Roof tents on a Gen 3 ?

Has anyone any experience of mounting a roof tent onto a Gen 3 ? I'm planning a couple of long trips ( not quite "expeditions" ) and am looking at the Tentbox options particularly. I'd welcome any advice please.
I'm also particularly concerned re the recommended roof load capacity, which my manual says is only 30 kg ( !!! ??? ), that'd make even the lightest roof tent ( 50 kg ish ) impossible !!

PS Is the roof load capacity significantly greater on the Gen 4 because I've seen plenty of youtube overlanders with Gen 4 roof tents ?

30 kg is correct. For both. I have cross bars instead of the factory rails bolted directly to the roof and whilst doubtless capable of taking the weight I am still limited by the factory limit because over that and the police and insurance are not going to be happy if something untoward happened. The other issue is I have a roof box and it costs me something like 4mpg. Also also on my farm I have over loaded the roof as needs must and it has a very dramatic effect on the stability, I wouldn't like it on the road, far too wobbly.

Member 'Reason 2 Doubt' (aka Stuart) had a roof mounted tent on his Jimny, he took it on a long trip from the UK to Italy, see the photos here

www.lines-associates.com/piwigo/index.php?/category/677

Unfortunately Stuart sold his Jimny earlier this year, so he might not be on the forum now, but if you look at the photos you might get an idea of what he did and the following post has a few more details.

www.bigjimny.com/index.php/forum/6-jimny...tent?start=12#226831

I'm frankly astonished by the 30 kg limit, all roof racks would be more than that before you put anything on them !!
Are we saying that most people ignore the weight limit then, because Reason2Doubt's tent and rack would be way over the limit as would all these youtube overlanders ?

The Jimny itself can take the weight and more when stationary. It is the dynamic load when you get moving is the limiting factor. 

Also just because lots of people are fitting them doesn't make it right. I think I worked it out for the Gen4 with the Front Runner full roof rack you could the only strap a 5kg load to it, as that weighs about 25kg.

The real issue is if you happen to roll it on the road, your insurance will be void.

As long as you know the limitations/risks/possible consequences, it is your choice at the end of the day.
 

You have to consider that a Jimny is a tall but narrow off road biased vehicle with an already fairly high centre of gravity and suspension tuned more towards compliance over severe terrain which is why Suzuki set the roof load limit so low. I have just nicely come down the A1 with my roof box on and fully loaded with wife,, cat, dog and everything for a week away. It was when we had all that strong wind last week. Even though I was heavy for a Jimny I was being blown about like a kite. It was deeply unpleasant and required constant input. That is with an aerodynamic roof box kept within the load specification. A bulky overweight tent on the top and I would have had to abandon the journey until conditions improved to avoid being a danger to others.

In reality the roof carrying ability of a Jimny is basically aesthetic, not practical. Generally I only use mine for lightweight things like a feed troughs or a couple of sheep hurdles that are too big to go inside but that I can lift over my head in one hand.

It's certainly a subject of debate 
The weight limit applied by Suzuki is in print, even though I personally believe it's not 100% clear in the manual if it applies to the actual roof load or rack rail loading. 
Plenty of people lift their Jimny and fit bigger tyres, the reality is both impacting the vehicle CG and stability. But this is OK so long as you have told your insurance and I guess don't roll your vehicle on the road, or can this be seen as a contributing factor if you do?

So when all is said and done it's your vehicle you can do what you want, but tell your insurance it's been modified

Having said that roof tent is no quicker than a pop up tent and will cost you a lot more. You also have to mess around trying to level the vehicle unless you like sliding to one side, so have a good think it's for you before you spend. 
 

I agree with the levelling business but that applies to a pop up tent too !! PS Disagree a bit about set up time too, because you leave all your bedding etc inside a roof tent AND if you're "moved on" in the night it can be done in 2 min almost literally !! ( I'm talking hard shell / gas strut roof tent here of course )

My experience is you need to remove your bedding from a folding tent, simply if the tent is wet your bed spends all day in a damp box getting wet as well. I suspect this is a reflection of the fact it's ALWAYS rained on my past camping trips, hence a heated caravan these days   
Have fun if you get one, always liked the idea of sleeping high off the ground, but too old for ladders these days.

30kg is the gross weight limit for the roof (not just the limit for the plastic roof rails as some seem to think) and this has been confirmed in correspondance with Suzuki themselves. The same is true of the Gen 4.
Yes lots of people exceed it with heavy racks and roof tents. I'm not sure how this works legally, for example compared to exceeding the towing limit which is obviously illegal.
But a roof tent always strikes me as a silly idea, especially on a vehicle that will be used on uneven terrain and in close proximity to overhanging branches on green lanes. Normal tents are so much cheaper, easier and give you much more freedom where you can camp. And for the 99% of the time that you aren't camping they can live in a cupboard.
Most people I've seen who buy roof tents seem to part with them not long afterwards.

wrote:

30kg is the gross weight limit for the roof (not just the limit for the plastic roof rails as some seem to think) and this has been confirmed in correspondance with Suzuki themselves. The same is true of the Gen 4.
Yes lots of people exceed it with heavy racks and roof tents. I'm not sure how this works legally, for example compared to exceeding the towing limit which is obviously illegal.

In the UK we are free to modify vehicles. If the modifications exceed a certain limit there is a legal requirement to get the vehicle re-approved via the IVA/SVA process. However up to that point it just needs to be legally insured for road use and continue to be legally road-worthy.

As I see it, it is the same as the fact Suzuki also list a tyre size for the vehicles, but plenty of people fit larger tyres legally. You can fit longer shocks and or springs too. Despite not meeting the specs of the originals.

There is also nothing to stop you tuning the engine and exceeding the manufacture set maximum rpm limit.

The roof loading it just a limit set by the maker, it isn't legally binding. Of course there could be warranty issues if you exceed it. And should it be proven to be the prime or maybe contributing factor in an accident, then there may be more grounds for prosecution. But I suspect it would be in broader terms rather than specifically breaching this limit.

Not sure if there is any case law or precedents set. But it would be similar to trying to prosecute someone for running mud terrains and them having a longer stopping distance than the factory tyre.