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There is nothing like a long family road trip. It’s the stuff good memories are made of, but those memories can be a little marred by cramped sitting room, with luggage on laps, or of having to forgo long bicycle rides in the countryside because of a lack of space. With this in mind, it makes perfect sense to install a car roof rack. Car manufacturers have been incorporating roof racks into their models since the sixties and now all sorts of varieties are available for the everyday consumer.

Car roof racks can do a lot nowadays and with various roof rack accessories that improve versatility, you can easily take bicycles, camping gear, cargo boxes, kayaks, luggage, and snowboards, or whatever else you choose, with you wherever they go. But roof racks can be expensive, so it is important to choose the right rack for your vehicle, and your needs.

Put a roof rack on it

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Most older cars came standard with installed towers, side rails, crossbars and mounting points. The latest cars however, don’t, so a roof rack would have to be added as an extra, after having a car roof rack system installed. This is where universal car roof racks come in, because they are interchangeable. You can move them from one vehicle to the next.

Some useful roof rack tips

It is necessary to take your time with choosing the right car roof rack, and these useful tips will help simplify some of the more intricate aspects.

There are weight restrictions to what a car may carry safely. So before choosing a roof rack, first call the manufacturer for advice and for specs on how much weight your car’s roof can support. Then, while looking at prospective racks, be careful to consider the resistance of each roof rack –  is it durable? Can it withstand wind and rain? You want to take wind resistance into account too, because some of the cons of a roof rack is that it may hinder aerodynamics, therefore affecting fuel mileage. It might also be noisy when driving fast or in heavy winds.

Make sure that, included with the roof rack, are all the roof rack accessories: most importantly, locks and pads. These secure the rack in place and protect the car’s finish from contact with your load. Extra accessories are also available, and should definitely be looked at. Things like rubber plugs protect the racks from rust, prolonging their lifespan. There are also products on the market that help in the loading process, because lifting heavy items to secure on the roof of the car can be difficult.

Things for the driver to remember

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Once you have installed a car roof rack system, it is permanently attached. So, when you sell your car, the roof rack goes with. And a bit more obvious, once the roof rack is loaded with stuff, as the driver, you’ll have to keep height restrictions in mind – just because a roof rack allows luggage not to be obtrusive doesn’t mean the luggage isn’t there. Also, drive carefully, because in some conditions, a heavy load could cause the car to be slightly unstable.

For long journeys, and for those who generally love outdoor activities, a car roof rack just makes good sense, and that means way more leg room inside the vehicle, therefore very few road trip blues.