Crossbars

[BillC]

What are some brands of roof-rack crossbars that should be considered or avoided? Not looking for super heavy duty, but a product that'll stand up to carrying camping gear or kayaks to/from the cottage.

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[Jmuns]

Any brand will work. If you are traveling far and/or at highway speeds I’d go with a brand name product that you can trust. And if you are leaving gear on your car I’d also look for some that having me locking feet so you can secure your gear and not be as worried about someone removing the crossbars and taking off with your stuff. I had the OEM bars and then upgraded to some Thule’s. My gear is expensive so I didn’t want to go cheap. Crossbars are one area I personally feel spending money is warranted.

 

[NEFKANO]

I would also recommend spending the extra money (if you can of course...) for either Thule, Yakima or Rhino. I tried a couple of sets of no-name brands from Amazon and unfortunately despite the much lower prices also came with poorer fits.

When you're securing your property atop you are responsible for the safety of others on the road and it would be terrible if something fell off your roof and struck another car.

Now the rack in these pics "is" an Amazon knock off and I paid $205 instead of $600 for a name brand one. In this case the cargo-rack came with very secure anchors that fit my Thule evo bars.

NOTE: these Thule feet and bars are lower than the Ford OEM cross bars. In my case I did not search for a more flush solution since I have a moonroof.

 

[Winds of Change]

It looks like you have it mounted as far bas as it can be. Does this help with reducing any wind noise as I heard that helps?

 

[NEFKANO]

It looks like you have it mounted as far bas as it can be. Does this help with reducing any wind noise as I heard that helps?

I mounted it as close to center as possible both for the rack and the crossbars for optimal weight distribution.... noise was not a consideration in my case. Either way there is an increase in wind noise... but honestly in my opinion unless you're listening for it it will go unnoticed .

I will mention for those of us with a moonroof... its noticeable but disappears as soon as you have the glass and the inner cover closed... But even then its just wind lol

 

[Winds of Change]

I mounted it as close to center as possible both for the rack and the crossbars for optimal weight distribution.... noise was not a consideration in my case. Either way there is an increase in wind noise... but honestly in my opinion unless you're listening for it it will go unnoticed .

I will mention for those of us with a moonroof... its noticeable but disappears as soon as you have the glass and the inner cover closed... But even then its just wind lol

Thanks. That is good to know and acceptable to me.

 

[Mark S.]

But even then its just wind lol

Lemme guess: motorsickle rider?

 

[CableXJ]

I got some crossbars on Amazon for $25.00 CDN as the box was damaged. They have NOT increased noise and have the same weight capacity as the factory crossbars which Ford offered me for $565.00 CDN.

 

[Jmuns]

I got some crossbars on Amazon for $25.00 CDN as the box was damaged. They have NOT increased noise and have the same weight capacity as the factory crossbars which Ford offered me for $565.00 CDN.

Yea the OEM crossbars are overpriced in my opinion. I have a set that I moved over to my wife's BS. I only have them because they were already on the BS on the lot when I bought it.

 

[NEFKANO]

Lemme guess: motorsickle rider?

NOt exactly ... but worked 12 years of my 27 year Law Enforcement career working Highway Patrol... so stood to reason I got used to those noises of the highways...lol Probably loss some hearing as well.

Drove many and newer performance pursuit vehicles before I left the profession in 2019... but this 1990 Rally Sport with 305 v8 and manual transmission was the most fun... even when that engine block overheated.... weekly because of the stresses we placed on them... fun times... made lots... of friends : )

 

[Mark S.]

made lost of friends : )

I can't tell if this is an intentional misspelling or not, but it's pretty funny either way.

I had an IROC for a time--very fun car to drive. Not as much fun as the 6 spd manual EcoBoost Mustang I had, but it was certainly more fun than the wife's Taurus wagon!

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