(Part 2) Reddit mentions: The best cargo racks

I load 100s of bikes solo into my truck (f150 4x4) every year, and have ot lost one yet. you get really good at it. you should practice with 2 people until you get it figured out. I load standing on the right hand side of the bike. I don't use a secondary ramp or step. I don't load the bike under it's own power. A 350 lb bike you should be able to load yourself. I use a straight ramp, but you will probably be more comfortable with a curved ramp. I get the bike to the peak, and switch from both hands on the bars to one hand on the right side of the bars (or the middle) and the other hand on some sort of rear grab point(over the seat, swingarm or whatever i can get my hand on). once the bike is past the peak, i just walk it forward.

depending on the height of the bed, and the ramp style (straight ramps tend to hang up on exhaust/case/etc) you should be able to do this yourself with some practice. as everyone else has mentioned, if you can make the ramp more horizontal (curb/dip/etc) it will be much easier.

before it's up there, you should have your straps ready. one strap each side (on the bed hooks), to the bars. attach one strap and tighten it down enough to pull the bike a little before vertical, balancing the bike, not at 90 degrees.. the front wheel must be straight and firmly placed against the front of the bed of the truck. go to the other side and strap it up. tighten both straps down until the bars can not be turned. you are using the forks to keep the bike forward and immobilized.


had this on my last F150. never got into the bed of the truck to load or unload unless I was using the center spot.
https://www.amazon.com/CCR-Sport-Buddy-Motorcycle-CCR001/dp/B019Y5EXG8

alternatively, you can do it the girl way:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqMYl8fAf-A

This isn't on an overlanding vehicle, but some of you guys may find it useful....


This is a 2010 Hyundai Veracruz (good car). With it's third-row seating, it can comfortable fit seven people with no luggage, or four/five people with luggage. I've got to take seven people on vacation, so that's a problem.

The OEM Hyundai roof rack crossbars are almost $200. No thank you.

This setup was purchased entirely at Home Depot and costs around $50 (you could do it for $40 without painting and depending on your choice of hardware). It consists of a 10-foot piece of UniStrut ($20) cut basically in half and fastened to the main cargo bars with 2.5-inch U-Bolts (pipe clamps, make sure you measure the width and height of your vehicle's main cargo bars to ensure your U-bolts will fit around and stick up above it far enough to accept the hardware). I also installed some 5/16 I-bolts out on the edges to serve as loops for ratchet straps/bungee cords, although the UniStrut has plenty of holes in it and you could probably skip this step if you want. I also used several large washers (15 to 20 cents each) to give the bolts some extra grip, as the UniStrut slots are kind of large.

Last step was to paint it black and wrap a pair of bungee cords around the bars. The bungee cords are necessary to break up the singing noise the wind makes at 40 mph as it whistles through the bars (instead of a roar or whistle, mine sounded like a high-pitch whine... think of people who play water glasses).

For $50 or less, it's on there so tight you can rock the whole car back and forth by the bars. I bought a box of lock washers and didn't even use them. I got this idea on some YouTube videos where guys were using aluminum box tubing. I couldn't get any such tubing at Home Depot, and that's fine because you don't have to drill any holes in the UniStrut.

DeeZee makes a great quality ladder, for a super affordable price. I can’t praise the quality enough for how cheap it is.

It is true that you will not have rear window access, which isn’t ever an issue for me so I did it. Makes easy access to the roof rack while giving a great overland-look. Not terribly functional for me, as I’m 6’3 and can reach the roof fine standing on the rear bumper. but if I need to climb on top of the truck now I can. Was a super easy install, hardware is included and everything.

https://www.amazon.com/Dee-Zee-DZ760611-UltraBlack-Cruiser/dp/B001OCXCZS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1550255081&sr=8-2&keywords=fj+cruiser+ladder

I bought these:
Roof Racks Fits 2017-2018 Jeep... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07J33W94F?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

I wouldn’t recommend them though. There’s plenty of other options. I don’t recommend them because mounting holes were off and needed filing to fit properly. Also, the lack of instructions made it 2 full hours of pain and agony. I bought them because I didn’t want to pay MOPAR’s huge price tag to save for the Yakima Loadwarrior. It works fine, but needed work and some “good ol’ fashioned” elbow grease.

