I need to locate a roof rack to carry my kayaks an bikes, does anyone know and have a link to a complany who makes one for our cars.

 

https://www.sportsrack.com/

 

www.thuleracks.com, visit my website to see picks on car

 

Check for deals on ebay. There's bunch of used/new complete racks for sale.

 

I've worked at a ski shop for 8 years now and have tried/used/sold/serviced all the major brands, including Yakima, Thule, and Barrecrafters (the 3 biggest companies).

I strongly suggest you go with a THULE rack system, if you want the best quality and something that will last and not break. I have the same Thule rack on my max that I have had on my previous 2 cars, and nothing has broken in those 7 years, and no noticeable rust either. Yakima and Barrecrafters are not as good quality (and our store sells them both, by the way).....

My rack has carried skis, bikes, kayaks, lumber, and just about anything else you can think of.....

All in all, here's what you're looking at for price:
ballpark $$
"Feet" - $100
"Fit Kit (specific to your car) - $40
Bars - $40-50 depending on length (I use 48" bars)
Lock set (suggest you get one with 8 lock cores, so all your keys are the same for all components $20-$50
Fairing (if you want one) - $40 or so

add-on components:
Bike rails - about $80-120 each - I suggest you get the "fork mount" rack (Thule calls it the "Velo vise" or "Long tray classic")...you have to take off the front wheel of the bike...the stand-up racks do not hold the bike as securely
Kayak braces - around $50 for a set

pm me if you want more info....

maximas with Thule racks (mine and my buddy's)

 

heh. I sold my complete Thule rack for Yakima rack.

 

eek! well, better not keep it on your car all the time....I've seen a ton of Yaki racks returned to our shop because they get all rusty after a couple years...only problem is Yaki does not consider rust to be a "warranty issue". Good ol American quality for you (thule, of course, is from sweden, where the weather is always bad )

one plus on Yaki though is that they have the round bars so you can fold down your components parallel with the roof when not in use....

 

of course with any rack with a fairing, it's a good place to add some artwork....

 

I have a yakima rack I'll sell ya...

q Towers($125) paid $45
Q95 Clips 2 Pairs($24*2)
48" CrossBar($45)
Steel Head fork mount($100*2)
44" Fairing ($50)
SKS Lock Cores 6pack($50)
Wheel Fork($30*2)

$578 origainlly, but I'd take half + shipping

go through the wizard at www.yakima.com

 

IRISH-
do you know all the specifics for the racks for an 01 max, i wanna get the big powder i think they were called that hold 2 boards. How much would this prolly be in the area of? thanx , also could u get any specials or anything?

 

Big powderhound (this is for the Yakima, not Thule, in case you don't know ) runs about $85-100 at our shop, depending if its on sale or not......Yeah the bigpowderhound will hold actually 4 boards (if you put them base to base). Regular powderhound will hold 2 boards base to base...

unfortunately I can't really hook anyone up with deals since I only work there part-time on the weekends (I'm lucky they give ME the big discounts I get).....but our discounts come from ordering directly from manufacturers ("pro-form")...our discount buying stuff out of the shop itself is not all that big....

I bet you could find a big powderhound pretty cheap on ebay in the early winter though...

 

...but blkmaxx you have to have the rest of the Yakima system to put it on....

 

I recommend the THULE. They are very durable and look great on the car.

 

Only reason why I switched to Yakima was because of Viper bike rack.

 

whats the equivilent of the powder hounds with thule?, i just need to hold two boards

 

I'm also interested in getting roof rack with bike attachements. The fork mount irish44j mentions sounds PITA if you have to load and unload the bike often. And in this configuration does the wheel stay on the roof (with proper attachement of some sord)? Or do you have to carry them in your trunk? Is there any good bike attahcements where you do not have to take the wheels off?

Thanks!

 

you can get wheel carriers that hold just the front wheels

 

Irish 44 j..... R u still selling ur racks??? I need one for my max.... Let me know..... Email me at nengyang-88@hotmail.com
Thanks!