Standing on the roof of modern cars

John Bartley · Jan 8, 2006

Yup - pretty much what everyone says except that I have personal experience with the paper thinness of the metal. I leaned against the side of my 2000 Silverado and the through my jacket, the buckle on my belt dimpled the metal. I wouldn't think of standing on the roof. Andy suggested a rack of sorts - this is an excellent idea.

gnashings · Jan 8, 2006

I don't know if this is realistic for your application - the most readily accessible vehicle that would allow such work and give you more height than a p/u truck bed is a full size cargo van. Thos roofs are still mainly corrugated and can (and do) carry weight fairly well. Mind you, getting up there is a whole different story... and I would not underwrite an policy on personal injury for someone who told me he was about to climb a full size van with a camera and tripod...

You can always rent a cherry-picker or a Sky-Jack

Shmoo · Jan 8, 2006

I have a GMC Jimmy with a roof rack. A friend went on top with a tripod and LF and shot. The exterior is cosmetically fine, but I think that it slightly torqued the frame such that the rear door rattles when it's closed...i.e., it's not a perfect fit any more. I don't think I'd let anyone do that again.

Pinholemaster · Jan 8, 2006

Perhaps if you go into dealships and climb up on top of their showroom models to see the results. HA!!!!!!

Get a vehicle with a roof rack, then build a platform of thick plywood to attach to the roof rack. That's the only way to do it. Modern cars can not take the weight, not to mention the paint finish.

Donald Qualls · Jan 8, 2006

I'd suggest getting a profesionally mounted rack installed on a minivan or full size van, with heavy plywood on the rack. I've got a 15 year old Aerostar, and when I climbed on top not long ago to change a carport light bulb that wasn't reachable with my step-stool (I weigh just over 200 lbs), I left quite a visible dent which, fortunately, I was able to pop out from inside.

Along with the roof rack, there are ladders (sold for RVs) that mount to a rear door; two rungs on the tailgate of my van would give me the boost I'd need to climb onto a roof platform.

However -- I don't think a vehicle of this type, with my weight (and that of a rack, platform, large format camera and tripod) on top would be stable enough for exposures longer than around 1/30; just my breathing and involuntary movements would move the platform. That would leave me wishing for a set of leveling jacks, of the kind found in motor homes and travel trailers, in order to steady the vehicle; by the time I have a set of those and use them at a stop, I could just as easily have set up a pair of A-frames and a wide scaffold board between them, at less cost and with less weight for the vehicle to haul around.

jp80874 · Jan 8, 2006

Talk to the car dealers or look at the sales literature. Most dealers here (USA) have older sales literature collected. A year ago I was trying to find a two year old SUV that would allow that. My preference Toyota & Honda had load limits on their roof racks in the 125-150 pound range. What with camera, gear and over weight me, I wasnt able to figure out a way to drive both vehicles to the shoot site at the same time.

I have seen pictures of both Ansel Adams station wagon and Edward Westons sedan (Ford I think) with platforms on the roof. They just made things a lot stronger then. A plywood sheet and hardware that high might make things a little tipsy on the curves though.

John Powers

David H. Bebbington · Jan 8, 2006

Any roof rack you can buy for a normal car will have a load rating of around 50 kg, and they ain't kidding (and they're talking more about the vehicle roof than the actual rack).

hal9000 · Jan 8, 2006

I like to shoot from slightly elevated positions and am also in the market for a new used car (in Europe). Can you just climb onto the roofs of modern cars? Are there some you can climb on and some you can't? I would like to stand on the car roof with a tripod and Hassi, anybody doing this?

Dave Parker · Jan 8, 2006

I am sure you can stand on the roof of any car, now the results transmitted to the dent factor could vary among models, but what the heck, if your on the inside when driving it, you will never see the concaved indentation your created when you jumped up there with over 200lbs of combined weight! Just be careful, if you create the dent factor, you may end up with the great beginning of a hot tub on the top of your car!

LOL

Dave

PS, I would most definately stay away from convertables!!!!! Yikes!

Andy K · Jan 9, 2006

I would not stand on the roof of any modern car, especially a new one. They are made from such thin materials these days that you are guaranteed to dent and crease the metal of the roof. If you have a pickup or 4x4 then you could build a platform over the roof. (see attachment)

Charles Webb · Jan 9, 2006

Adams had a frame work built over his Cadilac, but I just use the bed of the pick up.

The last new vehicle I purchased had a skin of aluminum foil scotch taped to the frame. A fly walking on it left foot prints.

Charlie........................

glbeas · Jan 9, 2006

Sounds like you simply need to buy a pickup truck.

George Papantoniou · Jan 9, 2006

hal9000 said:
I like to shoot from slightly elevated positions and am also in the market for a new used car (in Europe). Can you just climb onto the roofs of modern cars? Are there some you can climb on and some you can't? I would like to stand on the car roof with a tripod and Hassi, anybody doing this?

I own a '99 Subaru Forester. I weigh 180 lbs and I climb on the roof with my hasselblad or a 4x5 monorail. No harm is done. The metal on the roof of this car has some "grooves" that makes it resist to weight so it can hold my weight.

It also is a great car, great handling, 4wd, great engine etc. I can seriously recommend it to anyone who wants a reliable car for travelling. It also is a sort of SUV without the gas consumption that other SUV's have... It's not as huge, of course, although the space inside is relatively OK.

The problem is that the new model does not have the grooves on the roof, so you have got to go for a used model. I now want to switch and am seriously thinking about how to solve the problem of mounting the roof of the new car... A roof rack might be a solution.

leeturner · Jan 9, 2006

Andy K said:
I would not stand on the roof of any modern car, especially a new one. They are made from such thin materials these days that you are guaranteed to dent and crease the metal of the roof. If you have a pickup or 4x4 then you could build a platform over the roof. (see attachment)

The one thing you have to watch with a roof platform is that weight towards the front can crack the windscreen. I used to have an old Range Rover with a tent mounted on the roof platform. However I had supports fitted from the front of the rack through to the chassis and this carried the stress.

Andy K · Jan 9, 2006

True. The platforms I had in mind extend out over the front of the vehicle and have legs which attach to the front of the chassis. The attachment I posted shows a shortened version.

hal9000 · Jan 9, 2006

Thanks for the input!

I love this group, you guys are great. Thanks a bunch for all the tips and tricks. I live in the Berlin city so big cars are not very feasible - aside from EUR 1.30 / liter for gasoline I would have to spend hours looking for parking spots. So I think I might go for a platform on one of the smaller upright van-like things around.

jimgalli · Jan 9, 2006

At work I have a new Ford Explorer. I scramble onto the roof all the time with a tripod and camera, or sometimes just hand held Nikon. It seems to hold me fine.

noseoil · Jan 9, 2006

Old 240 volvo wagons, came with roof racks as an option and all of the models had holes for the fasteners under the skin, from what I understand. They have four internal roll bars, so the roof is strong on the supports. Not sure about the sheet metal, but the rest of the car is built like a tank. tim

Buster6X6 · Jan 22, 2006

I would suggest to build a 3/4" plywood platform big enough so you can get your tripod and your self on top of it. Glue rubber mat on top of plywood from hall way runners ,drill several round holes two in front and two at the back to be fastened to the roof rack.
Standing on the flat piece of plywood your weight is distributed evenly so no roof dents or metal distortion. Unless you have a Cabriolet it is definitely not going to work

Greg

25asa · Jan 22, 2006

Why not get one of these?
http://www.motorzoo.com/view.php?VIN=3FELF47GXVMA11993

Standing on the roof of modern cars

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency