Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)We purchased the rack and the rack extension (makes it longer) in August 2009 and put it on top of the car (SUV) for a 1000 mile drive. The rack had the wind deflector as well. Was loaded with a strap-down large cargo bag, bed frames, etc. Worked great and didn't seem to present much wind resistance.
Only rated at 4 stars because: We left it on the car continuously and today (March 2011) I took it off to replace a screw that had fallen out (or more likely, had never been put in by the shop that assembled it for me). Noticed two problems in taking it off:
1) A couple of the plastic (triangle shaped) nut holders (they have the nuts built into them and are designed to be turned with you fingers) on some of the long vertical bolts that hold it down to the car's roof rack had become very difficult to turn; I needed a pair of pliers to get them off even after cleaning the bolts and spraying them with silicon. When I did get them off, and had cleaned them and was ready to put the rack back on, I test fitted the nuts to be sure they would spin on. Most did, but one spun on and and would not spin off again. It was so tight trying to back it off that I ended up stripping the plastic nut holder just trying to unscrew the nut. It didn't appear to be cross-threaded, so I'm not sure what the problem was. This prevented me from putting the rack back on. Means I will have to purchase some new bolt/nut assemblies before I can put it back on.
2) The mylar (or plexiglass?) wind deflector is attached to the front of the rack with plastic push pins and plastic straps that go around the bars in the front. Not a very sturdy attachment system. In fact, it looks like the UV damage to the straps made them brittle, because when I bumped the deflector lightly, two of the straps disintegrated. I ended up taking the deflector off. Will either replace the straps too, or, more likely, fabricate a more durable attachment system. Glad I checked, as we often get very strong wind gusts here and I imagine at some point the deflector might have come off and that could have been a problem for cars behind me.
Overall, am satisfied with the rack, have had Thule racks before for windsurfing and ski equipment, but I also suspect that a cheaper cargo basket would work just as well.
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