Last Updated on April 30, 2024 by Nikole

Road noise, height, and weight are only a few things you need to know when finding a roof rack for a Ford Transit Connect camper van. You also need to consider What you will be loading on your roof rack.

Are you taking a kayak? Do you need extra storage to stay organized? There are specific things you need to ask before purchasing the perfect Ford transit roof rack. And we are here to help you make that decision.

Clark and Nikole here! Let me tell you, having the wrong roof rack or attachments for a roof rack can cause havoc on the road. We know this from experience. Here are some things you can avoid when you have the correct roof rack system.

1. Losing a kayak down the road.
2. Your items from the roof hitting another vehicle.
3. Embarrasment because you have to keep pulling over to adjust the straps that have your items secured to the roof of the camper van.
4. Insurance not covering damages because your roof rack wasn’t meant to hold a certain amount of weight.

Seeing your paddles for your kayak float down the road isn’t exactly what I would call the perfect lake day. Let us show you the how, why, and what of Ford Transit roof racks.

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. Please read full disclosure for more information.

How Does a Roof Rack Work?

First, before you even decide to install a roof rack, you need to understand all of the components. Here are the parts of a typical crossbar roof rack system and what they are called.

1. Load bars – The two bars that go across your Ford Transit Roof (or any other roof)
2. Foot packs/towers – Provides support for the load bars
3. Fit kits/Clips -There are brackets that will be specific to a Ford Transit to help install the foot pack/towers onto the roof of your camper van. This is the main reason why there aren’t standard roof racks, as many vehicle roof tops are very different.

There may be other accessories you will need for your roof rack such as a J-bar for your kayak, but we will get into that later. A crossbar is the very least that you will need for the top of your Ford Transit Connect.

Can You Put a Roof Rack on a Ford Transit Connect?

Yes! You can put a roof rack on a Ford Transit Connect. In fact, some of them, like ours, will already have them installed. Our used 2012 high-top Ford Transit was meant to be a working vehicle, so there was already a roof rack built into the van.

One thing you may need to look out for is the height of your van. Be aware of going through drive-thru windows, parking garages, and under bridges because some of them only allow certain heights.

Our 2012 Ford Transit Connect measures around 7 feet from the bottom of the tires to the top (roof), and that’s without a roof rack. Needless to say, there have been a few areas we haven’t been able to clear with our roof rack loaded.

Make sure you have the height of your vehicle and whatever you decide to carry on top that way you are prepared. We have had minimal problems with ours, the only thing we weren’t able to go under so far was a parking garage that measured 8 ft.

What can you put on the roof of a Ford Transit?

You can put anything you would put on any other vehicle’s roof rack onto a Ford Transit. Like I stated above, however, you may want to be aware of the height of the vehicle.

Here are all of the items you can put on the top of your Ford transit (provided you have to crossbar system installed).

• Kayak
• Shower System
• Storage
• Bikes

Kayaks

Kayaks are one of our favorite items to put on our camper van’s roof rack. We do however have J-hooks to keep them in place. It is possible to put them up there without the j-hooks, but let me tell you it’s a huge hassle.

It can be a bit challenging getting a bulky item to the top of a Ford Transit Connect roof rack, especially when you have a high-top version. Keep that in mind, you can also purchase a kayak rack for the back of your vehicle if you struggle with being too short like me.

Shower System

The cool thing about having a Ford Transit roof rack is the possible shower system. You can easily install a pressurized solar-heated shower right onto the roof rack. The fantastic part is you can set it up high enough for even the tallest person in your group.

Storage

One of the main reasons we love our Ford Transit roof rack is the extra storage. we have a cargo carrier installed and it honestly wasn’t the right size. We had to drill extra holes in the bottom so it would fit right.

Always measure!! Measuring, or getting measurements off the product info area is the biggest help for obvious reasons.

Bikes?

I wouldn’t recommend putting bikes on your roof rack, especially if you have a high-top Ford Transit. The vehicle is already so high, adding a bike to the mix would make it way too tall, and awkward. Although, I have seen others put their bikes on top of even higher camper vans. It just makes me uncomfortable.

Instead, either put the bikes inside while you travel or get a bike rack for the back of the vehicle.

What is the Most Durable Ford Transit Roof Rack?

When it comes to the durability of a roof rack you need to consider and compare a few things.

1. What Material the roof rack is made of
2. Weight of the roof rack itself
3. How much the roof rack weighs

There are several metals that can be used for a Ford Transit roof rack but typically they are sold in steel or aluminum.

Steel roof racks are much stronger, but they are also much heavier than aluminum racks.

Aluminum Roof racks are still strong in comparison, and they are lightweight allowing you more weight in storage for the top of your vehicle.

Personally, I would go with Aluminum because of the weight. Aluminum is roughly 1/3 the weight of steel. If you think about it, your home on wheels already has a ton of items it needs to haul, and weight is EVERYTHING! This is a great way to keep the weight down.

The Best Ford Transit Roof Racks

The best Ford Transit roof rack can either be steel or aluminum and will include a crossbar system, basket, or other additions to make hauling easier.

Cross Bar Roof Rack SyStems

Like I have stated before a crossbar roof rack is the most basic and necessary item you will need on the top of your Ford Transit. This is what everything will be packed onto, that way you won’t be damaging the roof of your vehicle.

When choosing a crossbar rack you need to consider a few things.