I can’t be a reviewer of this product because I don’t own them, but they look like a better option. If you get anything, look at these:
BRIGHTLINES 2018-2019 Jeep Compass Roof Rack Crossbars https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07LGFG7JD/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_-Q.QCbWXSSJHS

Good luck!

Thanks. Best of luck with yours as well.

I definitely want roof racks, too. I was looking at these earlier:
http://www.amazon.com/2014-Tacoma-Roof-Rack-Color/dp/B00GBBDSVA

Any better suggestions?

It's pretty good so far. It's this one off Amazon.

Didn't need any extra parts, just had to flip the bottom part of the mounting brackets to fit the OEM cross bars (not mentioned in the instructions). The instructions that came with it were garbage, and it's missing some hardware...but I'm gonna get some stainless steel stuff anyway since the stuff that came with it was only nickel plated. .

Other than that it looks great and fits perfectly.

I bought these when they were like $50 and they work pretty well. I drive a dodge neon too if that helps any. Pretty stable with 2 Kayaks and J bars attached.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00EF3SAJQ/ref=yo_ii_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Thule and Yakima are the biggest brands, they both are likely to offer systems compatible with either car. I would suggest checking out Yakima first as they tend to be a lot cheaper. You put together a system by ordering towers, clips (that make the generic towers fit your exact car), and then crossbars. You will also need some tie down straps to secure them. You can also optionally purchase kayak-specific mounting hardware that connects to the crossbars and makes them easier to mount. Personally, I own the SportRack kayak mounts and a Rola truck rack and have been pretty happy with them.

https://explore.yakima.com/rack-101
http://www.sportrack.com/p/mooring-4-in-1?pp=24
https://www.amazon.com/ROLA-59742-Haul-Your-Might-Removable-Truck/dp/B00F9YGM4U

Crossbars are: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0100WNVLM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_iG6JAbY647309

Ski / snowboard rack: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01K5HSNL0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_rH6JAbMN60AW2

I went with the Subaru part number on the Thule rack, just because I knew it was the size I wanted. You can definitely find cheaper / similar racks.

The crossbars are pretty generic too. You can probably find these for even half of this price. I thought $100 shipped was pretty good at the time!

Neither are actually Renegade specific.

Edit: Reason I went with the Subaru Thule part number. Everything has to match!

What Jeep do you have? I'm very fond of the body armor rack that I got. Very happy I got it over the other ones. Mixed with https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00EF3YPF4/ref=ya_aw_od_pi?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I use Yakima bars. Way better than the body armor price for the mounts as well as about 3 inches lower clearance.

But that was my thoughts exactly. It's my daily. I can't go run it into a boulder and let it sit until I get around to fixing it. I need it usually the day after a off road trip.

This was definitely the best haul I've had yet.

I got a like-new Osprey Aura AG 65 for my fiance for $55. We have been looking at this exact model for a month or so now. Been waiting on a good deal. Also got a like new Rockymounts bike rack for $25. I already have two on my car and wanted one more.

I think the person ringing me up accidentally gave me 80% off instead of the 40% they were marked for.

I'm wondering if a Yakima-style cargo basket could be a good solution. Cheap, maybe won't harm MPG too much, gas is safely stored outside the cabin.

I always use Thule - if it's a good one to start with it's gonna last for many years so it's worth the initial investment.

I've had a few different sorts of roof bars & uprights and found these the best by far.

Depends how much you're going to use it afterward. If you're really just doing it for a trip across the country and have no plans to do anything else, you can get one of these: https://amazon.com/Rightline-Gear-100S30-Waterproof-Attaches/dp/B0012INT98 or something similar. I had a roof rack on my CR-Z, but my wife had one of these strapped to the roof of her Fit, and I think her's did better than an actual roof rack.

