Just bought my E a couple of weeks ago, and I'm beginning to feel a little frustrated by the low roof weight specs (75 lbs) and somewhat by the low towing specs--though I can live with the latter. The 75 lb limit means I can really not get any efficient gear carrying capacity up there. The Yakima Load Warrior eats up 25 lbs, Mega warrior 35 lbs. I had hoped to get a megawarrior and add a bike tray. I now see that I can't do that because with the bike and the cargo baskets/tray, I've used up all my weight capacity. The Megawarrior would have to ride empty!

Hard to believe the little Suburu Impreza sedan can carry 165 lbs and tow 2000 lbs+, and this E can only do 75 lbs.

Would be really nice to know if the 75 lbs has to do with tipping/topy heaviness, or lack of strength of roof skin, or just some overzealous legal protection for Honda.

Any Club members want to share how much weight they have carried up there? Personally, I feel more comfortable staying within recommended limits, but these limits are hardly liveable for me.

I've hauled 3 whitewater kayaks on top of my Thule rack through the Columbia River Gorge, one of the most consistently windy places in the US, and I haul 2 out there almost every weekend. Whitewater boats are generally about 40 lbs apiece, 50 when loaded with water bottles, breakdown paddles, pin kits, ropes, etc. I would have no issue with hauling 4 boats. Obviously I believe the 75 lb rating is a bit conservative, and I'm not sure if its meant to refer to the capacity of the mounting points or to the Honda rack. I've read that the Yakima & Thule racks are rated higher, but its not something I've investigated. Whitewater kayakers have some of the absolute junkiest cars on the planet, and I have yet to see one damaged by carrying too much weight on the roof, so I wasn't particularly concerned about hauling well in excess of 100 lbs on a sturdy Thule system properly anchored to the E. As for rollover risk, I'm certain that weight on top of a car adds to that chance by somewhat altering the center of gravity, but I struggle to believe that 150 lbs on top of a 3000+lb car is going to make much difference under normal driving conditions.

So, of the choices you've offered, my vote is for "over-zealous legal protection by Honda". Just my $0.02, based solely on opinion, offered without warranty, expressed or implied. :)

You bought the car, then you checked out the specs!? Then you actually worried about it? :roll: FWIW, I put well over 100 lbs on top with fair regularity, but I assume a risk doing so.

To be quite honest, the specs are sooo incredibly low, I would never have imagined I couldn't put my gear up there. A lot of these little cars on the road hold a lot more than this car. I'm not planning to carry gravel up there, just a few things, but when I add them up, it certainly goes over 75 lbs. Esp considering the racks are at least 30-50% of that weight.

:wink:

hey i cary canoes kayaks wooden spars all kinds of junk

i exceed the limit all the time and have had no problems

the most weight would proably be around 120lbs

sorry on factory racks

ps. hope this helps you out

Specs are not too low. Think about it. When you open all four doors, there is no longer anything holding up the middle of the roof. More than 100 lbs in the center of the roof, with no B pillars would probably permanently deflect the roof. Honda has to be conservative, thinking worst case scenario (because we all know some fool who would do it), or the lawyers will be drooling all over them.

Sensible distribution of the weight, with sensible driving should allow you to go well over Honda's spec, but the responsibility will be on owner.

How do you know the lack of B pillar is the problem?

Am I being stupid in thinking that I could rig a hammock from the door latch loop and a nearby tree? I've also toyed with hanging some sort of sling or ladder from that loop so I could better access the roof rack. Then there is the question of how much weight can the inside handholds support.

paulj

[quote:e33b8a27cb=" "]How do you know the lack of B pillar is the problem?

Am I being stupid in thinking that I could rig a hammock from the door latch loop and a nearby tree? I've also toyed with hanging some sort of sling or ladder from that loop so I could better access the roof rack. Then there is the question of how much weight can the inside handholds support.

paulj[/quote:e33b8a27cb]

This is very basic, first year engineering stuff. The roof, when carrying weight, acts as a bridge. In a simple bridge the shorter the unsupported length, the stronger it is. The longer the unsupported distance, the weaker the bridge.

