Why a car roof rack can lead to a car overhaul
It is not worth loading bags of earth, cement and fertilizers, as well as boards and everything else from the “still come in handy” series to the roof. And separately about sore points: no, you can’t bring an old cast-iron bath here either. But what is possible in general - how to properly use the roof of a car as a loading platform, the AvtoVzglyad portal figured out.
The short and vague winter of the new decade is coming to an end and the first motorcycles have already appeared on the roads. In the countryside, this phenomenon, when the snow is still lying, is called mototoxicosis. However, another toxicosis - summer cottage - was also noted on the outbound highways of the capital on the long weekend of February: summer residents have already sharpened their shovels and are ready for the new season. Very soon it will be incredibly difficult to leave the capital on weekends.
Jokes about seedlings and cats at such a weather pace will appear in April, or even in March, but you can slander about the garbage accumulated in garages and balconies right now. What kind of artifacts are not sent to the haciendas of Russians: old boards and furniture that will end their lives in stoves, but will “still serve”, building materials, often assembled in the style of “chicken by grain”, bags of fertilizers, because “own” is a synonym natural and comprehensively useful. Separate item - refrigerators and washing machines. And, of course, like a cherry on the cake, she is a cast-iron bath!
Alas, the widespread demolition of garage cooperatives put a bullet in the history of many trailers. So now - only on the roof, because all these "treasures", carefully accumulated during the cold months, will not even fit in the bottomless trunk of the "four". But what does a trip with a rooftop bath cost a car owner?
Weight control
The first thing that domestic motorists carefully forget about is the weight limit. For example, in the LADA “manual” it is written in black and white that no more than 50 kg can be loaded onto the roof. Stylish and beautiful roof rails on modern foreign cars can withstand no more than 70 kg, while the manufacturers themselves do not recommend exceeding the mark of the same 50 kg - not only aerodynamics are violated, but also the car's handling. The center of gravity shifts.
That is, from a couple of bags of potatoes or cement, crime will not happen. But where have you seen an old Soviet wardrobe that only weighs half a centner? The vanished empire did not save on firewood, everything was done reliably, for centuries. By the way, the smallest 150 cm cast-iron bathtub weighs at least 80 kg. And the more common 170-centimeter "rookeries", 135 cm wide - already 95 kg. The conclusion suggests itself. But who's stopping it?
Speed mode
The second point that is never mentioned is the speed limit with a load on the roof. Having bumped into traffic jams, the soul of a summer resident blossoms on the freedom of a suburban highway. Two hours of shame - and we are at the dacha, where the beds and the beloved shed are already “freezing”. But there is also a river with fish, a bathhouse with brooms and a series overlooked on weekdays. So funny, but no less terrible accidents happen.
A refrigerator that has flown off the roof can cause more deaths than a KamAZ that has lost control. No matter how you fasten it, with what “good” ropes you do not knit, and the laws of physics cannot be deceived. In addition, from a global change in the center of gravity, the car loses not only stability, but also controllability. So the “hussar maneuvers” are no longer within his power. With "luggage" you can go no faster than 80 km / h, slow down smoothly and smoothly pick up speed. Be incredibly careful with ups and downs. Someday we will have "country" driving courses, where professionals will teach all the intricacies of transporting belongings in large volumes, but for now, we can only hope for luck and our own ingenuity.
Fixing master
Trunk mounts often simply do not withstand the "responsibility entrusted to them" and begin to bend. Take my word for it, this is the least that can happen if you overload. If the iron basket suffers, half the trouble. But if the roof sags, this is already bad, because replacing the largest body element will be very expensive.
A separate paragraph is worthy of the case described in many automotive forums: having loaded the roof rack “to the stop”, the happy summer resident simply opened the door in order to sit in the driver's seat and go on a long-awaited journey. Coincidentally, his wife did the same. The body lost that bit of rigidity that the doors add, and instantly deformed. Racks burst, and two at once. Was it worth it or was it possible to take out the luggage for two times?
noise effect
All the trunks are noisy, creating an unpleasant background for the trip. At a hundred kilometers, the problem is not so annoying, but at five hundred or a thousand it can cause a headache. This is especially true of the now fashionable plastic wardrobe trunks that roar like armored personnel carriers in a swamp and constantly create a “Winnie effect” in underground garages. It is impossible to completely avoid noise - aerodynamics and all, but you can reduce it as much as possible.
To do this, you should choose and fasten the crossbars between the rails, and not above them, thus pressing the "hump" to the roof of the car. Such a mount looks more elegant, and causes much less headaches. Here's a hack.
A roof rack is always an additional inconvenience, but sometimes it is simply impossible without it. The vast majority of modern cars cannot boast of adapting the cargo compartment for the Russian consumer. The trunks have become small, they have found a tiny opening, and the salons are already far from transporting long ones. Therefore, you have to pay attention to additional "holds". But if you can’t do without a roof rack, you should use it strictly in accordance with safety requirements. Otherwise, you will have to bitterly regret what you have done. This has never happened before, and here it is again.
