I need a roof rack for my MCS to go snowboarding. I'll carry 2 snowboards or 1 snowboard and 1 pair of skis.

I've searched all the roof rack threads, and I know a lot of people like the Yakima rack, but the Mont Blanc and Saris roof racks seem to be a step above the Yakima.

So now I need to decide between the Mont Blanc and the Saris. I need some help!

The Mont Blanc was actually designed for the Mini. You can open the sunroof fully without it touching the roof rack! It seems to have at least as good a chance at not damaging the paint or plastic trim as any other rack. They say that it's possible to mount the Mont Blanc with one person, but it's not recommended. That's not a show stopper for me, as I can usually get help from my wife or neighbors.

The Saris is not made specifically for the Mini, the sunroof will not open fully, but you can mount the Saris with just one person. When adjusting the rack, both sides move in towards each other. I'd be a bit concerned about paint damage during that process.

Any opinions? The Mont Blanc kind of looks like the way to go, but I'd sure love to hear personal experiences or opinions.

Thanks!
Dan

 

I have the Mont Blanc rack and it seems to be very solid. I too did lots of research before doing any purchasing, and the Mont Blanc just looked much more sturdy. I've left it on my car to drive around with at speeds up to about 75 or so and it doesn't have a problem with that. It is much easier to install if you have a helper. I'm sure it could be done by one person, but that might scratch the roof (BAD THING) I plan to haul skis on my rack and I don't forsee a problem. I also like how it doesn't rely on the "rain rail" to stay put. I would definately recommend this rack to anybody!
Good luck!

 

I was researching a roof rack a while ago, just when the Yakima solution came out, and I didn't like my options, so I gave up. The Mont Blanc sounds great! YOu say it doesn't rely on the rain rails to stay put? I'm intrigued! Does anyone have a link to where I can find the MINI version? I can't seem to find their website.

Also Hoo-Rah on the sunroof issue! Thanks!

 

> Does anyone have a link to where I can find the MINI version?

Moss Mini sells the Mont Blanc.

MFC, where did you buy your Mont Blanc?

Also, does your ski mount have 2 "enclosures" to hold your skis? So you could just put one on if you wanted? In the Moss Mini picture, it looks like it's just showing one of the "enclosures", but it sounds like when you buy it, you get two of them.

 

I have the Mont Blanc too and it's great. I drove from PA to WV and was able to go 75 on the highway with no problems. My roof hasn't been scratched at all. It is possible to put it on by yourself if you're really, really careful. Didn't try driving with it on and the sunroof open (brrrrrrrrrrr) but with the sunroof closed it makes virtually no noise.

My only complaint would be that the locks freeze pretty easy (driving through a blizzard doesn't help) but if you keep lock de-icer in your car I guess it would take care of that.

 

I like the looks of the Mont Blanc and am glad to hear that it's sturdy. My question is whether or not there is a basket attachment available for it, instead of ski or snowboard attachments.

Anyone have the answer?

 

Is MossMini the only place to buy the Mont Blanc rack in the US?

(I know you can buy it from the UK, but shipping is expensive.)

I've googled unsuccessfully.

 

I bought the Mont Blanc rack last christmas or so, my personal opinion was it was the best choice. The attachments that hold the rack down go under the rain rail and have a section that grabs the actual car frame. This doesn't interfere with the windows at all. As far as attachments, we purchased a roof box from sears, the middle one, i forget the size, and only had to make small adjustments to the rack. Those pieces that run parallel the length of the roof actually have two holes at each end, so the crossbars could be moved to different sizes if need be, from the narrowest that we used to mount the box, to an additional 6-8 inches or so for something bigger. I'd venture to say that with that kind of adjustment and some measurements, you could fit practically anything aftermarket and not just stuff from Mont Blanc.

 

i think i need a roof rack so i can bring my mountian bike with me. Does anyone make a fairing for the Mount Blanc rack?

 

> I bought the Mont Blanc rack last christmas or so

jamesgang, mind if I ask where you bought your Mont Blanc rack?

Thanks,
Dan

 

From Moss.

Searched high and low, I even had part numbers from the mont blanc website and tried to talk to some merchants that sold mont blanc stuff and was a no go. Had to just fork over the cash. On the bright side, I 2 day aired it for 10 bucks more and it came from cali to ohio in 2 days.

 

Ok, I bought the Mont Blanc from Moss Mini. Cost was:

-> 289.95 for the main unit
-> 119.95 for the snowboard/ski carrier
-> 27.95, shipping/handling by UPS Ground

Total: 437.85

For the snowboard carrier to hold 2 snowboards, the snowboards are laid underside-to-underside. I'm afraid that the binding will scratch the roof, so when I carry 2 snowboards, I'll get thick rubber bands to hold the binding away from the roof or just remove the bindings altogether.

We'll see if I can still open the sunroof with 2 snowboards on as well.

Frankly, I was disappointed about having to carry the 2 snowboards belly-to-belly, due to the binding-scratching-the-roof situation. But I'm hoping that with thick rubber bands or something else strong & stretchy, that it'll work. I was also disappointed because I didn't think the sunroof would open in that configuration, but we shall see.

I'm kind of interested in buying a second snowboard/ski carrier so I can carry 2 snowboards with both sets of bindings facing away from the roof. Moss wasn't sure if 2 carriers would fit, but I'll measure and take an educated guess.

The rack itself does not come with locks, but Moss says it would be very difficult to remove. The snowboard/ski carrier does come with locks.

Wanted to let others know, in case they were thinking of getting the Mont Blanc for the Mini.

