Roof rack problems

[Ian Main]

I would be interested in hearing if anyone has ever had problems with their roof racks.

I had an absolute nightmare a few weeks back with a Thule rack on my Renault Laguna 2001 when the whole roof rack and two boats flew off my roof at about 70mph. Thankfully no-one was hurt, but I got a real shock.

I have always bought Thule racks because they seem to be bomb proof, but I question whether the rack was faulty, and I am currently trying to get compensation from Thule (unlikely.)

One thing that is coming back is that the particular age of this Laguna may have a problem with the roof, but this is unconfirmed. i am going to try a Renault roof rack to see if I have more luck but do not want to experience this again. I would be interested in hearing from anyone with the same motor as me or with a Renault roof rack, and the quality of it in comparison to Thule.

Does anyone have comments, or advice as to safer ways to tie the boats. The guys in the shop suggested anchoring the boats to the front and back bumper, but I wouldn't have thought doing this with polo boats would be easy, does anyone currently do this and how is it achieved?

Any comments would be appreciated.

[Paddy W]

I had the same problem with a Renault 19, using a Renault roof-rack. The whole load came off on the motorway and very fortunately did not casue an accident. I assume the Laguna is similar to the Renault 19 in that the roof rack was attached via a very small lip on the door.
Since that happened I always tie the front of the lood down and also the back. This is not posssible with polo boats as there is no
end loops. It would help if polo boat manufacturers added some kind of loop, (inside the boat?), to which ropes, straps or security wires could be attached.

Lots of other people I have spoken to have had similar experiences (i.e. not just Renault and not just polo boats)

Perhaps the solution is to buy a car with roof bars to which the roof rack is attached?

I now have a Ford Focus with a Thule roof rack and that seems to work ok. I never take the roof rack off as it would be easy to put it back on incorrectly in a hurry.

[Ian Main]

Thanks for your reply Paddy.

I would love to buy a new car with bars except the car is a company car which I am stuck with for the next three years.

I think I may leave the rack on all the time as you suggest, I have for the last ten years taken racks on and off as required.

Does anyone else have any comments?

Thanks for your help.

[wayne]

My computer on my car shows a 15% drop in fuel economy when I have bars on - this amounts to just under 100 miles less out of a full tank. I've had problems with Thule before, and they're damn expensive too. Halfords seem a lot better, and usually very well designed. Roof bars are the real answer though.

Paul

[fins]

Hi

that is def not a good thing, all the guys in our club have used a different number of racks on cars and to my knowledge none of them have come off.. did hear about Napier loosing there boats last season. I have a halfords rack on my cavalier and have had no problems.

[chiang]

I wanted to ask from you guys who had the roof racks come off while you were driving...did you have trouble again if you attached another rack? I mean I would think that the rack being pulled from the roof by the wind would have warped the roof the the car, no? Could you fit another rack up there on the same car without too much hassle.

I will admit first that I am a moron; my roof rack did not blow off at 70mph on the highway. I rippped my roof rack off my car as I drove my road bike into the garage, so I do have a little bit of a problem with the roof being a bit warped where the rack was set.

Cheers,
--TC

[richk]

the problem with modern cars is that the attachment points for roof racks are usually made from light materials, moden roofracks are usually designed to take a couple of pairs of skis and thats about it.
Driving at 70mph theres enormous amounts of wind blowing up from the windscreen and when youve got a couple of boats lying flat on the roof theres nowhere for that wind to go. Not to mention the fact that a polo boat upside-down on your roof has the same shape as a aeroplane wing. You probably saw that when the roofrack blew off it went straight up in the air.
Perhaps we should do as our whitewater brothers do and put a bar on the roofrack at 90 degrees so we can safely tie the boats on their side.
Perhaps you should drive a bit slower!
Rich

[fins]

one of the teams that have lost there boats did have them on their side, it's the only way you can have 5 boats on your roof. I've had boats on my roof on their side and upside down at speeds higher than 70 and have had no problems.

[Cormac]

I use to have a problem with my Renault roof rack on my Clio, but I with a bit of playing about with it I discovered that I was making several mistakes, which were very easy to make.
- I use to leave the roof rack on at all times, the fittings were working loose and need to be checked when I put the boat back on each week.
- positioning of the roof rack, especially since it is very easy to put them on the wrong way round (and no not the front one at the back etc, I'm not quite that thick)
- I also use to over load the roof rack, 4 boats with gear on the roof of the car does not go well with small back roads in Ireland.
- over tightening the straps can cause the bar to bend slightly and losten their grip to the roof.

Check over these and it might help.

[Paddy W]

A few points:-

If you leave your rack on all the time, it wil according to my car's handbook, add 10% to your fuel consumption. As I use it quite frequently I leave it on and check it before using it. You should be able to rock the car from side to side using the rack. Also you should not be able to move it at all forwards/backwards. Try to shift it. If it moves then adjust/tighten it.

You need to fix the racks in the exact point as per fitting instructions otherwise it may not hold correctly.

Modern cars no longer have gutters to which roof racks can be
attached and as a result are I beleive less secure.

The way you load the boats makes a big difference. Try to load them in an aerodynamic way (i.e. no uplift at speed).

I use upright bars and believe this is more secure although I was using one at the time the laod came off my car. The problem was caused by me incorrectly tying the boats so that the uprights were pulled towards each other and it dislodged the rack at the attachment point. (You learn by your mistakes!)