The least expensive option for bike racks is going to be a trunk mount bike rack. Even the name brand racks are less than $150.

Thule Passage - $150

Yakima Hang Out - $100

Allen Sports (Amazon Choice) - $40

I used a cheap rack, like the last option, I got off craigslist for years, never had an issue. The trick is to tighten everything when you mount the rack, then re-tighten after you mount the bikes. Whether you want options like folding arms, is up to you, but that's a good option if you are keeping the rack on 24/7.

There's OEM racks on Amazon for about $300. If you want that style and aesthetic, it's a good way to go; the caveat is that they're only rated to 75lb.

Otherwise, I recently cobbled together a Thule Squarebar setup out of a combo of buying foot adapters + bars on the Thule site and finding the pads on Ebay for cheaper. That ran me about $350-380, and has a much higher load rating, as well as the advantage of the Thule accessory ecosystem.

I have an enormous CVT rtt. My buddy has a Tepui. He says my foam mattress is better, I have my doubts. They are both fine tents. I have mine atop a off road teardrop and it's a chore to set it up and take it down. The James baroud tents are actuated with pistons and are probably a little easier to deal with. I went with a trailer to be able to leave camp and go explore without having to take camp with me. I have a 4runner with a standard Yakima round bar rack that accepts the rtt (same on the teardrop). And I have a Rola rack on the Taco that I had to make larger brackets for in order to bolt the rtt down.

ROLA 59799 Haul-Your-Might Rack... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00V9T0HZ4?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf

If the rail is 400# max then I personally wouldn't risk putting over 400# on the rail regardless of what the other pieces are rated for. I recommend using a larger capacity model like 600# one from Black Widow. I've been using their 400# model for my 300# XT250 just fine.

Yeah with the arm clamp models you'd have to remove the rack. I have a really hard time managing 2 bikes at once on my Freedom EX though.

Been thinking about switching to a sea sucker roof mount lately.

This is the strap I use

Easy to tighten and it stays tight. I keep both halves in my trunk and after a year still looks brand new.

I have the OEM bars on my MK5 GTi. I like them. I'd recommend them. I believe Amazon had them for around ~$250

Bought a swagman xtc rack when I bought my hitch from etrailer a few months ago. They're around ~$215 or you can get the cheaper swagman xc for ~$100 (same thing, but xtc is the update with nicer platforms). They both had around 1000 reviews at 4.5 stars and I've had no problems with mine.

I bought curt's bike rack support strap and it made the rack solid with no worries about wobbling. Just took it on a 5hr road trip with 2 road bikes driving at ~80mph. I could do 85-90 but it would wobble a little so I stuck around 80.

To combat the scratching the frame problem I bought pipe insulation (aka pool noodles) for $5 and put them on over the top tubes so no worries about the rack scratching anything.

Just be aware that the rack can only fit tires <= 2.5inch or else you need to buy the wider platforms from amazon which are like $15 for a pair or something if you have a fat bike.

I would probably remove the battery, seat post, and front wheel if you can to reduce weight. Try using these straps that hooks onto your trunk to help out with the load:

Curt 18050

I like the look of OEM bars, they're flush in that the bars don't extend beyond the roof and hit you.

http://www.amazon.com/1K0-071-126-Original-Volkswagen-Racks-06-14/dp/B0063KI3V4

I use these

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Thule-Kayak-Stacker-Canoes-Kayaks/dp/B000BSDUJE/ref=pd_sim_sbs_sg_1/278-5805233-0525724

Have had up to four kayaks across the roof, never any problems in high winds. You sometimes feel it pulling on the car, but the kayaks have yet to move.

What's the brand and model of hitch you installed? What's the class rating? Year make and model of the vehicle?

http://www.amazon.com/CURT-18050-Bike-Stabilizer-Strap/dp/B003721CC8

No need to search--this is what I bought.

https://www.amazon.com/CURT-18050-Bike-Support-Strap/dp/B003721CC8