• Length
• Width
• Hauling weight
• How much the rack itself weighs
• The measurements of your Ford Transit Roof Top
• Most places will tell you which vehicle year the rack will fit if you are unsure of measurements

Here are a few racks you can browse through, I will state which year and type of Ford Transit they will fit.

• Fits 2010-2013 Ford Transit Connect
• Materials include Glass Filled Nylon and Aluminum
• Max load capacity 115 pounds

• This is only the bars/ Great for already existing rails
• Great for reducing noise
• For Ford Transit Connect years 2014-2022
• Made of Aluminum
• Maximum weight of 165 pounds

Ford Transit Roof Rack with Ladder

When you have such a high roof it’s useful to install a ladder to the back of your Ford Transit or find a foot pedal for your doorway.

Ladders and food pedals are super useful for these reasons

• Easier to access cargo on top
• Perfect for those people that are shorter
• Safer than standing in the door way trying to reach for your items

Here are a few items you can use to help you reach the items on your roof

This ladder will help you access your storage with ease. Unfortunately, they can be a bit pricey. The one listed above can be used for a medium height Ford Transit, but if you click on the “check price” button above it will bring you to other options that will fit your specific Ford Transit.

This step can easily be installed in the doorway of your Ford Transit camper van. It provides a cheap and easy way of easily accessing your rooftop.

Cargo Carrier

Cargo Carriers are a great addition to any roof rack system. They will keep your items dry in the rain, and out of direct sunlight. You don’t need any straps or nets to keep items from flying off your roof.

Don’t make the same mistake as we did and purchase one before you measure how far apart your crossbars are. We had to drill extra holes in the bottom of our cargo carrier in order to get it to fit on top of our Ford Transit Connect properly.

This cool cargo carrier can fit on the roof of any vehicle, including your Ford Transit connect, with or without a roof rack system. Here are some of the features.

• Water proof
• 20 cubic feet
• Safety features
• Universal

Basket

Baskets are great for hauling items, especially if you don’t have a cargo carrier. With a basket, there are more items you can load on your roof because of the area it covers in comparison to a cargo carrier.

Here is a great basket option you can put on your Ford Transit roof rack. It comes in several sizes to fit just about any rack. You may need netting to hold everything in place.

• Different sizes/ universal
• 150 pound weight capacity
• Alloy Steel metal material

Ford Transit Roof Rack Installation

There are several different types of Ford Transit camper vans, each with its unique and different size roof. Here is the gist of how to install a roof rack along with where to find the mounting points.

Ford Transit Roof Rack Mounting Points

When installing most Ford Transit roof racks you will most likely have to find threaded holes on the top of the roof. Like in the picture above you can see there is a small area where the roof “caves in” a little bit. This is where you will find holes with plugs (this may not be the case for every year or every model of Ford Transit).

You will need to pop the plugs out, This can be quite difficult because they were designed to stay on the vehicle while you are driving down the road. You may need a tool to wedge underneath the plug or pliers to pry it out (be careful to not scratch your van).

Here are two Youtube videos I found very helpful for installing a Ford Transit roof rack. Keep in mind that these specific roof racks may not work for your camper van, it’s just to give you an idea of how they are installed.

How much weight can a Ford Transit roof hold?

There are many types of Ford Transit vans, but here are the general weight limits according to heights.

• Low roof: 419 lb
• Medium roof: 331 lb
• High roof: 220 lbs

Keep in mind that the weight limit needs to add up to the item that can carry the least amount of weight. For example, if you have a low roof transit that can carry 419 pounds but a crossbar system that can only hold 150 pounds of weight, then you can only load 150 pounds onto your roof rack.

Also, make sure you add the weight of the crossbars themselves along with the basket or cargo carrier that you will be using.

How to Control Road Noise from roof rack

I can relate to having too much road noise when driving a Ford Transit, and it doesn’t help to have a noisy roof rack. Here are some things you can do to help quiet down your ride a little bit.

Install pool noodles- This may seem silly at first but you will thank me later. When we first purchased our Ford Transit Connect the roof rack would make so much road noise if we went over 50 mph. We Installed pool noodles around the crossbars, and it quieted our ride quite a bit. We only have these up there when nothing else is on the crossbars.

Pool Noodles are a cheap option, however, they are also the tackiest option. You can purchase a wind fairing that will work better, and it definitely looks better.

Purchase Wide/flat Cross Bars- This helps the air to move around the bars instead of hitting them straight on (this is the main reason for road noise).

Other Considerations for loading Your Ford Transit Roof Rack

There are certain things that you need to take into consideration before you load up your Ford Transit Roof Rack such as…

Don’t overload a Ford Transit Roof rack

When you put too much weight on the roof of your Ford Transit you run the risk of not only ruining the roof of your camper van but the damages will NOT be covered under insurance.

How to Load a Roof Rack Properly

1. When loading your roof rack make sure you don’t have anything jutting out from the sides, back or front. In other words, don’t load items that are too long or wide for your van. You run the risk of hitting other objects while on the road.

2. Make sure everything is weatherproof. Weather is unpredictable, so always prepare for rain.

3. Make sure everything is fastened correctly before taking off. It is highly illegal to have items falling off of your vehicle, for good reason.

4. Make sure the load on your roof is evenly distributed, and not all of the weight is on one side.

5. Be sure to check your local laws on roof racks, as some areas may require different things.