Van roof racks do exactly what they say on the tin. They go on your van’s roof to store things. They are typically used to store things that are too large to go inside the van and have a lot of commercial benefits, providing easier and more efficient storage.
This article aims to be an all-together guide for van roof racks, explaining what they are, what to consider when buying one and how to choose the right one for your van. It’s worth noting that this article will only be covering roof racks. Roof bars have their uses and benefits but they are a separate product, despite their names often being used interchangeably. We will be covering van roof bars at a later stage but for now, roof racks are what we are focusing on.
What is a roof rack?
A roof rack is a product made up of multiple evenly spaced cross bars & raised side rails creating a large support area to transport materials whilst a full-width rear load roller will help with loading. This design makes it versatile for a wide range of applications, with it being especially suited to holding 8 x 4 sheet materials. Heavier items can be easily secured with a pair of ratchet straps.
Typically, a roof rack is more expensive than a roof bar but it is more multi-purpose out of the box and when taking all the accessories you may need for a roof bar, it really is not saving you all that much. If you are going to be moving a wide variety of products or a lot of heavy goods, then a roof rack is going to be more beneficial in most cases.
As with all things when it comes to more storage, you are going to be concerned with the amount of weight you are adding to the vehicle. You also have to consider that you are impacting your van’s aerodynamics by putting items on the roof so fuel consumption is going to be high. In most cases, aluminium will be the preferred option over steel as it is the lighter option so therefore, will add less weight to the payload.
Picking the right roof rack
The most important factor of all is making sure the roof bars or roof rack you choose will fit to your make and model of van. If you can’t install it, then there is no point having it and with so many different makes and models, it can be difficult to know exactly what roof rack is going to work.
There is no singular solution to fitting roof racks as so many vans, particularly older vans, have things such as raised roof rails or metal rain guttering or a metal roof with recessed threaded fixing points.
With the demand for roof racks and bars being so high, most of the more popular work vans on the market today have been designed to allow for safe easy fitting of roof racks to the factory locations. In very rare cases, you may need to drill to obtain a fixing if there is no obvious spot available but in most cases, you should be covered.
With this range of choice available, we take great pride in offering a diverse and wide selection of racks that are easy to sort through. Simply, click your van’s brand and use the simple to use menu to identify the correct make and model. We even include an image to showcase how the rack should look on your van to give you peace of mind that you are indeed buying the right one. This includes the newly released KammRack, the latest external storage solution from Rhino Products.
