Some more on roof racks

[dave230]

I test fitted my 14' kayak on the standard roof rack today... I figured it was going to present some problems, and sure enough it really does. I'm off to the Yakima dealer shortly.

I had a 2002 Pathfinder before this car, and I really have had no problem making the transition... love the Rogue. However, you could build a house on the roof rack on an SE Pathfinder, and the same can't be said for the Rogue.

Number one... the cross rails are way too close together. I tried using my J-cradle kayak holders and gave up immediately. The widest part of the boat sits in the cradles and the boat will not lean back at all. Extremely unstable, and I wouldn't dare to even drive it down the street with that setup. Again, on the Pathfinder I had nearly five feet between roof rails... what a difference!

OK, tried my foam blocks that wrap around the cross bars. Somewhat better, but due to the shape of the roof, the boat was tipped way up in the front. Still no good. I got a knife out and shaved two inches off the front foam block and got the thing about level. Looked better, but still very shaky due to the short distance between cross bars.

Tied it down and out on the Northway for a quick test. At 65mph the boat was vibrating and moving all over the place. The whole rack moves with it. No way this would be safe.

And then you have to take the front license plate off to use the tow hook to tie the front down, which would insure some pleasant conversational time with the state troopers up in the Adirondacks... and the strap or rope is going to rub all over the rounded hood as well.

There is so much flex in the factory rack that it really is unusable. I get the fact that the crossbars are positioned away from the sunroof, but on the Pathfinder you could adjust them and bring the front crossbar all the way forward while using the rack, and then quickly slide it back past the roof when done. That rack was fantastic, and this one is worthless as is.

I'm hoping the Yakima stuff will be the answer, but it's too bad that you have to spend three or four hundred dollars more just to make the roof rack usable on what is loosely marketed as as at least sort of an SUV.

Don't get me wrong, still love this car, but there are times when you realize that it really is a car and not the truck that the old PF was.

[philipa_240sx]

IMHO the factory crossbars are more for decoration than serious use. Get yourself a set of Yakima Lowriders and 56" crossbars like my setup and you won't look back. The crossbar spacing will be much, much better. You may also want to get a fairing as well which will cut down on wind noise.

As for the license plate, just move it up so the plate is secured using the lower bolt holes.

More info in this thread:zerothread/318590

[dave230]

Two hours and $248 later, a whole new ball game! I got the same Yakima low rider system you did (although I went with the 48" rails since my needs are very specific and that gets it done). By moving the crossbar mounting points all the way to the front and rear of the Nissan rails, I got well over a foot more solid mounting platform... between that and the heavy duty construction on the Yakima stuff, the solution is perfect. No jiggle, wander or shake at all on the boat now.

I'm taking the Nissan crossbars off so when the Yakima is off also (most of the time) things will be a bit quieter up top as well. As far as some wind noise when the boat is up there, who cares!

I also tried out the Thule system, which I thought I'd like due to the rectangular cross rails... but using up every inch of the Nissan side rails results in those cross rails being at pretty good angles off flat... and I liked the way the Yakima went on and off a little better. Bottom line, though, is both are a hell of a lot more solid and confidence building than what Nissan provides.

Off to Upper Saranac Lake for the weekend!

Modified by dave230 at 12:49 PM 5/8/2008 [IMG][/IMG]
Modified by dave230 at 12:59 PM 5/8/2008

[wftright]

First, thanks for the thread. I'm thinking of getting one of the Nissan crossovers, and transporting a kayak is an important consideration. I have a couple of questions.

First, are you going to tie off your kayak at the front and back? In the picture, there are no tie-downs, but Yakima recommends a tie-down for any boat that extends over the front or rear of the roof.

Secondly, what is your strategy for getting home if you encounter rain while driving? I believe the weight limit for the rails on a Rogue is about 100 lbs. If rain starts falling into the cockpit, you can accumulate 100 lbs of water very quickly. Depending on whether your boat has bulkheads and where they are, you can probably accumulate several hundred pounds of water. At that point, most vehicles will become unstable.

Thanks,

[dave230]

Good questions. When I had the Pathfinder I tied the front of the boat down anytime I was on highways. The design of the Rogue makes it pretty much impossible to do, though. Even if I felt like taking off the license plate (or moving it up), the tow hook doesn't extend far enough out the front to keep the rope or tie down strap off the hood, and the paint would be gone in fifty miles. I've thought about taking that hook to a metal fabrication shop and having an L welded to the end of it, extending the length at an angle, if you get what I mean, with another loop at the end so I could screw it in (without the front plate) and have it extend out and up another five or six inches and tie onto that. I might actually do it... shouldn't cost much at all.

