roof-rack recomendation, please

[0to60in6min]

hi all,

I have seen in this forum pics of different type and brand of roof-rack. What's your favorite? Could you please recommend one for 89 Carat non westy..

many thanks in advance,

[SteveVanB]

Yakima load bars and a Thule MOAB basket.
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91 CARAT

[McVanagon]

[PDXWesty]

Here's some other posts. Read the ones about roof racks.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/search.php?search..._chars=200
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89 Westy 2.1 Auto

[Volksaholic]

It partially depends on what you're going to haul up there. I like the load bars for their versatility; I haul my sea kayak, sometimes a Laser sailboat, snowboards and skis up there. I don't like putting a lot of bulk on the roof, but if I needed the space I could throw a Yakima basket that's currently on the Outback onto the bars, or bolt a rocket box up there (I don't have a box, only a rubberized soft bag that fits my basket).

I don't like the stock height of the Yakima van risers... but they could be cut down. You need some sort of height extension over stock towers to clear the van's roof.

pd
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1988 Wolfsburg Edition, 2001 Subaru EJ251

[westynova]

I am using 72" Yakima bars and a Yakima Spacebox.

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84 Westy
2010 VW Golf TDI Wagon
2009 Jeep Rubicon Unlimited, Lifted and Locked

[Blair_Francis]

Hey Westynova, what did you use to attach your solar panel to those yakima bars? I'm getting a good price on a used large 185w panel from a friend (would rather one of the smaller 80w panels from GoWesty that fits in the cargo bay)

Thanks in advance!

Blair

[shagginwagon83]

I have everything to install the Yakima setup.

A1 Towers
Hi-Rise kit
Yakima Brackets

But I don't have anything to put up there right now. I plan to get a solar panel and eventually a Road Shower and a cargo box.

For those with Roof Racks - at what point did you add lift assist/shocks? Do you think lift assist is needed for just a Yakima system plus a 100w panel?

Edit: by the way would anyone be interested in half of my Hi-Rise kit? I hear that you just need half the height

[joetiger]

[dsdunbar]

0to60in6min - I too have the yakima setup. Is it the best? I dont know, if money were no object I'd go with a GaryLee rack ...It is specifically designed for these things, but it was cost prohibitive for me. I've had my rack set up since 2015 and haven't had a single issue with it (I added the third cross bar this year).

Shagginwagon -
I would recommend adding the poptop shocks now for you can plan to use one of the bolts to hold the ARG (Artificial Rain Gutter) and the pop top strut (thus a cleaner install and one less hole drilled into the top). The other reason I would do it now is you will be measuring everything and drilling, might as well save the time with the setup and prep and knock it allout and...you will likely want it some day.

I have both the HD and regular version struts from JackBombay and I find the HD to be too MUCH resistance if the roof is empty (I can almost do a pull up and not have the top come down...almost (I'm a small dude though, 140lbs)...

I have the yakima wide body ARG's with Yakima 1A towers and 3 load bars. I have a Thule Mountaineer cargo box (18cuft) and I recently added a modified yakima load warrior (with one mega warrior extension).

The standard duty was okay with my Thule box...it was a nice compromise of being able to manage the top w/o a load and having the assitance when I had a moderate load. When i added the load warrior basket though that changed, I find it difficult to push up the top with the load warrior empty and the thule box empty w/ the HD struts....it is mostly due to the awkward angles of the pop top bar....it isn't a good mechanical lever.....

So what am I trying to say....I would add the pop top struts at the same time, if you dont have much of a load get the regular struts, and know that you can upgrade in the future for minimal cost to get the HD struts when needed.

These pictures are the load warrior packed and my thule box packed.

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'89 2WD Westy "Grey Goose" - Manual 4spd
Crozet VA
Vanaru EJ25, Peloquin

[shagginwagon83]

Sweet! Thanks for all the pictures/info everyone. I might as well do the shock assist when I install the bars.

Now my question is, whats the ideal number of bars? In my opinion 3 seems perfect. Dsdunar, do you recommend the way you spaced the bars? Or do you wish you had did it another way.

[Steve M.]

And a Wind Deflector on the front!
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This free advice is worth exactly what you paid for it.

There are seven days in a week. Someday is not one of them.

[dsdunbar]

This question just recently came up in a different thread, take a look at page one of this thread, I replied about half way down with what i could find:

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...mp;start=0

But for me, as i state in the thread above, I owned my thule box before I owned my van, so i did my spacing based on the install instructions for my thule box. It seems like 36" is the recommendation for Yakima stuff. I didn't have any problem attaching the yakima load warrior to the spacing I did with my thule...but I cant recall what that spacing is...want to say 32".

What i've learned with these boxes and such...if the pre fabricated mounting holes dont align quite right, just add your own ...there is nothing special about the placement of the holes from what i can tell (with some obvious caveats...they are not at the very front and back...)

[timichango]

Anyone ever figure out some kind of installation that carries the actual mass of the load on the van's rain gutters, but swings up with the roof? I'm kind of envisioning a set of load-bearing hinged arms (with their own set of pneumatic shocks maybe) that nestle into the gutters when closed, and carry the load, from which the load towers go up and connect to the crossbars. Then the arms, when the roof is raised, raise with the roof, but keep the actual load off of the roof fibreglass itself?

I'm sure that the direct-to-roof installations are plenty strong, and many are running them, but after doing fibreglass repairs on my roof last summer, I really don't ever want to crack the damned thing again, ever — so I'm paranoid about mounting anything to it directly.
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Vroomhilde-San: Our 1991 Silver Vanagon Westy automatic + Subie EJ25

[dsdunbar]

think that is the GaryLee design for westy's....check out his site (google garylee, I dont have the site onhand)

[joetiger]

[shagginwagon83]

[timichango]