I'm looking to buy a roof rack system and wondering if anyone has any recommendations. I have a 2004 Dark Silver MCS. As of right now I have a road bike that I'd be using it to carry but I'm about to buy a kayak. I'm also planning a long road trip this summer and might want to buy a luggage carrier shell (not sure of the exact terminology). Fire away.

 

Thule

 

That is a good looking roof rack but the thing that intrigues me most is the location. There are Christmas decorations but it looks like it's about 80 degrees. Where was that picture taken? I want to move there.

 

Looks like Australia.

 

Correct, I'm located in Australia

 

Oddly enough, I joined this forum yesterday to research this exact topic.

I've been seeking a roof-rack for my 06 MCS since purchasing it a few weeks ago. I've looked into Yakima, Thule, and the factory rack. Each of them seem to have their advantages and disadvantages. Here are my findings, hopefully this will add something to the conversation and we can all find what we are looking for.

I see Yakima and Thule racks all over the Santa Cruz, CA area carrying kayaks, surfboards, bikes, and just about everything else that you can imagine putting on the roof of a car. They always appear to be solid, secure, functional, and reasonably attractive (for a roof rack). The bummer is that Yakima's site says that racks for R53s are a custom install only situation. As such I don't know how much it would cost, or even what my options are. Thule on the other hand seems to have no problem coming up with a rack for the R53s, but for someone that wants to carry things like surfboards or kayaks you need to have an extension of some sort because the rack would otherwise be unstable. The extension brings the total for the surf rack I'm looking for to around $600, a little more than I wanted to spend.

The factory rack seems like a great idea, says Mini on it, and from a newbie point of view, it almost seems like the no brainer, especially at ~$160. The downside is that you have to drill it into the roof. My dealership quoted me $270 for the install, but a friend of mine who is particularly good at this stuff also offered to help. I'm pretty confident that we can do it, but I worry about two things. 1.) That it doesn't come off. 2.) That the front crossbar going right over my moon roof is going to annoy me and there will be nothing that I can do about it.

Yesterday I saw an R53 that had a rack installed that seemed to have tracks attached that ran the length of the roof and then the crossbars attached to the tracks. While I don't know who installed it or made the rack, the nice thing about this option is that the tracks were inconspicuous enough that you could take the crossbars off and the tracks are not painfully noticeable; they stick up about a half of an inch.

It seems like the most flexible easy choice is the Thule, but I worry about it potentially doing damage to the roof as well. I don't know what it looks like when you take one off that has been latched down and used for a while. Not knowing the potential impact on the roof combined with the cost makes me want to think twice before jumping on the Thule bandwagon. With the factory rack, and doing it myself, I'm in ~$175 plus the cost of some pads and straps, but I'm stuck with the rack forever. It's a rough situation.

Any thoughts on the above?

 

x2

THULE

Used this brand on many cars over the years and have had no problems with them. Ususally mine is left on from November to March and have never noticed any kind of body or paint damage. Have yet to put one on the cooper, but I plan to

 

Yakima all the way & if you want a cargo box they have the perfect one (fits roof perfectly). Its the Yakima Rocketbox 15s. here is my R53.

 

I dislike the MINI one because you have to drill into the roof, and when the rack is NOT on your car, you have these oval-shaped black things on your roof. That isn't totally awful if your roof happens to also be black, but with any other color it looks like a ridiculous afterthought.

 

x3 on the Thule. Got the Thule package below.
Can't comment on the kayak attachment but for the cargo carrier, the Ascent 1600 is big enough but small enough to fit the Mini. Used it for a 10 day road trip with 2 adults and 2 children.

THULE RB47 Rapid Aero Aluminum Load Bars
THULE 480R Traverse Rapid Foot Pack
THULE 1366 Fit Kit
THULE ASCENT 1600 ROOF

Take a look at the pics below in post 7.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...orage-box.html

 

There's one for sale in the marketplace here.

....Les

 

Which Q clips did you use? My local bike shop chose Q83s for the front crossbar and Q116 for the rear, but all I can find out about that choice is that it is best suited for the Clubman and not the R53. Your help would be greatly appreciated. I need to get this on by winter (meaning for snowboarding season, which begins soon!).

Mark
2004 Mini Cooper S
White over Midnight Blue

 

Mont blanc

http://www.prolineracks.com/mont-bla...oper-rack.html

 

I had the Thule and sold it. It left "marks" on my roof. I've read reports of dented roofs with it too though I didnt experience that. Also not a fan of how it attached. Too much stress on the trim. It did work as advertised though. It is noisy. Couldn't stand it with the sunroof open. If I do another rack, it will be the OEM one.

 

how do you know the oem one will be better if you;ve never used it?

 

I have a mont blanc roofrack with short roof adaptors. No problems with stress on the trim or any of that. When I removed it for the winter there were marks...until i ran a microfiber cloth over them and they disappeared. I'm also running a thule fairing on it and don't notice any decrease in mpg.

Edit: just noticed this was a resurrected thread that I'd already posted in. Oh well...

 

I have thule on my 04 ds mcs and love it little tip put clear bra on where the rubber is going to sit on your roof so that you dont scratch up ur roof it cand be taken off and protects your roof

 

Is there a company that makes a safari style rack for the cooper. I have an 04 S

 

I went with the following for my car Thule part lists:

480R
ARB53
Fit Kit #1366
Short Roof Adapter #487
599XTR Big Mouth => Thule XADAPT2 Adapter Kit
685XT Atlantis 1200

See website for pictures post 31 and 32:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...and-bikes.html

 

I also run a mont blanc on my 05, and I am pleased with it. Mountain bike on one side, 12' Kayak on the other. Sometime lumber from Home Deport...Works well.