Roof vs. Bed Rack for Overlanding: Choosing the Right One
When you start overlanding and driving a truck, you need to carry a lot of equipment to enable your trips. One way to carry this stuff is with a rack, which helps you organize the space. However, standard racks aren’t enough for bigger loads. That’s why choosing a roof or bed rack for overlanding can be so useful. Here’s what you need to know when choosing the right one for you.
Load Placement
One of the major differences between a roof rack and a bed rack is the fact that your equipment and storage will be in different places. A roof rack is overhead, which can be hard to load and unload quickly. It can even slow down your drive as the extra equipment on the roof adds more wind resistance, but the bed rack means you may not be able to use cover modifications.
Carrying Capacity
Another thing to consider when choosing between these two rack styles is the amount of weight you can carry with each. The roof of a car isn’t meant to carry as much, so you may have problems loading as much as you want in comparison with a bed rack, which is great for space organization.
Ease of Installation
Truck bed racks are uncomplicated to install, with simple steps and easy access to the bed. You can easily install them by yourself at home with some tools. Although a truck roof rack isn’t the most complex, it can be dangerous to install it yourself because of the height of the equipment.
Center of Gravity
Another thing to consider is the extra weight the gear you carry will add to your vehicle. This extra weight will move your vehicle’s center of gravity, which can heavily affect your driving. A bed rack is much better at distributing the weight of your gear, having minimal effect on your center of gravity. A roof rack can greatly shift your center of gravity upward, making it easier to flip and tilt your vehicle.
These are just a few of the differences between roof racks and bed racks and what you need to consider when buying one for overlanding. Both have their benefits and are much better than the base racking that comes standard in vehicles.