Think about it. If you had a piece of 3/4" plywood across a seven foot span with no middle brace, it wouldn't hold a full grown man walking across it. Add a brace in the middle and it could support the weight easily.

If Joe sixpack threw a 90lb sack of concrete mix up in the middle of the roof with both doors open, it would probably be ok. Tossing a second sack right on top of the first, might cause some damage though. And Honda has to protect itself against that worst case scenario.

So does that mean a larger cargo basket (a la Mega Warrior) would be better than a smaller one (Load warrior), because you could spread the stuff out more up there? Seems to me the roof is so small, putting stuff in one place vs the other won't make much difference. Though obviously piling everything straight up vertically (seldom done in practice) would make a difference to the one spot on which everything rests.

but this argument ignores the structure inside the roof. Maybe the Element engineers built in enough stiffening in the roofline to compensate for the missing B pillar. I know the floor has deep stiffening sills.

On my cargo platform, I could have used 3/4 ply to span the 40" width. Instead I used 1/2" ply plus several 1x3 boards, giving comparable stiffness. An alternative would have been 1/2" ply plus midspan supports.

By the way, the Honda roof rack for the CRV is also listed as having a 75 lb weight limit. The CRV has a B pillar. I believe the racks are identical except for the roof garnish trim.

paulj

For what it is worth, Honda Australia lists the capacity of the CRV roof rack as 50 kg. It is the same rack and car as the USA, as far as I can tell.

paulj

For what it is worth, Honda Australia lists the capacity of the CRV roof rack as 50 kg. It is the same rack and car as the USA, as far as I can tell.

That's ~110lbs. Again, I think either the Honda USA folks are a bit risk-averse, or they have less respect for US drivers/owners than Australian ones.

-brendan

Like Kayakin' Dan said, what, you bought it, and then checked out the specs later?

Go cry somewhere else. On the "I'm an idiot site", (yet all-too-happy to confess here) perhaps. Someone should feel sorry for you?, or are you just looking for support for not doing any research and we love you for it? Yeah, I can tell, a lot of folks will have missed my long absence!

Fear not - I'll go away again.

Now now colin, be kind.

-brendan

Man, you don't know the half of it. The roof load specs are the least of your worries. The owner's manual says your total payload capacity is 650 pounds. Subtract 75 pounds for your legal roof load and your payload capacity for everything else, and I mean everything, is 575 pounds. If you put four 200 pound guys in your E, you will be exceeding your payload capacity by at least 225 pounds. On the other hand, those guys will have a lot of headroom! Take one of the rear seats out of the Element and put it in your living room. Congratulations! You just bought yourself a three passenger car :shock:

Yep. I still feel this is the absolute worst feature of an E, much as I love mine. Fortunately, it is usually me solo or me and a friend, so seldom do I need to worry about exceeding specs--though it is an issue when I do long trips hauling stuff on top rack, rear cargo rack, and interior filled to the gills. Specs are indeed ridiculous.

Man, you don't know the half of it. The roof load specs are the least of your worries. The owner's manual says your total payload capacity is 650 pounds. Subtract 75 pounds for your legal roof load and your payload capacity for everything else, and I mean everything, is 575 pounds. If you put four 200 pound guys in your E, you will be exceeding your payload capacity by at least 225 pounds. On the other hand, those guys will have a lot of headroom! Take one of the rear seats out of the Element and put it in your living room. Congratulations! You just bought yourself a three passenger car :shock:
SKOBOATIN if you have purchased an E, it's clearly the wrong thing for you. SELL IT NOW! Moderator?

DOGBOX
when you put all of this load on the Element, how does it handle? Is your driving any different? At some level you just have to forget the numbers and use comon sense. The numbers are there for those without such a sense.

If you are having trouble braking in a safe distance when loaded, then you are either over loaded or going too fast. If the car feels tippy with 200 lb on the top, then you are overloaded. If the rear squats, and reduces the grip of the front wheels on the road, then you have too much on your trailer hitch. Overloading will affect safe handling before it affects reliability.

paulj

I just stumbled across this thread and wanted to add my $0.02...

