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Sat Dec 28, 2013 7:57 pm

I personally like the look of a roof rack, not to mention it's entirely useful!

Sat Dec 28, 2013 8:36 pm

Sketch-Bat wrote: I personally like the look of a roof rack, not to mention it's entirely useful!

I agree that it's useful. Soon as I took it off someone was giving away some free stuff in the neighborhood and I couldn't bring it home :roll:

I did talk to a guy at the last Bugorama who said that they aren't big in the VW scene right now. Just trying to get a read from everyone.

Thanks for chiming in! :)

Sat Dec 28, 2013 8:39 pm

I like my roof rack, besides when I (or you) get tried of it just remove it.

Sat Dec 28, 2013 10:52 pm

Roof racks are too much clutter. I have an original Bekowa and it just sits up in the rafters.

Sun Dec 29, 2013 12:06 am

I use my rack on a regular basis. I dont like racks just for the "look" with a bunch of crappy suitcases and beat up coolers.

The rack on my bus gets the most use. Camping, building materials, parts haul etc. The deck lid rack on the rag usually carries a BBQ or a cooler while the roof rack on the sedan is used the least as its original and the wood is getting tired. Ive had spare tire, tool box, gas can, duffel bags, wood, parts etc. on it so it is useful.

The only downside is the loss in mpg I often see 5 mpg less with the rack on at freeway speeds and even more if fully loaded.

Sun Dec 29, 2013 6:29 pm

I love the look but it sounds like I've got a pipe organ mounted on my roof at highway speeds. Especially with the sunroof open.

Sure is handy, though.

Sun Dec 29, 2013 7:59 pm

like the look with the rack on

Sun Dec 29, 2013 8:01 pm

No rack.

It ruins the curves of the roof.

Sun Dec 29, 2013 8:20 pm

Personally, I like the look of the rack...

Tue Dec 31, 2013 8:34 am

Glenn wrote: No rack.

It ruins the curves of the roof.

I agree. I used to keep my rack on my bug for the years I had the rack because I liked the look. Once removed I noticed my car looked a little more sleek without it. I like the undisturbed curves better

Tue Dec 31, 2013 6:09 pm

I love the roof racks, with or without any props on them. They are handy too. I keep my car show stuff, displays, and detailing supplies/products in the luggage and I use my old Coke cooler just about every show. I use the swamp cooler too and it does a pretty good job. When just out driving and enjoying the car, I often times take the stuff off and leave it in the garage. Sometimes I take the rack off too. Different looks for different times. Overall, I like it better with the rack on.

Tue Dec 31, 2013 8:06 pm

Well, I gotta say, this has gone a direction I wasn't expecting. That's 6 Yes's. 2 No's and 1 maybe (thanks for your honesty bandi) :)

I thought it would go the other way! Anyone else?!

Wed Jan 01, 2014 12:34 pm

If some dude told you that they aren't "big" in the scene right now that's all the reason to keep it on. Don't follow the trends. That's what makes all the cars look the same. Do what you like. Besides, racks kick ass and they are extremely handy. :D

Wed Jan 01, 2014 1:28 pm

Dirty Hippie wrote: If some dude told you that they aren't "big" in the scene right now that's all the reason to keep it on. Don't follow the trends. That's what makes all the cars look the same. Do what you like. Besides, racks kick ass and they are extremely handy. :D

...The kick in the ass I needed, thanks Dirty Hippie :)

Wed Jan 01, 2014 1:49 pm

I like the looks of the roof racks. It gives the car a retro/purist look. I do however agree with the other poster and don't like them on a beat up bug w/trashy coolers or luggage.

Thu Jan 02, 2014 8:21 am

At all-makes car shows my roof rack always gets a comment or two, always favorable. It seems to me that most classic cars don't have them but it makes sense on a Beetle because it didn't have a lot of trunk room in the first place.

Thu Jan 02, 2014 9:07 am

I like the looks and functionality of roof racks and here's what I discovered:

They can be noisy going down the road at certain speeds. One cure is some foam plumbing/pipe insulation from the hardware store along with some wiring Velcro bands. Placed over the front and rear top tubes not only illiminates the noise , but also protects the rack from scratches when carrying Kayaks and such.

A down side on my car is that no matter how much rubber tube or padding I put on the rack to roof contact areas, it still boogered up the paint. Not terrible but you will always tell I've had a roof rack on there.

I agree. It does break up the flow of the curved roof line. I feel it was because how bright the silver coating was against the dark paint on my car. I disassembled the entire rack, stained the wood slats a darker tone, and painted the tubing a dark grey. This worked to subdue the entire rack and brought back my lines. Caused the rack to blend in a little more with the background IMHO.

The shape of the rack also plays in how the eyes moves along the body lines. The two main ones to compare are the empi and the flat4 styles. The empi rack is really boxy looking. The vertical legs are too straight I think. The horizontal bars also don't flow with the rest of the curves. Too me the flat4 design flows much better with the shape of the car. When viewed from the side, the verticles are angled fore and aft. They're slightly angled out when viewed from the front as well. The horizontals have more of a arch in them also. I feel it fits the shape of a bug just right.

Well, have I over analyzed this one particular item enough for ya? :0)

OCD baby......OCD!

Thu Jan 02, 2014 9:47 am

A PO fabricated a plexiglass wind screen for the rack on my car. It's in three sections (two small end sections and one big center section), riveted together and then zip-tied to the rack. The edges of the plexiglas are riveted to aluminum strips that are then zip-tied to the rack along the sides and the top.

I'm neutral on the look, but it works because I don't get a roar from the wind passing through the rack. I had to insert a strip of cloth-covered fuel line sliced lengthwise into the bottom edge because the plexiglass was flexing from the wind and scratching the paint. The same fuel line also works as "feet" for the points where the rack attaches to the rain gutter.

Sun Jan 05, 2014 3:47 am

My roof rack enthusiasm seems to come and go. Nice to have one to use when you you want it, and they can be very useful. The wood slat type seem to be MUCH less noisy than the all-metal type, since the slats run longitudinal, rather than the metal type with the transverse tubes that positively SING!

The one I use on Doug the '60 Bug is an old Flat Four repro, that I bought from my old buddy Kurt on Long Island many years ago... Photo is from December of 2013, and location is by the Branford River, in Branford, CT. Gettin' in the Christmas spirit...

When I want to drive with an open sunroof, however, the rack comes OFF, no questions asked...