In the meantime though, I tied the boat down tight and put clamps on either side of the front foam block to assure that even in a crosswind the boat couldn't shift on the rack... then most importantly, I got on the Northway and set the cruise at 65 and just took my time. Sort of surprisingly, people are not driving as fast on the NW as usual... apparently they've figured out that slowing down can save gas as well.

With the sunroof I can see what the boat is doing and even reach up and check that front strap occasionally. Where I live, the trip I did was only about 70 miles on the highway and all "normal" (means slow) roads after that.

As far as rain goes, I have a cockpit cover that I put on if it rains, but I have to use a strap to secure it tight enough against the wind, so I only use if it rain is forecast. I drove through a hell of a storm in North Carolina all day two years ago and didn't get a drop in the boat.

While we're at it, the weather was great and we paddled from Fish Creek through the channel and well out into some of the upper bays on Upper Saranac Lake. Great area to go kayaking!


Modified by dave230 at 12:49 PM 5/12/2008

[philipa_240sx]

The Rogue got quite the workout this weekend. A loaded trailer (approx 800lbs) on saturday morning with no probs. I had to return the trailer early so I brought home a 4x8 sheet of plywood strapped to the Yakima rack. I love the Yakima Rack!

[njr]

I am considering getting a cargo box and assume that I will need Yakima rails since the posts re the Nissan crossbars are not promising. BUT I also wanted to get a moonroof wind deflector. 1) Does that interfere with the Yakima roof rack / cargo box 2) Do I also need a fairing or do they do the same job?3) Is the fairing a permanent installation?Thanks!

[philipa_240sx]

BUT I also wanted to get a moonroof wind deflector.1) Does that interfere with the Yakima roof rack / cargo box?

The Yakima rails are at least 2-3 inches off the roof. The roof also slopes down towards the windshield. Even a long ski type cargo box should clear the moonroof deflector.

2) Do I also need a fairing or do they do the same job?

No, a fairing is different as it extends from the roof to the crossbar. The idea is to redirect air over the crossbar to reduce the turbulance and noise it creates. The moonroof deflector is smaller and lower will still allow air to pass under the crossbar. However, you can likely use both by playing with the fore/aft position of the front crossbar so that the fairing can lie flat against the roof.

3) Is the fairing a permanent installation?

No, it attaches directly to the rack. Nothing gets attached directly to the vehicle

[njr]

Thanks for the info on this Philippa. Forgive me, but I am still unclear about the relationship / effectiveness of the moonroof deflector and the fairing. It sounds as though you are saying that as long as I already have crossbars (Nissan installed) the fairing will be more effective in reducing the noise with or without a Yakima rack. Is that accurate?

[philipa_240sx]

Forgive me, but I am still unclear about the relationship / effectiveness of the moonroof deflector and the fairing. It sounds as though you are saying that as long as I already have crossbars (Nissan installed) the fairing will be more effective in reducing the noise with or without a Yakima rack. Is that accurate?

You do not require a fairing for the factory (Nissan) crossbars as they are very aerodynamic and do not produce much noise.

The moonroof deflector will not be an effective way of reducing noise for any crossbar setup (factory or Yakima). It's intended for open moonroof driving.

The Yakima round crossbars on the other hand can be very noisy at highway speeds and a fairing will help. Check out this setup from member foedoe350Z:

If you decide you want a moonroof deflector for everyday driving and then use the Yakima crossbars with fairing to reduce noise (remember, the moonroof deflector alone will not help with noise issues), you may have an interference issues. The solution would be to use foedoe250Z's setup which places the fairing farther back clearing the moonroof deflector.

[RiverRogue]

Hey Phila, does that rope rub and scratch the paint?

Decided to save the $200 on the crossbars and I installed a set of Yakima low riders, 6' cross bars and use NRS locking ties to attach two kayaks directly to the top.

Works great.

edit. Another tip. You yak'rs may want to consider a cover or fliping your boat upside down when traveling. I had one fill up with water after a thunderstorm and had to siphon the water out before being able to lift the yak off the car.