The comment about the possible reasoning for the 75lb roof weight limit being the lack of a B-pillar is ludicrous. The roof is designed to be able to hold the Element when placed on its roof. All cars have to pass a roll-over test. I have seen picture of rolled over Element and the pillars are not crushing in. The metal sheet metal has nothing to do with the weight limit, with the roof rack being bolted down to four spots of the structure of the roof and not having pads placed on the sheetmetal... I don't see any reason why each spot could not quite easily support 75lbs per anchor point. To me you should easily be able to put 300lbs on the roof, though that weight would be too much and could make the E tipsy.

Has anyone tried contacting Yakima or Thule and asking them for their expert advice as to what their racks can handle when mounted on an Element? Guarantee they won't be saying all their racks are good for is looks! lol

From other threads that I have read you may be right about the strength of the pillars and the sheet metal. I have actually heard a couple theories that it MIGHT actually be the anchor points themselves, or the strength of the HONDA OEM Rack that lead to the real low limits. And, as you mention, the weight distribution making the Element tipsy if you put too much weight on top.

After a lot of concerns and legislation by the governemnt about roll over of SUVs, beginning with, was it the early model Ford Explorers or maybe even earlier, and the government even mandating the warning stickers (on the driver visor) in ALL SUVs about roll over risks, some believe that HONDA has taken the route of being overly restrictive in their specs on the issue of weight in and on the car. For product liability protection, To minimize the chances that someone might overload their cars or pile stuff in, in such a way, that they make the car unstable and out of balance for driving conditions etc. Thus reducing their liability if you have an accident. Some people have said, as you, that the car should be able to hold significantly more. The Thule and Yakima racks are rated for twice the load of the HONDA rack so there is the possibility that the limit applies to the OEM HONDA rack itself.

Note though that, as I believe it says in the Yakima and Thule warnings and warranty, that they won't accept responsibility for weight exceeding the car manufacturers limits so to consult the car manufacturer, Or something like that. So, it seems, the rack manufacturers, as well as HONDA are a bit touchy about going out on a limb and encouraging someone to do something that might cause them to go a little further, (give an inch take a mile kind of thing), and throw the car out of balance and roll it over in an accident.

Some have also pointed out all the literature, about roof racks, HONDA accessories etc. that show bicycles, canoes, kayaks etc. loaded on the roof of the Element and mentioned that a couple kayaks or canoes could exceed 75 pounds easilly. Are all the suggested possibilities, pictured in brochures, set up with this in mind? When you see a picture of an Element with 2 kayaks or 2 bicycles and some camping gear up top, is all that stuff less than 75 pounds? So, it seems, in the end, that you are kind of on your own. That you need to use your judgement whether to exceed their limits or not. Consider the conditions you will be driving, the length and strength of yoru load bars and mounts. How far will you be driving, is it windy, wet, hilly, mountainous.... On the highway on level smooth paved roads or bumpy rocky off road terrain. Are you an experienced and capable driver.... For, if you have an accident with more than 75 pounds of stuff on the roof, piled too high or cantilevered too far out on load bars that are too long.... You might not be able to get any compensation from the roof rack manufacturer or HONDA, if a mount comes loose or if your load shifts or if you make a quick swerve to miss a deer and end up on your roof....

I just stumbled across this thread and wanted to add my $0.02...

The comment about the possible reasoning for the 75lb roof weight limit being the lack of a B-pillar is ludicrous. The roof is designed to be able to hold the Element when placed on its roof. All cars have to pass a roll-over test. I have seen picture of rolled over Element and the pillars are not crushing in. The metal sheet metal has nothing to do with the weight limit, with the roof rack being bolted down to four spots of the structure of the roof and not having pads placed on the sheetmetal... I don't see any reason why each spot could not quite easily support 75lbs per anchor point. To me you should easily be able to put 300lbs on the roof, though that weight would be too much and could make the E tipsy.

Has anyone tried contacting Yakima or Thule and asking them for their expert advice as to what their racks can handle when mounted on an Element? Guarantee they won't be saying all their racks are good for is looks! lol

How can this be? The B-pillar theory was basic first year engineering. :-D

edit: added smiley for sarcasm