Cheers,
Dan

 

In order for someone to steal your rack, they'd have to break the windows. I guess if someone really wanted it, they're going to take it, locks, broken windows, or not. Hopefully, the time it takes to break them out from under the windows would be deterrent enough. I don't suppose thieves would like to hang out pulling and yanking on the car for 10 minutes.

 

I just finished installing my Mont Blanc rack, along with the snowboard (ski) attachment.

The installation was pretty straightforward, but I definitely had to do lots of checking, and rechecking, to make sure I did everything right.

For me, the tough part was getting the cross bars all hooked together and clamped to the edge of the door window. Didn't get it on the first try, got it with some angling of things on the second try.

Hooking up the snowboard attachment was easy.

The materials (bars, feet, etc) were somewhat scratched and dinged up. The plastic molding on the bars was off kilter a bit. I would have been disappointed had this been a Mini/BMW product.

But all in all, it looks good now that it's on. I use it for real tomorrow to go to the slopes, and I think it'll be fine.

And yes, the sunroof opens without impacting the rack!

 

I went with the Yakima rack because I couldn't get enough info about the Mont Blanc rack other than the standard pictures on Moss Mini.

I'm happy with the Yakima (yes, you can open the sunroof without it touching).

However, any rack solution which relies on clips to latch onto the top of the car is gonna damage that material. There are already indentations from where my Yakima rack clips in, in all the four spots.

If I were to do it again, I'd get the MINI rack.

 

Yesterday, I went to the slopes with the Mont Blanc on the roof with two snowboards. Everything went well. The rack says not to exceed 120 km/h, but during passing on the two lane highway, I hit 140. When I raced another car on the interstate, it hit north of that. No problems, no whistling. There's definitely wind noise, but it's not bad.

The rack's solid and keeps everything on it very solid.

> However, any rack solution which relies on clips to latch onto the top of the car is
> gonna damage that material. There are already indentations from where my
> Yakima rack clips in, in all the four spots.

I just removed the Mont Blanc rack. I was able to do it by myself. Sure enough, where the front clips go, there are two marks in the shape of a triangle, facing each other, on the rain gutter. On the rear on one side, there's no mark, but if you run your finger on the bottom side of the rain gutter, you can feel an indentation. On the other rear side, no indentation, but you can see a slight mark.

One observation and two questions:

Observation: sambusik, you were right.

Question 1: Anyone want to buy a Mont Blanc rack? Used only once. Any reasonable offer taken. Please post or PM me.

Question 2: Can I fix or replace my rain gutter?

 

DanStoren,
I don't think you can fix the rain gutter. BTW, the rain gutter is pretty soft, even Yakima has a disclaimer that its Q-clips might damage that material.

There's two things you can do:

1- When you take off and re-install the rack for whatever reason, make sure it goes back on in exactly the same place. You don't wanna cause damage to other areas of the rain gutter.

2. Make sure your rack isn't on tighter than it needs to be.


The only crappy thing about the factory rack is the varrying costs people have been quoted to install it. You don't wanna be spending about 600 to 700 on a rack solution.

I still wanna know if attachments such as the Yakima Viper would fit on the factory rack.

 

Thanks, Sam.

I've decided that I just want to go the Mini factory roof rack route. I know there will be caps, but I've seen the pictures, and I'm ok with them. Driving my Mini to go snowboarding is very important to me, so I can deal with that. In thinking about it, I already have two caps on my bonnet, so I can live with four on the roof. The two bonnet caps are my windshield fluid sprayers.

I'm selling my Mont Blanc roof rack. Used only once.

 

I use the Yakima almost every weekend with my bike and have done several ski trips with it this year. No problems, no marks, easy on and off. Works for me.

 

>>Thanks, Sam.
>>
>>I've decided that I just want to go the Mini factory roof rack route. I know there will be caps, but I've seen the pictures, and I'm ok with them. Driving my Mini to go snowboarding is very important to me, so I can deal with that. In thinking about it, I already have two caps on my bonnet, so I can live with four on the roof. The two bonnet caps are my windshield fluid sprayers.
>>

I opted for the MINI roof rack. I at first didn't like the fact that I would need caps either, but I haven't used them yet. I decided in the end to leave the rack on all year. It fits quite nicely with the car and makes it look a little more "rally"-ish. I use it often to carry lumber and my bicycle. What I like most is it is bolted to the frame. No play, no worrying if I have the rack tight enough or too tight. You should see the faces of people when I'm carrying several 8' boards on it.

 

mattcoon,

Did you have yours installed after you purchased your MINI, or did you order it that way? I really wanted the roof rack when I ordered my MINI, but the MA discouraged me. Now that I have the car, if I do it after the fact, I've been told that the factory warranty won't apply.

 

it's a dealer installed option. When I ordered my MCS I told them I wanted it. They had to drive it to their body shop and have it installed. There shouldn't be any warranty issue, if it's installed by the dealer before or after purchasing. Your MA probably hasn't had to do any and is afraid to screw up your roof. Depending on your area, try calling around until you find a dealer not afraid.

 

mattcoon,

Do you notice any marks, scratches, indentations, or other harm around the foot area on your Mini rack? The part where the rack contacts the roof?

I'm just wondering if there's any way that the rack feet, or the covers, would leave visible scratch marks.

Thanks,
Dan

 

We drove 12 hours one way, left the rack on the majority of the trip (7 days) and then drove home another 12 hours, all the while with a 15 cubic foot cargo box on top and the car didn't have a scratch. If installed properly, the Mont Blanc rack on our car doesn't put any pressure at all on the rain gutters. I'd say yours was put on too tight, the first time I installed ours I saw the gutters compress and realized it was too tight.

 

Good point, if the rack was on too tight the first time around, it will have left marks. It shouldn't leave any more marks if it's not on too tight.