Roof rack - any experiences??

[mieuxmew]

Anyone here have any experience using a roof rack? We have a 2005 Honda Pilot and am considering getting a roof rack for some extra space. My husband is concerned if they are safe. Would need to buy cross bars and a cargo box ($600-800). We have the parallel rack already that was factory installed. The companies that make these are Thule and Yamaha.

Any thoughts?? Safe? Worth it??

 

[rwdavis2]

Our van has a luggage rack, mainly the 2 rails running from front to back, 2 left to right. We use a soft-sided carrier that attaches via straps to the 4 rails. It has never come loose in any kind of weather. The only issue is that it is not waterproof.

 

[DVC-Don]

With it on, you'll get the gas mileage of a Hummer H2. But, you can pack more stuff.

 

[Paranurse]

I've been told they cut gas milage down by up to 40% depending on which type you get.

 

[dis_guy]

Since you have the factory racks it should be easy enough. Go to a specialty rack store and get the right kit to fit your after market rack to the factory racks. I don't suggest you use the factory cross bars as they tend to be flimsy. Add the bars and get the most aerodynamic carrier you see. You can also get a fairing to cut down on the drag between the racks and the car roof. Yeah, like others have said, it will affect your mileage.

 

[disneymom06]

Our van has a luggage rack, mainly the 2 rails running from front to back, 2 left to right. We use a soft-sided carrier that attaches via straps to the 4 rails. It has never come loose in any kind of weather. The only issue is that it is not waterproof.

We have the same rails on our minivan, although our soft-sided carrier is waterproof. (I believe that I purchased it on amazon). I debated on which carrier to purchase, soft-sided carriers look like they can hold more, but because this one can be folded and put away, it won out. It has never come loose, although my DH uses bungee cords because he feels that they are more secure. We do use more gas but not enough that I would stop using it, (kiddos are not toddlers anymore so that is another reason for the increased gas usage.) For us, having more room inside the car, (6 people) was the reason. It has not failed me in about 8 trips.

 

[WIDisneyFan]

We have a Honda Odyssey and use a soft roof carrier. We have used it in heavy rain, wind, cold and heat and have been very happy with it. Based on experience it does impact gas mileage (we loose about 1.5mpg when it is on and loaded)

I looked at both hard and soft carriers and for the 2-3 times a year we use it the cost savings of a soft carrier was worth it. The one we use is large size Cross Country model from roofbag.com

If you have any questions I would be happy to answer them - just let me know

 

[dis_guy]

While the roof bags do seem to offer a lot of utility and convenience, I can't help but think that a sleek (think of the ski carrier type) hard sided box with minimal frontal area would have less impact on your mileage.

 

[crzy4dsny]

I purchased mine from sears. Hard plastic aerodynamic. Your not going to lose 40% on your mpg. Maybe 1.5 mpg if anything

 

[minnierocks]

Ours was bought at Sears and we used it for multiple trips in our minivan. It was the hard-sided, locking one. I highly recommend it...it did not affect our gas mileage hardly at all. We did not pack heavy things in it. We used it for boogie boards, beach towels, shoes, beach chairs and food items...not suitcases. It was surprising how much fit into it. We no longer have a minivan and have not been able to use it on our last few trips...and I miss the extra storage.
*Once we had an issue with parking in the parking deck at our beach condo. With it on top of the van, it made our vehicle too tall. It was slightly inconvenient to always find a parking spot that was not in the deck, but outdoors. But that is the only time, we had a problem and it was only on one trip. All the other times, we were able to park in decks.

 

[Flight]

We bought a Thule Mountaineer that easily installs on the factory installed roof rails. It is waterproof, aerodynamic, and has been very helpful storing our luggage on long trips.

There is a gas mileage penalty but it is not dramatic.

 

[mieuxmew]

Thank you everyone!! I purchased INNO crossbars/footings from AutoAnything. They come with 4 locks. Shipping free and price was very good. My friend has a Thule large cargo box she used once and is lending it to us!!

Now we can put clothes and towels up top and have room in the trunk for beach chairs, kids scooters, cooler etc.

I looked to rent a minivan but it was way too $$$ ($1200!!). I tried every discount code, too!! Way too much to spend to move stuff!!

Any idea how bad the mpg hit will be? The extra gas can't be more than the cost of renting the minivan

 

[minnierocks]

Seriously...we didn't notice much of a difference in gas mileage between trips with the topper and trips without it. I am certain that having it on the roof affected it slightly...but not enough to notice. I think it is probably more the extra weight, not the drag. I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[BuzzLiteyear]

I was nervous about safety when we bought ours for our van (sears, big and not aerodynamic). We did not lose 40% on gas mileage, maybe 10% at most. I love using it, saves a lot of room.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[Capt_BJ]

only experience I had with one involved a woman running back into traffic lanes trying to recover lost underwear and such when the top of the damn thing blew off and emptied the contents on I-95

Dear - that's not safe - come back dear . . . . .