[Ian Main]

Thanks for all contributors, all interesting stuff.

Update on my situation;

Got a rack fitted by a Renault dealer, had a look at the fitting instructions and low and behold a note that if my car was pre March 02 of the new shape Laguna there may be a retrofit required to ensure safety of the rack, along with the warning the rack may come off when loaded if this kit was not fitted!!!!!!!!!

Talk about shutting the barn door once the horse has bolted!

While still happy no-one was injured in the incident I feel a bit angry that Thule sold me a rack for a car which has technical issues. Does anyone know a good lawyer or how I would stand if I tried to get compensation?

I am going to get the kit fitted and go with the Renault rack, hopefully the boats will not fly off again. If anyone has an idea of how to anchor polo boats to the towing points I would love to hear it because I don't think my nerves can stand the suspense of this problem happening again.

Cheers

Ian

[mrplaybus]

Not sure but I think that Halfords and most car manufacturers roofracks are made by Thule with lower grade materials ( but when/if you buy thule you are still paying extra for the name). Anyone know different? Blaming Thule for an inherent flaw in car design seems a little harsh, to me, but can appreciate how you feel.

laters
a

[hoody]

You are probobly right mrplaybus about the halfords roofracks being made by thule, but i was duped into spending cash on a Fiat :( roofrack and was more than dissapointed with the roofrack quality. Having loaded the boats "4" onto the car with a t bar and good quality straps we all jumped into my motor and headed off for training. Getting just 6 miles down the road i heard a load clunking noise :( , stopping off at a local petrol station we noticed that the front passengers bracket had lifted off the fixxing point, much muttering and swearing later we headed back to our shed and changed cars to continue on to training. The next week i was in halfords and bought a thule roof rack for my car, fitting the system was a doddle and the whole roof rack was really secure to the car. I have never had any more problems with my roof racks again "touch wood " and have since changed cars to a Ford focus again a good quality fixxing is gained.

Ian i think has been very unlucky " lucky that my boat wasnt on his roof " and we have always said that Thule made good quality, but if there is a change in the cars roof fixxings there is nothing that you can do if your given what you think is the correct roof rack for your car.

[Martijn]

Hi,

I've heard of two people losing their boats on the highway... if I'm correct it we're both Renault Kangoos... so if you have a Kangoo be very carefull as well.
When I bought a car.. one of my main criterias was that it should be one that comes with bars on the roof .. as it seems to me that there are a lot of doubtful systems around with roof racks on cars.. and bars fitted in the factory should be strong enough (imo).
I had 8 polo boats on the roof several times.. and no problem at all..

My parents have a Laguna from '99 it's a wagon though with bars on it... they've bought a rack from Zolzer (http://www.zoelzer.de/shop_eng/pi206694161.htm?categoryId=20) And it seems to me it's one of the strongest systems there is... of course I don't know about the fittings for all other types of cars.. and I think they use fittings from thule as well in some cases..

Well.. that all I really have to say.. good luck..

[Menno]

Originally posted by Cormac

- over tightening the straps can cause the bar to bend slightly and losten their grip to the roof.


Is it possible that this can be prevented by using straps between the upstanding bars?

Menno

[TzeWee]

Notice that you guys tie the boat up along the sides on the roof rack. How do you all prevent the boat from sliding front or back if it is not secured in front or back?? :stupid:

[michielv]

I simply tie my boat upside down, nose to the rear (which should not result in the "aeroplane wing" RichK is describing), use two good quality straps and that's it. Main thing you have to keep in mind is that you don't want the straps to loosen up so you have to block that little clamp more by a simple knot.

Knowing to make decent knots is one reason I'm glad I was a boy scout for a few years :lepr:

BTW: if you tie the boat in two places it will not move because the center part of the boat is always wider than either end and this cannot go through the strap. However, this requires the straps not to loosen up of course.
:thumbup:

[Bee]

Ah, the good old days when cars still had gutters.
I run a 3000cc Vauxhall / Opel Omega built the old fashioned way (With gutters)
I use a Thule bar set with the Thule 'loop' uprights.
Loaded with up to 5 polo boats (On edge, i.e. seams vertical) + a paddle bag, I have often done runs of 150 km/h or so for 100's of km with no problems, also many back roads, with the high side forces that they create when 'cornering with enthusiasm'.
The run from London to Ieper with boats loaded so full of camping kit, it's hard to lift them onto the roof, also has proved problem free.
Either I'm very lucky, or, the rack is only as good as the bits it's bolted to, and gutters don't move, I love 'em. (The comment about modern racks are designed with a pair of skis in mind is probably closer to the truth than most manufacturers would admit).
Oh, if you really are paranoid about your pride and joy going walkabouts, try this.
Using strong rope, make a loop that is tight around your boat at about 500mm in from each end.
You now have 2 x loops that you can rope together, kind of end to end.
As the boat gets bigger towards the cockpit, the whole thing will get tight and solid.
Now take a rope from car bumper or whatever from front and back and rope that to your 'Boat Bra' (Sorry, that seems to the only way to describe it )
There you are, nothing is going to go anywhere unless the rope breaks, and it's all tied down.
The only problem is of possible 'Rope burns on your paintwork'
Use your initiative (Or a bit of rag)
Bee.