Roof racks, anybody seen these?

[Jjcarr]

Saw these on eBay, anybody know anything about them? (looking at the e34 touring model)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ROOF-BARS-for-a-BMW-1502-1602-2002-3-5-Series-E30-E34_W0QQitemZ8041658760QQcategoryZ9885QQcmdZViewIt em

[632 Regal]

says they will fit and he has 100% good feedback. For the price you cant really go wrong.

[Johntee540]

They look almost exactly like Thule Racks - the accessories listed there are defiinitely Thule. Maybe they are a cheap knock off of Thule. The same Thule set up would be around $220. - JT

[Jay 535i]

I think it depends what you want to carry. Brand name racks like Thule and Yakima will easily handle four bikes, a bunch of snowboards or one of those big storage boxes. Lesser racks may not be able to take the weight or withstand the lift (yes, lift) that some items can cause. It could damage your car if it's not up to the job. I've seen it happen -- I used to sell these things.

That said, even a cheap rack should handle one or two bikes, or a couple of pairs of skis.

If it were me, I'd fork out for Thule rather than risk my BMW.

[SchnellE34]

I carry my 100 pound canoe on my thule racks, securely winched of course. I wouldn't buy any other brand.

You know whats really fun? Traveling at 100mph with that on your roof...haha

[Scott H]

only because I have the Thule rig for my wagon. No locks or load bars, sorry. $45 includes shipping. Minimum useage (which means I have not ridden as much as I'd like to unfortunately). They are $100+ new.

[Elekta]

I bet they're cheap for a reason.

Go Thule

[shanek]

I had a cheap roof rack on my 86 325E. I had a roof box and 2 bike attachments on it with no problems. It worked fine but it destroyed the rubber seals on the doors. It wore holes in all four and caused a lot of extra wind noise. I definitely wouldn't buy a cheap one again. I put a Yakima on my E34 and it fits alot better. It hasn't had any effect on the door seals. Mine are the universal Q towers with the clips. I chose that system because it will fit any car you just have to buy different clips.

[Jjcarr]

only because I have the Thule rig for my wagon. No locks or load bars, sorry. $45 includes shipping. Minimum useage (which means I have not ridden as much as I'd like to unfortunately). They are $100+ new.

Scott, I was hunting to find something that would attach to the factory rails on my wagon, but it looks like those Oris racks are just about impossible to find and the factory racks are too $$$ so it looks like Thule is the way to go. Send me an e-mail and I'll buy your towers. E-mail me at: james@jjcarr.com

James

[Scott H]

with factory rails....

I sent you an e-mail with more detailed info on the preferred setup


Scott, I was hunting to find something that would attach to the factory rails on my wagon, but it looks like those Oris racks are just about impossible to find and the factory racks are too $$$ so it looks like Thule is the way to go. Send me an e-mail and I'll buy your towers. E-mail me at: james@jjcarr.com

James

[Jay 535i]

Scott, I was hunting to find something that would attach to the factory rails on my wagon, but it looks like those Oris racks are just about impossible to find and the factory racks are too $$$ so it looks like Thule is the way to go. Send me an e-mail and I'll buy your towers. E-mail me at: james@jjcarr.com

James

I don't know about BMW specifically, but factory rails are usually rated for very little weight. You may not want to use them, even if you have them.

[calmloki]

I have an older set of Yakima racks for my '93 Touring - nice because the base unit fits the factory grooves and I can remove the racks and towers easily for when I don't want to drive around with ugly 3/4" pipe supports making the top of the station wagon homlier than it needs to be. Functional. No idea what the model number is or if they are still made.
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e73/calmloki/Image010.jpg

[Jjcarr]

Scott hooked me up with contact info for Marty at:

www.martyscycle.com

And they have a modification to the Thule rack that mounts directly to my touring roof mounts. The main reason I was interested in that eBay rack is because it looked like it would mount that way, but that doesn't appear to be the case.

But, Marty hooked me up, mounts are on the way. We need to get some info about these mounts on e34.net or something....

J

[Jay 535i]

Scott hooked me up with contact info for Marty at:

www.martyscycle.com

And they have a modification to the Thule rack that mounts directly to my touring roof mounts. The main reason I was interested in that eBay rack is because it looked like it would mount that way, but that doesn't appear to be the case.

But, Marty hooked me up, mounts are on the way. We need to get some info about these mounts on e34.net or something....

J

Be sure to check your owner's manual for the maximum weight rating of those roof mounts. It will be less than the Thule parts are rated for, and you don't want to find out the hard way that you've overstressed the mounts.

[Jjcarr]

Be sure to check your owner's manual for the maximum weight rating of those roof mounts. It will be less than the Thule parts are rated for, and you don't want to find out the hard way that you've overstressed the mounts.

I don't plan to put anything more than 3 bikes and skis up there so it shouldn't be a problem. Being a wagon I can always throw the heavy stuff in the back...:)

[Elekta]

I can't get in the .info gallery for my pics, but there are tons in the archives. Ican't remember my old user name that I had from the old board to get my password,

Marty is the man who helped with this mod a few years ago, and it is clearly the best system. I converted all my racks to Thule footpacks.

You can just see the nubbins I drive around with when there are no loadbars.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/ggil-tx/DSCN3299.jpg

[Jay 535i]

I don't plan to put anything more than 3 bikes and skis up there so it shouldn't be a problem. Being a wagon I can always throw the heavy stuff in the back...:)

Hmm, depends which three bikes you're gonna put up there.

Many of those factory racks are rated for only ~80lbs. So three 25lb bikes would be fine, but three 30lb bikes would be pushing it.

I don't want to be a naysayer or anything. I'm just saying to check the specs before you start putting stuff up there. I've seen what happens when people wing it. Not pretty.