3-Bar Van Roof Ladder Rack Adjustable 56.3"-61.4" for Full-Size Vans

Two bars under a long extension ladder leaves a lot of unsupported span in the middle, and the middle is exactly where a ladder bows and a load starts to shift on a corrugated road. A third bar changes that geometry completely. This set gives you three.

Three bars spread the load

The supplier rates each bar at 250 lbs and the three together at 750 lbs. More useful than the total is where the weight ends up sitting: with a bar at each end and one in the centre, a ladder or a length of stock is held at three points instead of two, so it flexes less over bumps and the share carried by any single gutter clamp drops. Alloy steel is what makes the rating possible, holding its shape under a point load rather than bending around a ladder stile.

Stoppers stop the ladder walking

Each bar carries ladder stoppers and rope holes. The stoppers are the part cheaper racks leave off: they give the ladder something to push against so it cannot creep sideways on a rough back road, and the rope holes give you a fixed point to tie to instead of looping webbing over the bar. Fitting is done on the rain gutters with basic tools and no drilling. PVC pads sit between metal and gutter, which protects the paint on the van and takes some of the rattle out of the joint.

Key features

• Three bars: support at both ends plus a centre bar, so long loads are carried at three points.
• No drilling: clamps onto the van's rain gutters using hand tools, and comes off the same way.
• Ladder stoppers: raised ends that keep a ladder from sliding across the bars in transit.
• Galvanised alloy steel: zinc-coated steel, for a rack that stays on the roof year round.
• PVC pads: protect the gutter surface and cut down metal-on-metal noise.

Specifications

• Bars supplied: 3
• Material: alloy steel, galvanised, with PVC pads
• Load rating: 250 lbs per bar; 750 lbs across the three (supplier's figures, no metric equivalent given)
• Adjustable length: 56.3 in to 61.4 in, approximately 1430 mm to 1560 mm
• Fitment: full-size vans with rain gutters, listed by the supplier as Chevrolet Express, GMC Savana and Ford E Series
• Mounting: rain gutter clamp, no drilling

Before you fit these

• The adjustment range here is narrow, only about 130 mm of travel. Measure gutter to gutter before ordering.
• The 750 lb rating belongs to the rack. Your van's roof limit is set by its manufacturer, and the lower figure is the one that applies.

If the width suits your van, the centre bar is the reason to choose this over a two-bar set.