Thule Roof Rack Weight Limit - Jay Feather Micro

[McMullap]

Hey everyone!

Yep, it’s Andy and I’m back to ask even more questions. So that you all for your patience. We have the factory option Thule Roof Rack System on our 171BH but I have no idea what the weight rating is. I was hoping to put a small canoe up there for the family to enjoy. I have a ton of Thule systems are they are one of the best around. The owners manual says I need to contact the manufacturer.

However, I can’t find squat about which model Thule system I even have to ask Thule. Anyone have any ideas on weight limits? I’ve found numerous 4-person canoes that weight 75-100 pounds.

That obviously won’t affect my overall weight too much, but a canoe in motion driving down the highway at high speeds exerts more than 75 pounds of downward force. I would love to know if anyone knows the limit, and if not, have they thrown something up there that worked out ok.

Thank you as always! Cheers. Andy

[TomC_AZ]

It’s at least a few hundred pounds. The roof is pretty strong as it holds a me and my son on it at the same time. I would be more worried about height of anything you add.

[Kim Gass]

Thule is being evasive because they have no idea how strong your roof is. The rack will hold and the roof should be fine but in corporate thinking they have no idea what the rack will be mounted on.

That said we routinely have carried 120 lbs on ours for over thirty years and have cartopped canoes since 1969 and not just locally. The aerodynamics actually pull the boat up.

But thankfully there are lighter boats now. We have canoes mostly in the 25-40 lb weight range now. These are even more prone to becoming sails.

I worked in a canoe shop once and we told customers to try and keep load under 100 lbs as the racks will hold more but again we did not know their car. That said most of us routinely go over 100.

You will be fine as long as your roof is fine.

[norty1]

How is the rack attached to the roof? IMO that would be the thing that would determine how strong it would be.

[TomC_AZ]

The rack, at least mine, is attached roughly every inch or two with screws to the roof. What I don't know is how long those are nor what is underneath them to help anchor them down. Since I don't plan on using the rack, I installed my solar panels to it this weekend. Used some homemade cross bars for one panel (the nuts that slied into the rack were the hard part, but key part for this install), then the stock Thule bars for another panel. Both feel rock solid. I can shake and wiggle the whole trailer from either panel and they don't budge. But what is underneath that roof anchoring them is still a mystery.

[McMullap]

Thule’s are known to hold serious weight. Some of the same brackets used on top of vehicle roof racks are used for vehicle top tents. But as folks mentioned, how the rack attaches to the camper would be my worry. I’m looking for a 4-person canoe that’s well constructed. From what I’ve seen, these canoes weigh roughly 75 pounds.

As others have noted, are the screws holding the Thule rack on the roof 3/4” or 3”? Ha. I would hate to see a canoe rip off my roof and cause damage or hurt someone.

[McMullap]

In case anyone cares, I finally found the answer. All Jay Feather Thule Roof Racks are rated for 250 pounds. The customer service individual hunted down an engineer who immediately knew the answer. Awesome!! Andy

[JayLo]

Good to know! I have a Yakima Deep Space 10 on mine

[kiqman]

Originally Posted by TomC_AZ

I installed my solar panels to it this weekend. Used some homemade cross bars for one panel (the nuts that slied into the rack were the hard part, but key part for this install), then the stock Thule bars for another panel.

Did you happen to take a photo(s) of your panels mounted to the Accessory Roof Rack? I think that's what I might use the racks for, as the air conditioner mounted directly in the middle of the rails seems to rule-out any other real usefulness for the racks overall.

[TomC_AZ]

I did, here is a link to an album on this forum for the install I did. https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/m...lbums2170.html

The panel in the back of the trailer is on the Thule rails, just had to drill holes and bolt them on. The panel on the driver's side (slide side) is on some 1" square tubing that I bought at HD or Lowes, don't remember which was cheapest just look if you need/want to do this. It was like a 10' rod that I cut down. The hardest part was to get the "rack nut plates" for the rails. I found them at a shop in OR that mailed them to me, they were by far the cheapest I could find. They are a perfect fit (Part number WAR-576). I got all 8 of them from a place named ReRack in Portland OR for $1.99 each total of $15.92 + $5 for delivery.

Take those to a ACE hardware or somewhere that has a good bolt selection and find the right length and thread. That was it, pretty straight forward. Oh and for the DIY rack rods, use a smaller piece of the 1" tubing for mounting the cross bar to the rail. This gives it the height needed to clear the arch in the roof.

I can say that after about 11k miles that we have with these panels on now they are still tight and sturdy on the rails.

[TomC_AZ]

I should add, I used the existing wires that were on the roof for the OEM panel, just added adaptors to parallel the three of them. Then zip tied to the rack rail. It is tight up there but you can carefully walk, with a stretch, semi leaning on the AC to the front via the OEM panel side by the TV antenna.