Ok this may sound like a terrible idea. I'm just throwing it out there. I race karts in the summer. My kart weights about 180lbs with my weights taken off, 195lbs with. I have been told the rack holds over 200lbs and I'd be find putting my kart up there. Can anyone confirm what the carrying capacity of the roof rack is? I'd also like to see how much weight others have strapped up there safely...

Thanks!

 

Getting it up there and down would be the challenge without damaging the car or kart.

http://www.miniusa.com/#/learn/acces...CARGO_SYSTEM-s

165lb limit. I followed the link to: http://www.shopminiusa.com/MINI-MOTO...KS-AND-HOLDER#

But it only has options for '07+

 

I'm actually least worried about that part. I race with a friend and he would be there to help lift it up, and we're not tiny guys by any means. I'll do the same thing they with kart stands: wrap the cross member bars in rubber or hard plastic, get it set on there a little, and then slide it across the rest of the way.

 

I'd say you'd be better of getting a tow hitch for the MINI and getting a trailer to put the cart on. I have a Thule rack for my car and the limit is around 150-165. And the bars look identical to the OEM MINI one so I think they make it for MINI.

 

Only problem with that is a place to store the trailer. I agreed this would be more ideal but living in an apt now and a towntome next month, in downtown mind you, places for a trailer are non-existant.

Also keep in mind that the aftermarket roof racks, including your Thule, clip in using the OEM 'rain gutters' over the windows. Because of this design they can hold much less weight. The OEM MINI rack actually bolts into the OEM roof/structure of the car and MINI claimes well over 200 lbs carrying capacity.

I called MINI and they said the weight at 195lbs for the kart would be safe. I even talked to the tech's at my local dealership and they said they'd see no problem with that weight. In fact they said they had a lady come in for an oil change before heading out for a move who had 400lbs attached to her MINI roof rack! They said it in no way appeared that the roof and bars wouldn't have been able to handle it and were still very sturdy.

 

Curious...did this ever get tried? I am considering the same thing.

Thanks,
Roy

 

I know this is a bit old of a post but I thought I remembered seeing somewhere on mine 115kg as the weight limit for the OEM rack but I can check in the morning.

 

I just bought a MINI roof rack base system for my Clubby and the instruction manual states:

The total permitted roof load of 75 kg
must not be exceeded.􀀖

Effective load
+ attachments
+ roof luggage rack
= roof load

Remember that the vehicle with loaded roof luggage racks exhibits different road behaviour particularly when moving away quickly, during heavy braking or rapid cornering. Match the speed of the car with loaded roof luggage rack to the specific conditions such as road conditions, road surface, side wind conditions and the general traffic conditions. We recommend a maximum road speed of 130 km/h.

Check that the fixing elements of the rack system are securely attached before each journey. Repeat the check every 1000 km and retighten
if necessary. When transporting with the roof luggage rack, follow the road traffic or country-specific regulations. Evenly distribute the items of luggage and keep the centre of gravity as low as possible. Secure the goods being transported against sliding with suitable clamping belts.

Remove the roof luggage rack when it is not in use in order to save fuel and for safety. It is essential to note the car height when the roof luggage rack is loaded.

Never drive into a car wash when the roof luggage rack is fitted. Otherwise this could result in considerable damage.


So I hope this provides the answer to the Question at Hand!

 

I tried to post the information from my mini roof rack manual but my comprehensive post was hijacked by "Big Brother".

The Manual states the limit is 75Kg. and Do Not Exceed! Oh yeah...that's about 165lbs.

 

timtim has it right.

For the factory roof rack on all R53 the limit is 75kg/165lbs.