Anybody know about car roof racks?

[nzspokes]

I need a roof rack for Christmas taking the kids away camping. I just want to carry my big canvas tent on it. Was thinking something like this http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=651038196 as I dont want/cant afford to sink $300+ on a brand name one.

Anybody tried something like this? Its for a A32 Maxima.

[AllanB]

Best to check the weight of the tent - my large family tent and poles weights heaps and I'd not be strapping it to a roof rack! Drag a trail with you - you'll be amazed at how much crap the family takes!

[nzspokes]

Best to check the weight of the tent - my large family tent and poles weights heaps and I'd not be strapping it to a roof rack! Drag a trail with you - you'll be amazed at how much crap the family takes!

Poles go in the boot fine, just want the bulk of the tent out of the way. Its about 25kg.

[ellipsis]

...courier the tent, there and back, probably cheaper than the racks...

[hayd3n]

wreckers yards , got some for the work van for like $100 :)

[Berries]

I need a roof rack for Christmas taking the kids away camping.
I know that a new law comes in next month re car seats for kids, but for fucks sake, that is just not right.

[nzspokes]

I know that a new law comes in next month re car seats for kids, but for fucks sake, that is just not right.

Dont have to worry about seats if they are not in the car.:cool:

[Akzle]

them look liek guttermount.
Does your teana have gutters?
Theyr only rated to 40key, whick is half of good qual ones.
Get roof rails installed. Then strap 2x4 to them and load up.
OR fork out for locking cross bars, like a professional badass.

[strumpet]

That look OK. I lugged a kayak around on the roof for years on a rack.

Beware though, 25 kg is a lot of kgs to lift above your head and position on the rack without scratching/dropping on the car. Make sure you don't scratch the car roof by putting some foam or something underneath the tent or between both bars. Attach with heaps of duct tape. Also, make sure the tent is secured - not a good look for it to come off and you not realise until you get to the tent site ....oops. Also, a worse look for a loose tent to wrap itself round a car or god forbid, a motorbike behind you.

Um, also make sure you have secured the racks properly in the first place, swing your weight off them, if they move they sure as hell will when you're travelling.

[Road kill]

That look OK. I lugged a kayak around on the roof for years on a rack.

Beware though, 25 kg is a lot of kgs to lift above your head and position on the rack without scratching/dropping on the car. Make sure you don't scratch the car roof by putting some foam or something underneath the tent or between both bars. Attach with heaps of duct tape. Also, make sure the tent is secured - not a good look for it to come off and you not realise until you get to the tent site ....oops. Also, a worse look for a loose tent to wrap itself round a car or god forbid, a motorbike behind you.

Um, also make sure you have secured the racks properly in the first place, swing your weight off them, if they move they sure as hell will when you're travelling.

Bloody hell are you a truck driver ?

Ya' sound almost as paranoid as me.

Good advice but;)

[Maha]

Hire a trailer.....how do you get your off bike to an off road place?

[nzspokes]

That look OK. I lugged a kayak around on the roof for years on a rack.

Beware though, 25 kg is a lot of kgs to lift above your head and position on the rack without scratching/dropping on the car. Make sure you don't scratch the car roof by putting some foam or something underneath the tent or between both bars. Attach with heaps of duct tape. Also, make sure the tent is secured - not a good look for it to come off and you not realise until you get to the tent site ....oops. Also, a worse look for a loose tent to wrap itself round a car or god forbid, a motorbike behind you.

Um, also make sure you have secured the racks properly in the first place, swing your weight off them, if they move they sure as hell will when you're travelling.

Its a 1999 maxima, im not in anyway paranoid about the paint. Its stuffed anyway.

Dont worry it will be held down fine.

[nzspokes]

Hire a trailer.....how do you get your off bike to an off road place?

Motorcycle trailer. No good for carrying other crap.

[nzspokes]

them look liek guttermount.
Does your teana have gutters?
Theyr only rated to 40key, whick is half of good qual ones.
Get roof rails installed. Then strap 2x4 to them and load up.
OR fork out for locking cross bars, like a professional badass.

No gutters yo.

[unstuck]

No gutters yo.

You need one like this then.


http://www.whispbar.co.nz/images/roofracks_p-bar_hero.jpg

[HenryDorsetCase]

ProRack have one with two options where they act as pictured above or a friend has one where a fixture is bolted through the roof and the rack mounts to that.

Cheap roof racks are not worth the trouble. I was in a vehicle once where the rack came off and the five whitewater kayaks strapped to it went bye bye. luckily in the middle of nowhere and none of the boats were fucked. We all went to Thule racks after that.

[BMWST?]

dont underestimate the ammount of windage a large object has at 100k.As motorcyclists we all have an appreciation of that.I would make sure that the tent in its bag is well and truly in a tight bundle which will NOT come loose.Then it will have to be tied down onto some other bars across the actual roof rack.Maybe the tent in its bundle is rigid enough on just the two bars.Once things start to move its only a matter of time before shit happens

[Maha]

dont underestimate the ammount of windage a large object has at 100k.As motorcyclists we all have an appreciation of that.I would make sure that the tent in its bag is well and truly in a tight bundle which will NOT come loose.Then it will have to be tied down onto some other bars across the actual roof rack.Maybe the tent in its bundle is rigid enough on just the two bars.Once things start to move its only a matter of time before shit happens

Which is why you don't see much in the way of shit of roof racks these days. The odd surfboard perhaps but that's a bout it. There is a tow ball on the vehicle and a trailer is the way to go (borrowed/hired)

[fridayflash]

i bought a set of those a couple of years ago for my camry work wagon (gutterless) theyre the old wildcat brand and you can get them over the counter at auto one stores..if you wanna go and have a squiz at them. ive gotta say theyre not the best quality but should be good for your application. i had ladders and alum planks up there and they coped...not greatly heavy but they catch more wind than your tent will. main thing is to fasten then as best you can without over tightening.
on my vans (gutterclamp) i use old style galv tube racks and theyre quite bombproof, but if i bought another s/w id probably get the pro rack or rhino racks that have a base plate that rivets through the car roof. stronger and cheaper than the pro-rack gutterless system.

[fridayflash]

Which is why you don't see much in the way of shit of roof racks these days. The odd surfboard perhaps but that's a bout it. There is a tow ball on the vehicle and a trailer is the way to go (borrowed/hired)

must say, regardless of what i said above...i agree with maha, id use a trailer...you could strap tent and bbq to a bike trailer safely. every summer i take a full trailer load camping...gotta have space for the chilli bins :innocent:

[nzspokes]

Which is why you don't see much in the way of shit of roof racks these days. The odd surfboard perhaps but that's a bout it. There is a tow ball on the vehicle and a trailer is the way to go (borrowed/hired)

Dont get out much huh? I see heaps on racks.

[nzspokes]

i bought a set of those a couple of years ago for my camry work wagon (gutterless) theyre the old wildcat brand and you can get them over the counter at auto one stores..if you wanna go and have a squiz at them. ive gotta say theyre not the best quality but should be good for your application. i had ladders and alum planks up there and they coped...not greatly heavy but they catch more wind than your tent will. main thing is to fasten then as best you can without over tightening.
on my vans (gutterclamp) i use old style galv tube racks and theyre quite bombproof, but if i bought another s/w id probably get the pro rack or rhino racks that have a base plate that rivets through the car roof. stronger and cheaper than the pro-rack gutterless system.

Thanks for that I will go look. They will only go on the car once a year for a week.

I used to run a 5.5mtr sea kayak on a hightop LWB L300 with those old steel roof racks. Tough as shit they were.

[neels]

Check out the Thule and Prorack catalogs and see if there is something that fits, if there is you can pick up the bars cheap on trademe and then just buy the fitting kit to suit the car, the Thule ones on my terrano cost me $25 + $90 for the fitting kit.

[Smifffy]

Motorcycle trailer. No good for carrying other crap.

Wouldn't a tent strap onto an MC trailer as easily as it would a roof rack? Maybe even more so?

Personally, Ive only gone with factory/branded racks. Have heard the odd horror story about cheap racks, particularly among the kayak set.

[HenryDorsetCase]

Dont get out much huh? I see heaps on racks.

I see a shit ton of those mother in law boxes thats for sure. Dingus roadies with a $12k pushbike on one side and a box full of steroids and champagne on the other.

[nzspokes]

I see a shit ton of those mother in law boxes thats for sure. Dingus roadies with a $12k pushbike on one side and a box full of steroids and champagne on the other.

And they forget they have said 12k roadbike on the roof when they go into the carport. :lol:

[awa355]

Join the towelhead brigade and you'ill get away with anything.

288761

[awa355]

Which is why you don't see much in the way of shit of roof racks these days. The odd surfboard perhaps but that's a bout it. There is a tow ball on the vehicle and a trailer is the way to go (borrowed/hired)

Gone are the days when cars had a 16g steel panel for a roof. I agree with the trailer thing.

Spokes, Could you not improvise a flat foor for the bike trailer?

[Maha]

Gone are the days when cars had a 16g steel panel for a roof. I agree with the trailer thing.

Spokes, Could you not improvise a flat foor for the bike trailer?

You might see roof racks being used for Mattress's/Kayak/surfboard transporting, not so much camping gear. If the tent has poles, take extra, one or two normally disappear between point A & B.

[awa355]

I would imagine, a kayak would create a hell of a lot of wind leverage on the racks due to the length and surface area compared to a folded up tent.

[unstuck]

Tent on the back seat, kids laying flat on the roof holding onto the roofrack. :niceone:

[neels]

Roof racks can carry a crapload of weight, I can't remember if the Thule ones are rated for 50 or 75kg but I've never had any issues loading everything I need to onto mine, no dramas with the roof as the feet sit on the outside edge over the door frames.

Would highly recommend a roof box, all the long, light, and otherwise annoying stuff goes up there so there's room in the car for the tent and important things like chilly bins full of beer.

[Akzle]

being a professional badass, i got 3 beds and a chicken hutch on my badass ute with roof racks.
Load ratings are for pussies, i put 2t behind the station wagon the other day.

Shame theyre not guttered. I have a set of crossbars i could give ya. Need threaded oo de lally to fix, probably way to long for a little maxy tho. Bout 1.7 from memory.

[mossy1200]

Roof racks can carry a crapload of weight, I can't remember if the Thule ones are rated for 50 or 75kg but I've never had any issues loading everything I need to onto mine, no dramas with the roof as the feet sit on the outside edge over the door frames.

Would highly recommend a roof box, all the long, light, and otherwise annoying stuff goes up there so there's room in the car for the tent and important things like chilly bins full of beer.

I think I failed to follow the installation instructions.