[Certek]

Took delivery of an LX last week and part of the original deal was to have a Honda roof rack installed (full rack with crossbars). The rack was not available when I picked up the van and is scheduled for installation this Saturday.

After a week with the van (I love it), I am wondering if I really need it. What does everybody use their roof rack for? Is it just for show?

With the magic third seat I think I will have plenty of space for packing and not need a roof rack for travel. On the other hand I already paid the money for it and I am thinking just to go ahead and have it placed on the van.

Again, what is your take on this? I have also read some concerns regarding wind noise and the rack. I really do not want to encourage any wind noise for just a show item.

Your comments are appreciated.

 

[PD55]

Purely asthetic for me. I think the van looks naked without it, but that's just my opinion.

 

[bobf58]

When we bought our '00 EX, my wife talked the dealer into throwing in the crossbars. They've been there since and have never been used. I wonder how much gas I've wasted.

 

[DavidGSR]

We opted not to get the roof rack on our LX. Though we have never needed it (haven't come close to filling the interior) my wife thinks it would look better with it.

 

[sweaver]

You will see plenty of posts here about using the roof rack. I use a Sears cargo carrier a lot. It sits on the cross bars and straps to the side bars. I agree that the van is roomy but it has been years since I had 'plenty of room'. I am beginning to think I will be towing a trailer in a few years!

------------------
1996 Odyssey 120,000 miles
2002EX Odyssey w/towing package
http://www.homestead.com/weaverhouse/index.html

 

[Steve Pert]

The rack on our EX was great when we bought our Christmas tree and had something to tie it to.

 

[albaby]

Depends on what you expect of them. Hopefully, the dealer installed side rails will have better crossbars than the factory installed rails as Honda will not warrant the factory rack crossbars if you install a cargo carrier on them. Nor will any of the cargp box manufacturers warrant their boxes if installed on Honda crossbars.

In my experience-yhe side rails do not make wind noise, but the crossbars do.

Depending on what you have to pay the Honda dealer, a SYSTEM from Thule or Yakima may be a better and more useful setup.

Al

 

[Certek]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by DavidGSR:
We opted not to get the roof rack on our LX. Though we have never needed it (haven't come close to filling the interior) my wife thinks it would look better with it. </font>

My wife feels the same way. This is why we got it in the first place. Although, she is starting to think it is not a problem if we do not get it.

 

[Certek]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by albaby:
Depends on what you expect of them. Hopefully, the dealer installed side rails will have better crossbars than the factory installed rails as Honda will not warrant the factory rack crossbars if you install a cargo carrier on them. Nor will any of the cargp box manufacturers warrant their boxes if installed on Honda crossbars.

In my experience-yhe side rails do not make wind noise, but the crossbars do.

Depending on what you have to pay the Honda dealer, a SYSTEM from Thule or Yakima may be a better and more useful setup.

Al</font>

I am a little confused here. Are you saying the Honda racks are no good and they will not stand behind them? As you may know the LX does not even have the side rails and thus they are putting on the entire package, side rails and crossbars. The total I paid for this is $249.

I am a little concerned, if when I need them nobody will stand behind them, including the the carrier companies. Whats the deal with that?

 

[BrianB]

I have used our roof rack, and I would opt to have it again. I have used it for christmas tree, 20 ft pvc pipe, and travelling to carry our ez-up 10'x10' shade tent. The tent folded up is around 5ft tall and you can NOT get it into the van in any position when all the seats are used. From my experience with the van, 4.5 ft is about the tallest item you can stand up in behind the back row seat or sliding in across the van behind the drive/passenger seats.

One big limitation to the racks is their low weight limit of 100lbs.

One other thing about the roof rack. When I finally got up to the roof to wax the roof, I noticed quite a few of the small connection mounting screws to be loose. I do not know how they got that way, you may want to check the tightness of all the screws at some point after you get the rack. I believe the dealer installed ours as one of those pricy extras.

BrianB

 

[cmmeyers]

I think that it may just boil down to whether or not you're going to make use of them (as some people have posted).

I personally think that the crossbars make it more asthetically pleasing. But we didn't get them because we really weren't going to use them, and the also the possiblility of wind noise.

 

[bennionjd]

There was a lot of talk a while back about putting Yakima and Thule attachments on the roof rack. I've just got the rails (EX) and am considering putting Thule/Yakima crossbars on the roof to carry a box and a bike. My owners manual says there is a 150lb limit which shouldn't be a problem. Anyone have any new information or experience on this subject?

 

[albaby]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Certek:
I am a little confused here. Are you saying the Honda racks are no good and they will not stand behind them? As you may know the LX does not even have the side rails and thus they are putting on the entire package, side rails and crossbars. The total I paid for this is $249.

I am a little concerned, if when I need them nobody will stand behind them, including the the carrier companies. Whats the deal with that?</font>

Search for the topic "Honda crossbars may be unsafe". There was plenty of discussion on this topic. Some posters have used the H crossbars with no problems, but as H and no one else will warrant them with a cargo carrier, I am reluctant to use them for that purpose. A solution may be to tie a strap around the cargo box and side rails to secure the entire unit. The problem is not with the integrity of the side rails, or the weight carrying capacity, but with the lift forces that wind may produce on the cargo box (and the crossbars). Heavier loads should actually help counteract the problem. But don't take my word for it-call Honda, Thule, Yakima and talk with them. Maybe they've come up with a fix.

Regards
Al




[This message has been edited by albaby (edited 01-31-2002).]

 

[jvennitti]

bennionjd,

I just posted under a topic something like "Good Deal on Yakima Racks". I just purchased a set of the Yakima Double Cross mounts, 2 58" round bars, and a 4-pack of lock cores. I had a Yakima Space Cadet cargo box attached for a recent 600-mile trip and like the set quite a bit. I didn't notice any additional wind noise over the regular internal noise of kids, etc. I have left the rack on for now and can still fit the van in the garage.

Good luck,

Jeff

------------------
Jeff

'01 SS EX
Cassette, Rosen Video System, Fog Lights, Splash Guards
Full Nose Mask

See photos at:
http://www.fototime.com/inv/B5EC5C7BC6CFA07

 

[rumbaoa]

Bought my Ody on October. I wanted the crossbars because it does look great on the mini-van. Also, I thought it would be great to have to put the Xmas tree. Well, December came and I ended up putting the 9ft. xmas tree inside the Ody(with magic seat down and two seats out). Oh well, some day I'll use it.

 

[Walt43]

I have never used the roof rack I installed on my 2000 LX. The main reason it's on there is because my wife said that unless there was a roof rack we'd be getting a Caravan with one. She thinks it looks better with a roof rack. I agree, but it still took $220 and cutting the aluminum channel trim into little pieces to install it.