Mounting Guide for Roof Racks
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Roof racks need some explaining about how they work!
In order to carry a bike on the top of your vehicle, you need two sets of things: a bike rack, that holds the bike and a roof rack system that holds everything down to the roof.
Roof Rack Systems
Roof racks come in four styles depending on whether your car has 'factory racks' and what type of rack that is. 'Factory racks' are roof attachments that mostly come on some SUVs, wagons or other utility vehicles. Reminder: these racks are only the base system. You still have to choose a bike rack to add on top.
For Bare Roof Vehicles
 Since most vehicles come without racks on their roofs, this system provides a way to add a rack to your car without drilling holes or otherwise modifying your car. Engineers have created systems made of three parts in an effort to make it easier to fit multiple vehicles. We offer product from two manufacturers who each use different names for the three parts so we list both names here. Parts cannot be mixed between manufacturers although bike racks from any manufacturer can be put on either manufacturer's roof rack system. Prices, as of this writing, range from about $240 to $320 without bike racks. Locks are available for all these roof rack systems but they are sold separately.
 Crossbar (Yakima), Load Bar (Thule):
This piece is what your bike rack will rest on. It takes the weight of the bike and spreads it to the edge of the car where the frame can take weight that the roof can't. Thule sells two styles: Square and Rapid. Rapid costs a bit more but reduces wind drag because of it's oval cross section. Yakima sells one design: Round which combines strength and reduced drag. These bars come in different lengths to suit the width of different car roofs. Be sure to choose the correct length! These are sold in pairs. - Tower (Yakima), Foot Pack (Thule):
These posts hold the bars over the roof. You must buy the parts that match the style of bar you have (Square, Round or Rapid). For Yakima the appropriate product would be the Raingutter or Q Tower while for Thule it would be Aero Foot, Gutter Foot or Rapid Aero. These are sold in packs of four. If you want to lock your rack to the roof, the locks go in these posts and you need 4 locks, one for each post.
- Clip (Yakima), Fit Kit (Thule):
These are the parts that actually touch your car so there are a great number of these things to match the large number of car bodies out there. These are sold in packs of four by Thule and two packs of two (front & rear) by Yakima.
Use the Fit Guides to determine which part
combination to choose for your car.
Purchase Thule roof systems here: THULE Brand Roof-Top Systems
Purchase Yakima roof systems here: Yakima Brand Roof-Top Systems |
 For Short Bare Roof Vehicles
A few vehicles have a short or curved roof that would keep the feet and the bars on a standard bare roof system too close together to hold a bike rack in a stable manner.
These vehicles require a Short Roof Adapter (Thule) or a Stretch Kit (Yakima). These systems provide an additional pair of extender bars, running front to back, that allow the rear load bar to be pushed back and allowed to float. This item adds about $130 to the price of a bare roof rack (above).
The Fit Guides will let you know if your vehicle is one of the few that require this setup. |
For Factory Rails, Factory Crossbars or Factory Tracks / Fixed Points
Some vehicles come with roof top systems already in place. These are called 'factory' or 'manufacturer' systems. If your vehicle has one of these, you are further along than a bare roof and getting your vehicle ready for a roof rack is easier and less expensive. These factory systems come in three types:
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1. Factory rails are rails running front to back along the side of the car. In this case, you need to order two items: a package of 4 feet to hold on to the rails and two load bars (sold in pairs). The Thule system requires the Crossroad or Rapid Crossroad and Load Bars to match. The Yakima system requires the LowRider or the RailGrab and Crossbars.
Use the Fit Guides to determine which
adapters are required for your vehicle.
Prices at the time of this writing vary from about $200 to $264 without bike racks or locks. |
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2. Factory crossbars have bars running sideways across the car, sometimes with factory rails too. Even though you already have crossbars, many roof top bike racks will not hold on to them properly. That means you may have to buy an adapter: Ride-On Adapter (Thule) or MightyMount (for Yakima racks only). Only if a roof bike rack says "compatible with factory cross bars" can you avoid roof adapters. Be sure to check the maximum load that your crossbars can carry. |
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3. Factory tracks or fixed points are special mounting spots that are available on only a few cars. Their advantage is that there is no hardware on the roof when you are not putting a bike rack on it plus they are usually easier to install and remove. Tracks run front to back along with the side of the car allowing your crossbars to be moved fore and aft while fixed points allow a rack system to be mounted but not move. The necessary hardware is the same three part concept as used for bare roof systems (see above). For Thule, the parts required would be Load Bar (2), Podium (4) and Fit Kit (4). For Yakima, the parts required would be Crossbar (2), Control Tower (4), Landing Base (4).
Use the Fit Guides to determine which
adapters are required for your vehicle.
Prices, as of this writing, range from about $240 to $320 without bike racks or locks. |
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