEM. Rated at 100kg, I've had slightly over according to Ikea's weights, for 10km driving carefully.

But I heard that the 4.3 is only rated for 60kg(?) on the roof, rather than the 100kg of the 4.2?

They say that even if the car can handle 100 kg, you shouldn't load more than 50. For every kilo you add, the worse your car handles. If you need to do a sharp emergency turn with 100 kg on the roof, then your car will most certainly tip over.

buy a landrover - doesn't go fast enough to fall over and can take 3 tons on the roof.......

After a lot of research (and believe me, I spent quite some time in front of the friendly google), I finally got to the bottom of this.
First and foremost, there are a lot of roof box makers, some are good, some are not. Spent a lot of time reading the ADAC tests made for different roof boxes. It's important to buy something that will not open or brake when you make a panic brake or movement with the car. Also, the quality of the material is different, some uses the ABS, wich supports a wide range of temperature, and is resistant to a lot af acids. The other material is PS, wich doesn't support higher temperature.
Also, it's better to use the roof raks or the cross bars and the roof box made by the same manufacter.
So, finally I had to choose between to: Thule and Mont Blanc, both made in Sweden. But still, I was wondering to the "original" Toyota ones, who made them?...Made some calculations, and the price difference wasn't to much (at least, here in RO). Searching the newata at toyota-europe.com, I found that the roofbox is made by Mont Blanc. Where? There is a remark: if you loose a key, contact montblanc.se. :)
[url="http://newata.toyota-europe.com/ata/accessory/list.do?accessoryId=165277&typeId=5238#images"]http://newata.toyota-europe.com/ata/access...eId=5238#images[/url]
So, I decided wich roof box I should get.
And yes, maximum load they say that should be is 75 kg, including the box.

[quote name='nest' post='848184' date='Feb 1 2009, 07:00 AM']So, I decided wich roof box I should get.
And yes, maximum load they say that should be is 75 kg, including the box.[/quote]

Thanks for the info. I thought you were asking about roof racks, but the stuff about the box might be useful. (My box is an aftermarket thing from Norauto, who seem to be the French equivalent of Halfords)

As stated, I've had just over 100kg on the rack (not in the box) on the 4.2 which mounts on the roof rails, but that was for less than 10km and driving carefully. For the comments about weight and roof boxes, when I go on long journeys with the family I always put the bulky stuff which is quite light in the roof box - sleeping bags etc. Never thought about car handling (with a family one doesn't try to imitate Stephan Peterhansel), just logically that I don't want to put my back out trying to lift heavy stuff up, and don't want to be decapitated trying to lift it down again!

Bothy - when I did a LR off-road course they warned me about not rolling a Defender without a rollcage, as it was just alu and would flatten down to the bodywork, but I'm sure you know your stuff. Stuck in my mind though, for obvious reasons!

[quote name='Dippy' post='848288' date='Feb 1 2009, 02:13 PM']Thanks for the info. I thought you were asking about roof racks, but the stuff about the box might be useful. (My box is an aftermarket thing from Norauto, who seem to be the French equivalent of Halfords)[/quote]

Yes, it started with the question "should I fit the roof racks?...", and the next one "ok, but what roof box should I get?" was a natural one.

Ok, I've got the roof racks (original Toyota) and the roof box, also from Toyota, but in fact it's the Mont Blanc Camper 555.
They are great, can "eat" a lot of luggage. For now, I can't say that the fuel consumption was higher, but of course, the speed is limited to 120 km/h (around 70 mph). No wind-noise also.
The only difficulty is when you put and take off the box. Instead of removing just the box, it's easier to remove the racks with the box altoghether, because it's a little bit tricky to desamble the screws on the backside. Even if you are really tall. And there must be someone else to help you, because even if the box has only 15 kg, it's really hard to grab it!
And a little drawback. I have the sunroof, and the box comes right on top of it. I contacted the support centre from Mont Blanc Sweden, asking if mounting the roof racks a little bit on the back of the car it's risky, and madam Brigit told me that I can't move the roof racks, but to move the box a little bit on the back. Anyway, I had to make some kind of a compromise, even if I moved the box, the sunroof would still be covered. Also, I prefered the box to be fixed even on each side, and even on front and back. With the first ocasion I'll make some pics.
I'll attach also the instructions. I hope the post will help if you're considering to buy an extra luggage carrier.