Roof Rack -- not-so-great experience

[Mathias]

Learned Friends,Having sold my canoemobile/minivan, and having decided on one final trip this season, I wound up carrying a couple good-sized canoes on my Vibe. Nothing terrible happened, but the car is a little worse for wear.I would appreciate comments or advice.... the Vibe is a great little car for this sort of thing, but I'm scratching my head what I should do next season....http://www.msu.edu/~steine13/vibe.htmlCheers,-Mathias

[Emerica13]

Sorry I can't help you with this one, but i couldn't resist posting......Wolverines OWNED you in Lansing maybe posting this in the Exterior forum will get you more action

[joatmon]

hey man, where've you been?I've only had to carry one ginormous green Old Towne canoe on top of my silver vibe, and used the factory roof racks, but it certainly isn't wide enough to carry two.Never tried the racks you used, not sure what would help. I have seen for sale trailer hitches and boat support poles that fit trailer hitches, perhaps some of those might help share the load so it's not all on the rack. That or get a trailer to carry the boats and gear, although that makes you less maneuverable on the road.I know when I carried mine on the roof, it acted like a parachute, and the niext time I have to carry it any distance I may look in to making it more aerodynamic

[Mavrik]

Ouch.. I suggest buying a larger rack that attaches more securely to the rack itself.

[Mr. Poopypants]

Yep, maybe get a permanent rack like the Thule racks, I don't know if they make one to carry canoes on the Vibe but it would be worth a shot.

[Pick]

Very simple solution, get a trailer, less wind resistance, easier to load and unload, easier on the cars paint job, much more utilitarian because you put about anything on a trailer, ie that's how i haul my dirt bike and ATV around.

[ZubenElGenubi]

First of all, Welcome to GenVibe!I'm amazed that two canoes were under 125lbs! But I digress...Any reason you went with the Q-towers rather than the Lowriders? The load limit of the OEM crossbars is something like 75lbs, but you wouldn't have that limitation with the Lowriders. You can still use your Yakima crossbars with them, too.I've used a Yakima Space Cadet on both my Vibe and wife's RAV4 on the factory racks with no problem. We considered the Lowriders (and they do fit; we checked), but decided we probably wouldn't exceed the load limit.

[GMJAP]

Maybe try putting some of that sticky foam stuff (like for under rugs and keeping stuff on your dash) inside the clips. Might cushion the paint and keep it from sliding.

[Atomb]

the racks on my old volkswagon had rubber pads which were positioned between the rack 'feet' and the car. the hooks were coated in a rubber also. metal on metal will most likely always slide. it's hard to establish a decent grip.a small amount of rubber should do the trick.

[Mathias]

Thanks for the welcome and to everyone for their suggestions.As far as using padding; i used pieces of bicycle innertube to protect the paint, but when the whole shebang wandered back 2", they became useless... the rubber stayed put, though "Any reason you went with the Q-towers rather than the Lowriders?"Yeah. Cross bar spread, and load distribution. I've got over 4" front to back, which helps a lot even with a single canoe. The factory crossbars are useless for anything beyond a couple bicycles." The load limit of the OEM crossbars is something like 75lbs, but you wouldn't have that limitation with the Lowriders."Yes you would. Yakimas total limit for the car is 75 lbs. The factory rack is way too short to be useful for long loads.I'm using lowriders in back, Q towers in front. I have done one canoe using two crossbars attached with lowriders, but it puts the boat too far back.I may go with the trailer, but it's at least $1k for something I should be able to do with a car designed to fit an "active lifestyle". The only cars on the market with decent racks are European wagons. The Focus wagon has long factory rails that one can clamp anyone's cross bars to... limit is 220 lbs, or 100 kg. Downright useful. Similarly the Saturn LW series.... those cars have European roots and are much better suited to the task. No pickups in Germany, see.-Mathias

[lil red wagon]

Started using my vibe for some work trips, and have to carry a ladder on top of mine. Have thought about using some of that pipe insulation that you can get at Home Depot to wrap around the cross bars to add some cushioning. Might be a little better than the innertube that you were using.

[Pick]

Quote, originally posted by Mathias »I may go with the trailer, but it's at least $1k for something I should be able to do with a car designed to fit an "active lifestyle". -Mathiasnah, there are plenty of brand spanking new 4' x 8' trailers you can buy for $500, I have a flatbed one i bought from harbor freight for $200, of course you have to put it together and bolt on plywood though, but it's cool because it can fold up so you can store it easily.

[Mathias]

"nah, there are plenty of brand spanking new 4' x 8' trailers you can buy for $500, I have a flatbed one i bought from harbor freight for $200"Agreed, but they'll look a little funny with 10 feet of canoe sticking out the back, no? Typical canoes are 16 to 18 feet long and mine are no exception...I'm planning on getting a trailer hitch in any case, just for the heck of it.-Mathias

[Mathias]

Yakima Replies:Hello, Mathias. Thank You for your inquiry about Yakima Products, Inc!We have since changed the design of the q-towers. Drop us a line withyour address and phone number. I will get some new towers out to you.Other then tightening the tower more it sounds like you have doneeverything correct in fitting the rack.I'm impressed. Seems to be a stand-up company after all.I'll let y'all know how the new ones work out.-Mathias

[Atomb]

now they're sitting around praying you don't go after them for the damage done to your car!

[ragingfish]

Forgive my idiocy, but I read your page, and can't quite understand what happened?

[Mathias]

The rear crossbar moved rearward about 2".The front cross bar slipped 3/8" or so through the right-hand Q tower, loosening the grip that the rack had on the car.The entire assembly of rack + canoes slid backwards 2". The force to do this came from driving at 70 mph.Yakima says they've redesigned the Q towers -- presumably to grip more securely -- and will ship me a new set.Does that clear it up a little?-Mathias

[rAERRK]

Holy ****