I only put my rack on when going on hunting trips or when going on serious off road trails.
The stuff on my roof rack is all held on by metal "U" bolts and wing nuts. My tire is held on by a very heavy duty I bolt and large flat iron which would probably lift the back of the jeep off the ground. I am not worried about my tire ever coming off. I have never lost anything and I am quite confident the whole contraption, including the tire would all stay together as one piece. I also think the mounts would hold it all to the rails.
**But I think the rails themselves are what would come apart and detach from the vehicle. if you look closely they are just bolted to the roof with light bolts/screws. After my last summer trip, I have less confidence in the structural integrity of the OEM roof rails themselves. I think they are the weak link.
Due to this, when I started using my roof rack more and more, I also started using tethers in each of the 4 corners so if it became detached at least it would stay up there, even if the mounts let go. I would recommend people use a few lays of para cord or even something heavier, like cable, for safety tethers on anything you mount to the outside of your vehicle.
Having been to many accidents, I can tell you that stuff you think its secure with a 'tie down' is going to go flying. IF you look at some vehicles made for high speed driving, many of the parts have small tethers for the hood and truck, etc.
I agree the trails themselve are the most grouling activity that causes stress to the rack mount when carrying weight up there and sal is right that leaving the stuff at camp is best. The problem is the trails we were on took us hours from camp. And the stuff I carry is usually recovery items, that would be useless if you needed them if they were back at camp.
I think the best thing would be to use several brackets -- in addition to the mounts provided -- to prevent the side to side shifting of the rack on the OEM cross bars...the would keep it from wearing on the side rails.
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