What roof rack fits my car?

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Rack Attack

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06-06-2022

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Base Rack Systems

What roof rack fits my car?

Just about anything you want mập carry on your vehicle’s roof will require a base roof car hire in hanoi
; the question is : what roof rack will fit my car, & what roof rack is the best for me ?
The basic concept of a roof rack is straightforward. It’s made up of just a few parts :

The mount – This is the piece of the rack that attaches to your vehicle. This piece will be specific to your vehicle’s make, model, and year. The mount type will change depending on how the rack is mounted, as you will see below.

The tower – This is the piece that connects the mount to the actual crossbar.

The cross bars – Self-explanatory, but there are a few different styles you can choose from.

Accessories – Once you have a base rack on your car, you can mount accessories to the cross bars to carry just about anything.

To figure out what you need for your car, you will have mập use our automated fit guide. Before you vì, keep on reading so sánh you will understand the differences và can make the most informed decision .
Of all the parts above, the most important is choosing the mount. The tower isn’t a choice you have lớn make because it will always be the correct tower for the mount. So we will start where it matters most .

Choosing the best way to mount a roof rack to your car

While this may seem lượt thích the most complicated part of picking a roof rack, it is actually very straightforward. Why ? The way you mount your rack is dictated by the type of roof your vehicle has. If it has raised rails running front lớn back, it uses a raised rail rack. If there are mounting points hidden in your roof, it’s a fixed point. As you can see from this image, the four most common types of roofs make up the five most common rack systems .

Raised rails

Of the various factory mounting points, raised rails are the easiest. If you’re able Khủng wrap the rack mounting around the factory rail, then you won’t actually need a separate mounting component at all. In this one scenario, the tower will mount lớn the rails directly. The most popular options for this type of rack are the Thule Evo Raised Rail or the Yakima TimberLine .

Flush Rails

Flush rails have quickly become one of the most common roof options you see on newly manufactured cars. Due Khủng their subtle appearance & improved usability, many manufacturers include them on almost every trim cấp độ. This is great since many flush rail options use similar mounting systems as fixed points, making these options much more universal .

Fixed mounting points

If your car doesn’t have any factory rails, don’t worry ; there are still options for you béo put some bars on your roof. Some vehicles ( BMW, Volkswagen, & Mazda especially ) come from the factory with fixed mounting points. Often these are hidden by little trap doors on your roof, và you can attach racks directly bự these spots .
If this is possible, it’s almost always the best way mập go & can even save you some money kết thúc some other options. Check the fit guide lớn ensure a proper fit before making any final choices .

Nothing but a bare roof

If your car has nothing but a bare roof, then you have lớn choose between two mounting options. Either you go with a system with clips mounting into your door jams, or you can permanently mount a rack bự the roof similar béo the factory mount options .

Clip System Racks

With specific mounts ( baseclips for Yakima, Fit Kits for Thule ) made for the majority of all vehicles, this option will get you a reliable roof rack which you can remove or leave on nearly indefinitely .
( Warning ! you should không bao giờ go into a non-touchless car wash with a roof rack on )
With this phong cách of rack, the towers sit on the vehicle’s roof, và the vehicle-specific clips fit snugly into your door. This rack can carry all the roof rack accessories & will chưa bao giờ leak, no matter how hard the rain comes xuống dốc .

Permanent roof rack installations

There are many reasons someone would choose bự permanently install a rack on the roof of their car, including :

No door-mount fit is available.

Desired ability to quickly remove the cross bars from the roof.

The requirement of having the bars located in places other than where a door jam mounted rack would allow (for example, a bar near the rear of the vehicle for easy loading of kayaks.

Aesthetics.

There are three ways mập permanently install a roof rack béo your car. One is by first installing a track running along your roof from the front béo back. This option gives a very factory look, but is a little more work và expense than mounting a fixed point rack .

Here is a quick guide phệ installing a track .
The second option is mounting Yakima Landing Pads directly Khủng your roof. With this install, you can không bao giờ change the location of the bars on your roof, but for almost all rack users this is not an issue. This install is a little easier & is by far the most common permanent install we bởi vì in our shops .

Here is a quick guide bự Landing Pad installation .
The final way béo permanently install a rack is Khủng add an artificial rain gutter bự the side of the vehicle. This installation method is the least common, typically used for camper-vans with a roof unable Khủng tư vấn the weight of a cargo rack. In this case, we will mount brackets béo the sides of the vehicle for attaching the rack .

It’s important phệ note that a permanent rack install is permanent. You will be required béo drill through the roof of your vehicle lớn complete this installation. We guarantee a perfect fit, leak & problem-free, for all installs as long as you own your vehicle. But it should be noted that this is probably not the best choice for leased cars .
If you would rather not drill holes in your roof, then the best choice for you will be a clip mount .

Rain gutters

On most older vehicles or vans, you will have rain gutters running around the edge of your car, just below the roof. Both Yakima và Thule make rain gutter towers that clamp into these gutters, giving you a solid rack without any fuss. No extra mounts are needed for rain gutter towers .

Styles of roof rack cross bars

The standard Thule or Yakima crossbars are made of steel. They are strong & reliable but heavy. They can also make a fair amount of wind noise when mounted on your roof. Thule has recently reinvented the roof rack by offering traditional phong cách bars with their Evo Lineup or a sleeker look with their Edge lineup. More can be found on these systems on their own separate blog .

Both Thule & Yakima offer multiple options for lighter, aerodynamic bars. You can get the Evo WingBar from Thule, or the Jetstream & Corebar from Yakima. Thes hoảng systems will make less noise, are easier mập install & remove, và will chưa bao giờ rust. On top of it all, they look fantastic .
If you bởi vì buy a system with separate bars và towers it’s possible Khủng choose the length of your bars. When you đầu vào your vehicle information into the fit guide if will show you the recommended bar length for your vehicle, but in most cases, it’s possible phệ get a longer bar length .
A longer bar will stick out on the sides of your vehicle, making the rack less visually appealing, but this extra bar length will increase the amount of stuff you can carry on your roof & can make it possible phệ mount accessories outside of the tower, which can be beneficial for some situations .

Use the fit guide

The best thing you can bởi is use our fit guides. Many cars have multiple fit options, & now that you understand what all of the possible options are, the guide will make a little more sense lớn you. Make sure phệ choose only an approved fit for your vehicle. If you have difficulty figuring it out, or you want béo bởi something quality with your rack, give us a điện thoại tư vấn. We will be happy Khủng help you out .