Roof Rack vs Rain Gutters

[slcfj62]

I've seen this question posed a time or two, but haven't seen any good answers. I just got my rig repainted. There was a little rain gutter rust, mostly along the rear, so I'm a little leery of throwing a roof rack up there. I'm afraid it will damage the seam sealer in the gutter and allow moisture to get down to metal and create a rust trap.

So, my question is for you roof rack users. How do you prevent the seam sealer in the gutters from getting damaged/cracked? Especially those that use a roof top tent. By the time you add the weight of the roof rack (somewhere around 100 lbs or so), a RTT (120 lbs or so), yourself (200 lbs or so), your wife (???lbs or so), kids, gear, etc. and you are looking at an awful lot of weight on those 6 or 8 three or four inch long and maybe 1/8 to 3/16 wide rack mounts.

Is it possible to not damage the seam sealer, or do you just dig it out and replace it on a regular basis?

 

[SARCruiser]

I've had my roof rack on about a year now and it rides around with a 31x10.5R15 spare on a steel rim, a hi-lift jack, shovel and axe 24/7 and I haven't seen any noticeable deterioration in the rain gutter sealant where the rack mounts. It's a Yakima mega-warrior basket with extension and it's currently only on 2 bars so 4 mounts. Granted it's not as much weight as a RTT and other gear but it's still a good chunk and I load it up pretty routinely with around 200lbs or so more gear. I suppose if you were really concerned you could dig out the stock stuff and re-seal it with something that is a tad more flexible. The stock stuff seems to be pretty durable minus the problems that come with age and near-constant UV exposure but you'll get that with any sealant.

 

[slcfj62]

I've already replaced the seam sealer with new stuff. So you only have 4 mounts, and not problems with the sealant cracking or the gutter deforming?

 

[ElliottB]

Even with 4 mounts the load will be spread evenly throughout them. Say... 50-60 pounds per corner, that's not too much.