It's the summer so what better time to take a beginners guide to a car roof rack. At MicksGarage we've been selling car roof racks and van roof racks, roof rack for jeeps, MPVs, 4x4s etc for many years now, with various brands such from Thule roof racks to Le Prealpina. While most people still refer to them as roof racks, the reality is that most cars are now fitted with roof bars, and roof racks tend to be more common on commercial vehicles. A car roof bar set consists generally of two roof bars and a fitting kit, which attaches on to the roof of the vehicle.
Some roof bars come preassembled while others require assembly - but it's generally no more than 20 minutes work and if you've ever tackled the most basic flat pack furniture, you'll be fine for this. It is important to note that there is never any drilling required when fitting roof bars onto the roof of a car and there is no damage to paintwork or bodywork.
A vehicle will generally take one of these types of roof rack.
1. Railing roof bars: these attach on to pre-existing roof rails on a car. Roof rails are commonly factory-fitted onto MPVs, jeeps, 4x4s and many new estate cars. Railing roof bars are the easiest roof bars to fit as they generally come preassembled and simply grip onto the roof rails running from front to back at the side of the vehicles roof.
2. Fixed point roof bars: These are roof bars which screw into fixed points on the roof of your car. Commercial vehicle roof bars will often use this sytem.Many vehicles will have fixed points on the roof (at points above each door).
3. Clamp style roof bars: These clamp onto the roof of the car, above the door and around the roof. Once they are tightened up, these roof bars are extremely secure. Many vehicles use this system.
Before attaching any car roof boxes, roof mounted bike carriers, surfboard carriers, boat carriers etc, you must first attach a set of roof bars to the car. The other devices then attach to the roof bars. You can often leave the roof bars on the car but if you're not planning on using them for a long period you can take them off the car easily.
For further information and products see: http://www.micksgarage.com/roof-racks-bars-carriers/