Road Trips are an incredible experience, and when you travel with friends or family, the trip becomes more special for everyone. Traveling is a tremendous experience, and everyone should travel every once in a while. You also get to know about your travel companions with a deeper understanding.
Roof racks are a set of bars on the roof of your car, which attaches by bolts and hooks onto the roof. Roof racks play an essential role in providing enough space to keep your luggage while traveling by car. Proper mounting of the roof rack is the first step in ensuring a safe and successful trip.
Roof racks will provide more room in the interiors of the car, which will offer more comfort for the passengers in the car. However, putting heavy luggage on the top of your car comes with considerable safety risks.
With the aid of roof racks, you don’t have to cut back on essential travel requirements in your luggage. You must adhere to all the safety precautions to ensure a safe and worry-free trip. This article will bring to light the top 7 do’s and don’ts when traveling in a car with a roof rack.
1. Read The Instructions
Roof racks come in a variety of sizes and capacities. Therefore it is crucial to read the instructions of the manufacturer to know about the permissible luggage which you can load on to the roof rack.
You also need to ensure that the dimensions of the roof rack match the specifications of your car. Following the instructions will let you assemble and set up your roof rack faster and in a safer manner. You can also opt for roof boxes that cover entirely and protects your luggage from the weather.
2. Do Not Overload The Roof Rack
Every vehicle has a maximum weight carrying capacity, and if you load above the recommendations of the manufacturer, you may be putting your safety and that of your passengers in jeopardy.
You can find the load capacity of your car by reading the owner’s manual. The roof bars themselves have a maximum capacity, and you must ensure that you do not exceed either of these limits. Be mindful if your car has a sunroof, as you may break the glass if you put weight on top of it.
3. Purchase The Ropes And Straps
It is critical to safely secure the luggage on your sunroof to ensure that the luggage does not slide or slip out while driving. Ropes are excellent for securing your roof rack if you are fluent in the art of tying knots. A ratchet strap or a cam strap is better alternative options that do not loosen under vibrations and are easy to secure.
You may also use bungee cords; however, you should not employ only bungee chords to secure your roof rack.
4. Balancing The Luggage
You must load the heaviest pieces of luggage first on your roof rack. Put the most cumbersome items in the trunk if possible, as putting the heavier items on the roof may lead to shifting the center of gravity of the car upwards, causing imbalance.
You must also take care to distribute the weight evenly on the top of your car. If you load the luggage more towards one side, it may cause swaying of the vehicle or sliding of luggage on the roof rack. It is usually better to keep the heavier luggage at the center of the roof rack.
5. Height Of Luggage
You must take care not to load the luggage too high on the roof rack. You may find a low lying obstruction that forces you to take a longer route. The center of gravity will also shift upwards, which will make the steering feel loose.
6. Wrap In Plastic Or Tarp
Once you finish securing the luggage on your roof rack, you can proceed to cover with a tarp to protect the cargo from the elements. Alternatively, you can also choose to wrap individual items in plastic wrap. A cargo net can also help in better securing your luggage on your roof rack.
7. Accessibility
Loading your roof rack is entirely different from packing in your trunk. Load lighter luggage on the roof rack as heavier luggage may be a chore to load and unload while on the road. You also must not pack items that you often use on your roof rack.
Conclusion
Whether you are planning to go camping in the woods or just cycling out for a day, packing the luggage onto the limited space of your car can be a demanding task. Even with meticulous planning to reduce the baggage you take while traveling in your car, you may often find yourself with more luggage than you anticipate.
Packing everything in your trunk can be a daunting task as the bags tend to come in a variety of shapes, which will be hard to arrange correctly in your trunk. You may also feel congestion if you put too much luggage along with you in the sitting area.
