What is a roof rack and where is it located?
Many SUVs, trucks, and station wagons, as well as some sedans, come with a set of rails mounted to the roof of the vehicle. These may be known individually as roof rails or collectively as the roof rack. The roof rack helps to add more carrying space to your car. If you’re an outdoorsy type, you can secure a bicycle, surfboard, kayak, or almost any other type of equipment to the roof rack. You can also use the roof rack to secure luggage to the outside of the family truckster so you have more room for the family on your Griswald style vacation.
How do I know if my roof rack needs to be replaced?
The most common reasons to replace a roof rack are accidental damage or simple wear and tear. A roof rack can get cracked or even broken by a run in with a low branch or overpass. The bolts and mountings that hold the roof rack in place can also wear out and loosen over time. A loose roof rack won’t be very good at holding you stuff in place.
Can I replace the roof rack myself?
Most roof racks can be replaced by a do-it-yourselfer. The roof rack will be held to the roof of your car either by a series of screws or a series of nuts on bolts. Typically, the screws or nuts will be accessible from the roof. In that case, you’ll simply have to remove the bolts, pull off the roof rack, put the new one in place, and fasten it. Adding thread-locking fluid to the fastener can help you keep your new roof rack secured in place.
On some vehicles, the mounting hardware might be on the inside of the cabin ceiling. If that’s the case, you may have to pull down the roof insulation in order to access the nuts and bolts. This will, naturally, make the job longer and a bit trickier.
Need a roof rack?
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