roof rail cross bar suggestion

[gizelda196]

I have searched through this site.I am looking for suggestion to the crossbars. By reading through it looks as if the OEM arent really worth it. I have the rails on my 2008 rogue. Never bothered with the crossbars until now. I live in the north east and noticed some owners on the forum had snow removal issues and so forth. What I am looking for is suggestions for Carrying 2 kayaks? The sporting good stores offers universal. Wondering if this is a good option versus the OEMs. I have a sunroof.any suggestions or helpful hints you may have thanks so much

[therealroland]

I'm waiting for the Nissan ones; once installed I'll let you know what they look like. I did briefly look at Thule ; REI sells some as well, but I thought the price was pretty high, similar to the real Nissan ones...

[therealroland]

I got the crossbars today. Edit: for the 2014 Rogue

Be -very- careful pulling out the black 'nubs' that are covering the holes in the roof rails. I snapped off one, very easily, so now I have to find out how to get the remainder out of the bolt hole. Anybody has an idea? I used a flat screwdriver to work it loose a bit, then use a pair of pliers (the one to use take nails out of wood, sorry, not a native English speaker...) to extract it pulling it straight out of the hole.

The bolts delivered with the cross bars are 'torx'. A torx key is supplied with the crossbars. An installation manual / sheet however you have to download yourself. Not sure if I like torx in general - seems very easy to 'strip' or damage the hole in the bolt itself, when applying pressure.

Also, the location of the bolt ( inside of the rails ) means you may need a step ladder, etc. I'm 6-6, so was able to work on it without stepstools (with the front doors open, so you are closer to the rails compared to when doors are closed )

Place a blanket / cloth on the roof when working on attaching it - better safe than sorry!

Installation is straightforward, at least once the bolt holes are free of remainders of these nubs ;-)

I got these from the dealer, at cost/list, for $243 including taxes.

So, once I figure out how to extract that plastic bit - I'm good to go!

Edit: bars rated at 45kg/100lbs as per the stickers on the bars.

[therealroland]

After a long road trip I'm considering taking the crossbars off between trips. Lots of high pitched wind noise, with or without the box on top. In that case I think aftermarket systems might be easier to remove/install, since some have clamps rather than bolts.