You may have bought a couple of furniture, in which a sofa happens to be among and you want to move it from where you bought it to your home or in any place that you want to make use of it, that may be why you are asking the question can you put a sofa on a roof rack.
This is a very important question especially for those who do not have any other means of carrying their sofa to where they are going to make use of it. We would be answering that question in this article.
Can You Put a Sofa on a Roof Rack? Yes, you can put a sofa on a roof rack, but there are a couple of things that you need to be aware of before you put a sofa on a roof rack.
Also take note that when you put your sofa on a roof rack, it is advisable that you do it only when you are going short distances. Why we emphasized this is so that you avoid creating road debris when things go wrong.
Road debris can cause damages like flat tires which may result in something else while you are on the road. Now that we have established that you can put a sofa on a roof rack, we will also go ahead to show you how that can be done and the things that need to be put into consideration before you put a sofa on a roof rack. You do not just get your sofa and put it on a
How to put a sofa on a roof rack
Check the maximum weight of the sofa
Usually, this is the very first thing you need to do before carrying anything heavy on your roof rack. But at this point, you ought to have known the maximum weight that your car can carry, not just the maximum weight of the car, but also the bars because some of them usually have a roof load limit.
Once you have the exact weight limit of your roof rack and vehicle, then you can go ahead to load the sofa on your roof rack.
Be conscious of the height of the sofa
This is another thing that you need to do when putting the sofa on your roof rack. You need to be conscious of the height of the load so that it does not get beyond the maximum legal height. The maximum legal height for carrying a load on your roof rack is 4.3metres.
This height is also relative to the height of the vehicle. That is what you need to put into consideration as well. But make sure you are not exceeding the 4.3m limit despite the height of your vehicle.
Place the sofa on the roof rack
This is the next thing you need to do after considering the maximum height limit and weight limit of your vehicle and roof rack. You need to place the sofa on the roof rack not forgetting the weight and height limit.
Make sure that you do it in such a way that it is not going to stay out and fit on the roof rack so that it does not fall off while you are driving with the sofa on the roof. This will determine how well the sofa will be on the roof rack.
Use a Ratchet Strap
Since you have a roof rack on your vehicle, this rachet strap will serve you a whole lot when it comes to holding the sofa tight on the roof rack. This rachet strap is a whole lot better than making use of ropes to hold the sofa on the roof rack in place.
Once you get the ratchet straps and you use them to hold the sofa in place, you will see that it fits so well and does the job of keeping the sofa in place so well. Make sure that the straps are very tight so that it does not lose and fall off while you are on the road.
If the sofa falls off the roof while the vehicle is moving, you know very well what this can cause, it is dangerous to you and other road users. Make sure that you are very careful in this aspect.
When you are done doing this and you do it so well, you will see that the sofa will fit so well on the roof rack and when you set out on your journey you will have nothing to worry about. We also mentioned it earlier that when you are carrying a sofa on your roof rack it is best you are doing it on a short journey and not a long one.
Why we said so is so that you do not create road debris which could lead to something bad like having a flat tire, you know what that means when you have a flat tire in the middle of a journey while carrying a heavy load on the roof rack of your vehicle. In the next segment of this article, we will talk about those things you need to put into consideration before you put a sofa on your roof rack.
Things to consider before putting a sofa on the roof rack
When you want to put a sofa on the roof rack of your vehicle, you do not just put it that way without putting anything into consideration, we have made mention of that already at the beginning of this article.
We will be listing those things you need to consider before putting a sofa on the roof rack. What this will help you accomplish is that it will help to maintain safety.
Consider the height of the sofa
This is one important thing you need to check while putting the sofa on the roof rack. It is not advisable to put a load or sofa on the roof of your vehicle so high above 5 meters. Not only is it unsafe, but it is also against the law to carry loads above 4.3 meters high.
Anything above that is against the law. This is not just because it is the law, it is for your own safety and for the safety of other road users. Usually, the height limit you should go to is 4.3 meters.
This limit is there to guide you so that you do not go above it and probably put you and other road users in danger. This is one thing that you should not overlook at all. It is very important as well, you should not neglect it.
Consider the weight limit
This is another thing that you need to put into consideration before putting a sofa on the roof rack of your vehicle. It is not just the weight limit of the roof rack, but also the weight limit of your vehicle.
The same way vehicles have a weight limit, that is the same way roof racks have a weight limit. These roof racks have bars that should not the overloaded with lots of loads so that it does not damage it later.
When you know the weight limit of your exact vehicle and that of your roof rack you should be able to know what and what your vehicle and roof rack can carry.
When you do that you are not just doing your vehicle and roof rack good, you are also doing yourself and other road users in the sense that if you overload your vehicle you may be putting yourself and other road users in danger.
Overload is against the law and not only is it against the law, but it is also dangerous for road users.
These are the two major things that you need to put into consideration before putting a sofa on a roof rack. You should adhere to them in order to be safe.
You may not also know that there is a way that you can put a sofa on a roof rack, that is actually possible and we will be showing you how you can do that in the next segment of this article.
Can you put a sofa on a car without a roof rack?
Yes! You can put a sofa on a car without a roof rack. It is possible if you follow the steps that we would list and explain here. When you follow these steps, it is going to get easy for you and it will work so well.
Cover the roof with blankets
This is the very first thing that you need to do when you want to put a sofa on a car without a roof rack. The purpose of this blanket is to provide the roof with some sort of cushion and to prevent the sofa from scratching the roof of your vehicle while you are moving.
What you should do is that you should lay down enough blankets on top of your roof. While your vehicle is moving, the sofa may bump on the roof of your vehicle, instead of it to scratch the vehicle, it will hit the blanket and it will not affect your vehicle. With the blanket in place, you do not have to worry about the sofa denting your car or even scratching or removing the paint from your vehicle. The blanket will protect your vehicle.
Tie with a strong rope
This is one thing you need to do when you are putting a sofa on the roof of your vehicle without a roof rack. You should buy a very strong rope to tie the sofa on the roof of your vehicle while it is on top of those blankets. You should tie it in such a way that when you are on transit, it cannot fall off from the rooftop of your vehicle. This is how well it needs to be tied.
Tie the knots well
As long as you are making use of a rope, one thing is certain, and that thing is that you will be tying knots as you are making use of the ropes to tie the sofa in place. You will be tying knots a lot with this rope so you need to learn how to tie a knot very well so that it does not lose when you are in transit.
How well you tie the knot determines how strong the ropes will be on the sofa. Remember that how strong the ropes are will determine how tight the sofa will be on the roof of your vehicle. The sofa needs to be tight enough so that when you are on transit the sofa still remains tight and it does not fall off the vehicle.
This is very important. If you do not know how to tie knots you should go and learn that as soon as possible because it will help you a whole lot.
When you follow these steps, you will see that it becomes easier for you, and you are not going to have challenges in putting the sofa on your roof without a roof rack. This is going to be like a guide to you that you should follow.
Conclusion
We have mentioned earlier that it is very possible to put a sofa on a roof rack. We also stated the steps that you can take for you to make this happen. Once you follow the steps, you will see that it starts to get easy for you and you will not have to go through any of those difficulties that people face in making this happen.
We also mentioned that there are several things you need to put into place when you want to put a sofa on a roof rack to make sure that everything you are doing is correct. We talked about the weight limit and the height limit that you need to be aware of before putting a sofa on a roof rack. These things that we have mentioned will help you a whole lot.