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Tembo 4×4 Roof Rack for Defender 110 review
The Tembo 4×4 roof rack is the storage base for all your adventure gear. This heavy-duty aluminum roof rack fits nicely on the roof of your vehicle and makes sure you can bring all the necessary equipment on your camping trip or expedition. We make good use of it, so it is time for a review.
When we first bought the Defender it came with a galvanized roof rack (the original safari-style one that you see in the movies a lot). It was a great piece of kit that withstood the test of time and we used it thoroughly throughout our 2017 Europe road trip. But, it lacked some essential requirements for the future.
Once we started planning the 2020 South America trip we soon realized the Defender would be too high to fit into a shipping container with this galvanized rack. It was time to look for a different solution: a new rack with a lower profile. Luckily for us, we were still in contact with Tembo 4×4, the company that also made our rooftop tent. After visiting their shop we knew they had the solution to our problem: a new aluminum roof rack with a lower profile and good mounting solutions.
We soon got our hands on the new Tembo roof rack, which upgraded the looks of the Defender the moment it was installed on the vehicle. We have used the rack since early 2020, and since then we have covered about 120.000 kilometers through Scandinavia, the Iberian Peninsula, and Africa. It’s been tens of thousands of kilometers of heavy off-road driving and intense corrugation.
What is the Tembo 4×4 Defender 110 roof rack?
The Tembo 4×4 roof rack is a heavy-duty aluminum rack that provides a base to transport your expedition equipment on top of the vehicle. It’s made in The Netherlands and is built with high-quality 6063 aluminum. Using the newest design techniques (3D-CAD) and the highest standards Tembo made sure their rack is strong, lightweight, and reliable. It has a great appearance and good aerodynamic performance.
The rack is available for different vehicle brands and types and comes in a few different colors. We bought the black powder-coated roof rack for the Defender 110 Station Wagon, which fits nicely and snugly onto the roof while minimizing the space in between, thus not creating unnecessary height. This is great for shipping a vehicle across the globe, but also keeps the center of gravity lower. The sleek design and black color add to the aesthetics of the vehicle, giving it a uniform and high-end look.
Both the flooring and the outer frame are provided with T-slots that act as bolt guides. You’ll be able to use square nuts to mount a variety of accessories on the rack. We used this to secure the roof tent, top-frame, Zarges aluminum storage boxes, jerrycan in its Front Runner jerrycan holder, awning, Autohome aluminum ladder, and solar panel. Yes, our roof rack is fully loaded. We try to keep the heavy items low in the vehicle, but even then our roof rack takes a considerable amount of weight.
This all sounds pretty good, right? Let’s talk about the pros and cons after all the abuse we put it through.
Tembo update
Unfortunately, Tembo has halted off-road accessory production and shifted its focus to industrial electrification of 4×4 vehicles. We still believe their products offer an outstanding quality-to-price ratio. If you’re lucky to find one we fully believe it will be a great fit for your soon-to-be overland vehicle.
Pros
- The roof rack has a sleek appearance, especially with the black powder coating.
- The coating is very hard-wearing and hasn’t aged after beating it for almost a year. This includes six months of full-time travel.
- The profile of the wallboards provide sufficient grip, even when it’s raining or snowing.
- It’s easy to mount on the roof of the vehicle. The eight legs clamp onto the gutter and don’t require any drilling.
- Both the side rails and walkboards have bolt guides in them. Mounting accessories is very easy using square nuts.
- It’s made of aluminum, which means no rust! Which is great when overlanding in wet places.
- It’s very sturdy. So far it has survived 60.000 km, of which 20.000+ km off-road, whilst heavily loaded.
Cons
- Removing snow from under the roof rack can be a bit difficult. It’s a downside of any roof rack with a low profile.
- You can’t slide two square nuts underneath each other in the bolt guides. You may have to shuffle some nuts around when adding a new accessory.
- The space between the walkboards is most likely wider than your foot, beware not to step in between. Once you get the hang of this you’ll be fine.
- Fitting a rooftop tent sideways is straightforward. But mounting it so it opens towards the back needs a little adjustment. See below.
Would we buy it again?
Most overlanders can’t do without their roof racks. Whilst it is important to keep the center of gravity down, most travelers will need the extra storage space the roof rack provides. The roof rack is a great base for your rooftent and the perfect place to store lightweight bulky items.
If you’re in the market for a roof rack there are a few things to take into consideration when choosing the right product. You can think along the lines of the material used (steel or aluminum), weight, wind noise, rust prevention, coating, design, and accessory mounting options. In our opinion the Tembo rack has a lot going for it, making it a great choice for travelers and full-time overlanders.
We are very satisfied with the Tembo 4×4 roof rack that we bought. The quality is outstanding and the possibilities for mounting accessories are endless. It truly lives up to the claims and is designed very well. Weighing up the pros and cons we can definitely recommend the Tembo roof rack.
Our approach for gear reviews
As long-term overlanders we fully understand the need for high-quality and reliable gear. We know that if gear isn’t up to standard it can hinder your adventures, resulting in discomfort or a dangerous situation.
We write our reviews after extensive testing and with you – an adventurous overlander – in mind. We hope you appreciate our information, and feel free to reach out if you have any questions.
Pro Tips
Mounting the roof tent
It seems that mounting a rooftent sideways is the way to go these days. We would rather see it folding out backward, creating a covered space over the backdoor in the process. Unfortunately, you’ll need to make a minor adjustment to the support beams of your rooftent to make it fit. It’s nothing to be afraid of and only takes five minutes. You simply have to cut away a small corner at both ends of each support beam and you’re ready to go.
Mounting the ARB Touring awning and shower cabin
Mounting an awning to a roof rack can be quite a challenge. No mounting system is alike and you probably have to get creative. These days Tembo 4×4 has their own range of awnings, which will probably fit onto their roof racks. We still had our ARB Touring awning and decided to use that one instead. To mount the awning to the rack we used custom-made stainless steel brackets. Below you can see the design sketch and final result. Thanks to these brackets the awning fits nicely and snug to the side rails of the roof rack.
Check out these product shots
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