Metal fabricator for kayak roof rack?

[fatlazyless]

Go to www.ebay.com and enter "automobile roof racks" and the response asks for the car's year, make and model with a find roof rack parts "button" and then has many different items with photos, description and price.

Is so easy, even a Neanderthal cave man could find the correct roof rack part, if he had a car ....... arggghhh!

[upthesaukee]

Originally Posted by fatlazyless

Go to www.ebay.com and enter "automobile roof racks" and the response asks for the car's year, make and model with a find roof rack parts "button" and then has many different items with photos, description and price.

Is so easy, even a Neanderthal cave man could find the correct roof rack part, if he had a car ....... arggghhh!

Or, you can take two jumbo foam noodles from Heath's, run 15 feet of rope through the center, lay them across the roof, put the kayaks on top of the noodles, and secure it all by running rope through the slightly open windows. Bada bing, bada boom.

D(F)a(L)v(L)e

[8gv]

Originally Posted by upthesaukee

Or, you can take two jumbo foam noodles from Heath's, run 15 feet of rope through the center, lay them across the roof, put the kayaks on top of the noodles, and secure it all by running rope through the slightly open windows. Bada bing, bada boom.

D(F)a(L)v(L)e

Been there, done that, too much road noise!

[fatlazyless]

Yes, using two 42"x 4" foam noodles with ropes threading through the interior of the car, between the top of the doors and roof actually works pretty good, for a do-it-yourself, lo-priced, roof rack "system." In addition, running a line from the bow of a kayak/canoe to the front bumper, and from the stern to the rear bumper is definitely recommended because things can go bad fast when going 70-mph down the interstate.

One problem, on a rainy day like today, is surprising how much water travels down the lines, and inside the car, getting the driver, all wet ..... but can be used for securing a kayak or canoe, and is surprising safe and secure, too. Plus, you got a tightly tied rope line, threaded above the two front seats, up at line of sight level, that gets in the way, and to be a safe driver you really need a good sense of the driving surround look-ahead and look-backs.

As I recall, a NH driving violation for an obstructed view or hindrance to driving mechanism costs you $63.

File this method under ..... necessity is the mother of invention .... plus, is a method for when you temporarily have no roof rack and very much need a roof rack.

I've seen where 3/4" x 44" pvc plumbing tubes were inserted down the inside hole of the foam noodle for extra strength and rigidity, and flat web straps with buckle grips as opposed to rope was used for better grip going around the car roof and through the tight space between the closed door and roof line. It's a do-it-yourself project so results will vary ...... but you is a lot better off getting a $250-plus roof rack than going with a $20 temporary foam noodle set-up for obvious reasons.

[nhcatrider]

Any good welding shop will be able to do this, however, it might be expensive and time consuming. Try Merrimack Sheet Metal in Concord or LAD Welding, also in Concord. Good luck.

[SailinAway]

Originally Posted by nhcatrider

Any good welding shop will be able to do this, however, it might be expensive and time consuming. Try Merrimack Sheet Metal in Concord or LAD Welding, also in Concord. Good luck.

Thank you! I'll contact them.

[MRD]

If you are looking for a shop in the Lakes Region try Weld Fab in Gilford. They just did some work for me. They did a great job at a reasonable price customizing my truck seat location.

[rick35]

I found that a really good place to find out about racks is etrailer.com. They have several rhino racks listed for the Sonic and they have great installation videos. I would go with that instead of fabricating a custom option which to me is much more risky. Any rack issues you’ve read about are probably from operator error - like not using front and rear tie downs! I see kayaks on the road all the time like that and wonder how they stay on the roof. Every rack I’ve had says to use tie downs. The mount is set to downward pressure, not upward from not having tie downs. That would certainly explain why a rack would come off.

[SailinAway]

Originally Posted by rick35

Any rack issues you’ve read about are probably from operator error

The information I found is that Thule tried 8 different designs and could not find a design that would stay on the car. ***Thule also tested the Rhino Rack and the GM OEM rack with the same result. Now that I know this, I probably won't go to a metal fabricator, because if this car defeated Thule engineers, that means there is no clamp-on solution for this car, so I will have to go with a permanent rack that screws into the car---also a problem due to the thin sheetmetal roof and the risk of damaging the car and airbags.

So who could I ask to install a permanent rack?

[rick35]

If Thule and Yakima don’t offer a rack for your car I think you’re crazy to consider putting anything on the roof. They know something you haven’t figured out on your own. That little car probable can’t hold the weight and you’ll have a dented roof the first time you use it. Good luck anyway.

[MAXUM]

Originally Posted by upthesaukee

Or, you can take two jumbo foam noodles from Heath's, run 15 feet of rope through the center, lay them across the roof, put the kayaks on top of the noodles, and secure it all by running rope through the slightly open windows. Bada bing, bada boom.

D(F)a(L)v(L)e

Best part your "roof rack" can also double as a PFD.