roof rack - will it fit?

[wassell]

Hey everyone,

im looking at some roof rails so i can fit a bike rack and carry a kayak easily.

i came across this, 58 quid for a pair of rails/fixings and it states it fits the scirocco from '81-'92, so should fit my '85 gtx. im just looking for clarification as to whether it fits, as i cant really see much on the "gutter" on the rocco for it to be secure. it'll be carrying my pride and joy racebike too so id like it to be snug fitting.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 97.c0.m619

i know i can drop the bike in the boot, but its a pain in the arse removing the wheels as im not using QR and have floating brakes, so id rather some form of carrier. otherwise a bike rack would be useful but i couldnt carry a kayak.

if anyone has any roof mounts to recommend i'd be very grateful.

thanks

EDIT, just pulled off the guttering cover on the car, maybe this will work. awesome :)

Wassell

[fonzooorooo]

As you've gathered, the plastic gutter trims come out (some seem to have been glued, others not) ... hopefully without breaking the ends off the trims(!) then regular gutter fixing roof bars fit (even Halfords cheapie range) though might require a "fitting kit" which is basically a set of fixing clips with less protrusion toward the centre of the car ( perhaps 4mm rather than 8) ... Struck me after I'd bought some (and the kit) that I could've hacksawed a bit off the standard clips and saved the expense of the seperate fixing kit.

[wassell]

this arrived today, which was nice and quick!

fitted it, seems quite unstable left to right with a good 1" of play. not sure if this is normal though as i have never had a gutter mounted rack before?

but gutted though, not sure if im going to trust the dh bike on the roof i can already see a simple modification to make the rack a lot more stable too, so may have to do that.

[Old Mac Rocco]

Pop a couple of piccys up and see if anyone comes up with any suggestions or comments that may help.

[wassell]

had a good look at it today and changed how it was mounted. how its the cross bars are meant to be mounted would never work so after a few small adjustments it works a treat now :)

[wassell]

for those of you that are interested.

bought myself a thule proride 591 too, awesome bit of kit!

[Nate]

the most secure roofrack you can get sits on the roof between the trim and the door, with 2 clamps that go behind the door each side. i don't think that "gutter" is really designed for roof rack mounting

[wassell]

the most secure roofrack you can get sits on the roof between the trim and the door, with 2 clamps that go behind the door each side. i don't think that "gutter" is really designed for roof rack mounting

couldnt dig up a link to sahow me what you mean could you dude?

this is quite secure as is, but i am a little worries about the fatigue of the gutter rails.

[Jimbob]

Hijacking a bit but relevant: does anyone out there have a pic or link to one of these roofracks that Nate has mentioned??

Have seen these ones on fleabay but the diagram isn't very clear as to how it fits...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CROSS-BARS-RO ... 4841100b09

I don't really want to fit the rack to the gutter but rather have it clamp under the door if you know what I mean..

As for fixing to the back I've seen pics somewhere of bars (they run down the length of the vehicle rather than crossways)which clamp around the back and under the boot.

Have spent a bit of time looking around but can't find anything, anywhere, except for this fleabay one, which I'm not sure about.

Any guidance would be much appreciated as I'd like to get this on my christmas list!!

[Jimbob]

Sorry being a bit lazy, just looked around for 5 mins and found this, some good info and pics..

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.p ... ics-please

[Nate]

those ones in the link are just like the one i had.

quick scoot round ebay turned up http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/290603128519 (although you'd have to have them very close together from the look of the pic, as it shows them mounted one under the front doors, one under the rear doors??)

or halfords will supply one of their 'value' ones that claims to fit for £59.98 (2 bars and fitting kit) but don't show a picture. i'll probably be going in this evening if i get up in time, so i'll check them out...

[fonzooorooo]

Halfords value ones are the "gutter fix" type. They work well enough in practice - You just need to tighten the bracket onto the crossbar last (giving it a good shove at the same time) to take lateral movement out of them. (effectively putting the whole assembly into tension) I've had pretty serious stuff up on mine (including a P shaped shower-bath) with no issues.

If anyone's reading this and is after a set, PM me, as mine are no longer required now I'm rocco-less!

[Village Idiots]

My view, for what it's worth (probably very little!!) is that anything carried on the roof is decidedly dodgy. A friend of mine recently had his kayak slide clean off his roof and into the car in front when he braked sharply at a round about! We put this down to nylon straps which were good and tight when he loaded, but can lengthen when exposed to cold (as on the roof of a vehicle doing a considerable mileage). I have seen evidence of complete roofracks, complete with load coming off. I won't risk a bike which is clearly worth more than double the value of the car on the roof, mine always travels inside, covered, out of view.....less tempting to thieves also. Boats are more problematic. Some of the modern playboats will fit in your car, but they have a habit of dripping water everywhere (I know Roccos are quite good at doing this without help!!). Personally, I use a small trailer for my boats and I can put my bike on it as well. I know trailers can throw up all sorts of other problems also! Maybe we should all sit at home and watch telly and not indulge in interesting outdoor sports.

[Nate]

the only reason stuff comes off a roofrack is that it wasn't properly secured. i've moved all sorts of stuff on the roof over the years without a problem. 2 golden rules: 1- always stop after a mile and recheck the lashings. if they had come loose, stop again after a mile or so and recheck etc etc... 2- always tie them so they are physically restrained from moving forwards, as well as side to side. it takes surprisingly little restraining so that it doesn't start moving, but once it has it takes a hell of a lot to stop it again

i'd put money on those "gutters" not being intended to take a roofrack. you shouldn't have to remove that strip to fit one.

anyone ever tried the inflateable "universal fit" roofracks? saw one the other day - proper weird looking thing