roof rack questions

501 Views 7 Replies 3 Participants Last post by Speedtek22, 2 mo ago

fada1000

Discussion Starter · 2 mo ago

I need some answers and advice that I can't seem to find on the internet. I have a small painting business. I sometimes have to haul a 6 and 8 foot ladders. I've had a nissan cube for 12 years. and has been perfect.
I have yakima clamp on bars set at 42" apart. the cube is square and has a long flat roof so it has made things easy. however. i need a new car now. since they don't make square vehicles anymore, i have to be creative.
i found a wonderful company that makes ladder racks that can mount to almost any roof rack. Piggyback ladder racks. trouble is, I need for the cross bars to be at least 36" between...most of the small SUVs have rails that only give you 27-30 inches. the Venue is out (27.8") so is the Kona. if i search on the yakima site, it tells me i can have 36" spread with the 2023 Seltos. is it true? are their 'fixed' place where the bars have to be attached? or can i adjust to my liking? this is a very important detail that no one seems to know. unless i go to the dealer with my measuring tape and find out myself.

See less See more

Save

1 - 3 of 8 Posts

Rgue

· #2 · 2 mo ago

Most cross bars have an adjustable width so they can fit multiple vehicles. The rails on the seltos are not parallel, and are roughly 36"-40" on the outside of the rails.

Edit: saw your other post. Im getting custom rails fabricated to support a roof top tent. The cost will be $1000-$2000 canadian for rails and crossbars when its done.

Save

Rgue

· #4 · 2 mo ago

Here's some pictures for you. The first picture shows the rails being straight, at least at locations where you would want to attatch crossbars at. In the pictures below you can see what i mean about the rails not being parallel. The crossbars are adjustable, so the top part of the crossbar slides in and out of the ends/mounts so that they can accommodate rails like so. The stock rails are in a fixed location and cannot be moved. Im getting steel ones fabricated and they will be parallel so that i can move the custom steel crossbars, which will be a fixed length, anywhere i need them to be.

Below is the measurement where you would want to have the most forward crossbar mounted, would cover the sunroof slightly.

And below is at the rear, about 2" infront of the fin for the antenna.

See less See more

Save

Rgue

· #6 · 2 mo ago

fada1000 said:
nice to see these photos. I can see there are small circles, assuming where some bar systems can be attached, but are how much are you going to space yours out (front to back) yakima site says their systems can spread 36 inches. which is hopeful for me, however, yakima is super expensive. I was hoping i could get a system that clamps onto the rails and be flexible about location. Omac makes an inexpensive bar clip/clamp system that does not appear to need to be anchored at a certain access point. only $111.

The circles you see in the pictures are just covers for the bolts the hold the rails to the roof. Flush mount rails are probably the worst style for actual usability. Basicly just for looks. The manual does state that they can hold up to 220lbs with the correct crossbars, but i don't trust them at all, which is why im getting custom ones made. Im also planning on having 120lbs on top of the roof for at least 6 months out of the year.

Save

1 - 3 of 8 Posts

Top Contributors this Month