Roof Rack Rant

[cabinetman]

That's hard to say fast five times. Anyway, my vehicle is an SUV with a factory roof rack. The design of the roof rack to me seems to be somewhat of a waste. The front to back rails are too short to carry anything long, and the cross rails aren't flat across.

I guess for lashing suitcases on the roof, the rack may offer some restriction. But, there were many times I had wide flat objects that wouldn't fit inside. Fortunately I have a 4x8 trailer if push comes to shove. It's a hassle rolling it out, checking the air, and lights each time it's used. Then there's the parking problem of taking up two spots, or parking out on the edges of the parking area.

I'm thinking of making a quick assembly roof rack addition on the order of a grid. Maybe something 8' long with cross members at each end. Something that might be wingnutted together at the store, and either tied or clamped down, so that long moulding or sheet stock could be carried flat. My last encounter was at HD on Monday. Bought moulding 14' and 16'. My trailer would be useless in that situation. Wound up just lashing it to where ever I could.

Anybody else here have a roof rack comment or suggestion? Any solutions that worked?

[aiyou]

Wood Magazine (issue 175, March 2007, submitted by K. McLaughlin, page 38) had a Shop Tip that might work. As designed, it's probably better suited for sheet goods, but could probably work for moulding, pipes or other long items with a few mods.

Basically, 2x4 construction. Width sized to fit roof rack, 96" in length. Notches cut out of the frame so that it nestled on the roof rack cross bars without contacting the roof surface. Permanent stop at the front to keep panels from sliding forward. A flip-up stop on the back pivots out of the way for loading, but then rotates up to keep pieces from sliding back. Secure with ratchet tie-downs.

Let me know if you would like to see a copy via email. PM or email rob@t-nuts.com.

Rob

[Mr__Bill]

The folk that make roof racks make adapters to fit factory installed racks. One is Yakma (sp?).

The factory rack is often just a styling feature.

bill

[Rand]

That's Yakima like the city in Washington

http://www.yakima.com/

[Black wallnut]

That's Yakima like the city in Washington

http://www.yakima.com/

As in the company actually got its start in Yakima, WA. Which BTW stands to reason based on the number of ski resorts close by.

[HarmsWay]

I've hauled lumber up top but it doesn't take too much wood to go over-weight on a factory rail system - even if you have good aftermarket supports & crossbars. Plus the spacing between the crossbars (fore/aft on the vehicle) will be too short on most cars for anything other than short lumber.

I've been using Yakima racks - mostly for bikes - for the past 20 years and 5 different vehicles. Very good system.

Bob