Roof cargo platform for Jimny.

Reason2doubt wrote: Great to get the kit up on the roof and keep it out the way; any reasons not to are honestly negligible.

I do laugh when I see Jimny's filled to the brim in the back with two adults stuffed in the front - it's like they are using the Jim to move house

Any opportunity to not play Tetris in the back of the small Jimny is a bonus.

Can't say I've seen many Jimny's like that. But doesn't it make sense to use the space you have available? There are a few 4x4s around my way that drive around 365 days a year with a roof tent on the roof. And countless 4x4s with roofracks that never have anything on them, or perhaps a couple of really heavy things like the spare wheel that normally lives on the back door, a high lift jack that isn't compatible with their plastic bumpers and the obligatory row of lights, all pointing the same direction, and all above the drivers eyeline so they don't actually help when driving. I find that psuedo-preparedness pretty funny. The deisre to look like you are going on a big important adventure, when everyone knows they are just going to the shops.
For me the main advantage of putting things inside a car is they are protected by the body of the car. E.g. they don't get wet when it rains, covered in mud, stolen, weathered, they can't fall or get knocked off and you can access them without a ladder. And the other advantage on a narrow, top heavy car like a Jimny is the weight is down low so it still drives relatively normally. I save the roof space for things that don't fit, like kayaks, canoes or long pieces of wood. My recovery kit, winch and worklight all live in the car.

I get that if you have lots of people in the car there isn't much space left for things, but surely a roof-box is the sensible option? They are light, spacious, easy to access and quick to install and remove. Whilst it's clear a lot of time and craftsmanship has gone into it's construction, 50kg+ of hernia inducing metalwork semi-permanently attached to the top of a tall thing that is only supposed to have 30kg on it seems a very OTT, borderline dangerous, solution to a very simple problem. If it was a support vehicle for a continent-crossing adventure then I'd sort of get it.

Even though you believe a roof-box is the most sensible option, wouldn't you agree that what you believe to be the most senible option, isn't always the way you want to go.

Wouldn't the world be a doll place if everyone did the most sensible thing?

@Lambert

What if I added a bar like this. That would decrease stress on the legs from accelerating and retardation.




I also added two mounts for additional Quick fists, on the other side of the boxes.

It spreads the load certainly but it is still acting on the edge bars in the same manner. As a load is applied to the frame vertically downward the legs are still going to react by twisting the upward and placing their joint to the outer bar into torsion. Add in the dynamic action of driving especially on uneven surfaces and it will become a stress riser and cause fatigue failure. The legs need to be considered as a continuous lateral hoop between the mounting points with the rest of the frame as a secondary support system for whatever load is applied. The only way not to do that is to have the feet directly under the perimeter ring beam in line with the applied load.

When I drew this design on paper, I wanted to use the boxes I had and the material I had (steel 25*25*2mm).
I wanted to use as little material as possible due to the Jimnys roof load limitations.
And also cut the corners 45 degrees for the led working lights mostly for the looks.
This design is what I came up with.

With the reinforced legs, and maybe I'll add the 45degrees bars to the legs, my guess is this will endure the stress.

I have access to a handheld device with x-ray that we use to inspect our welding of steam and food piping.

I'm thinking that I will stress this design this summer and autumn, and inspect the welding this winter.

You're leaving the original bars on?



Your car.....