Does anyone make a rally type roof rack for the mini? That is the type that you would expect to find on a land roaver in africa. More like a basket with sides.





=)

 

go to Yakima and/or Thule...... once you have the towers and bars on you can add anything

 

ninja,

if you want to put any significant weight (like more than the weight of a bike or 2) then you really should go with the factory rack because it is rated to hold 165 pounds.

Aftermarket racks are not recommended for any heavy loads. You can adapt most any basket type accessory to fit on most any rack, and MINI has a basket type luggage rack. . . .

I love my factory rack, but you must know that it does require drilling the roof to get to the factory attachment points which allow the rack to be bolted into the frame. In contrast, aftermarket racks sit on top of the roof and clip onto the somewhat flimsy plastic rain gutters.

Here is my 16 foot sea kayak mounted on the factory rack. Not something I would suggest for an aftermarket rack.

 

haven't tried the Thule/Yakima rack and others have with great success how do you justify saying the rain gutters are flimsy? Wouldn't that mean that those who use the non-oem racks would have their gear tumbling down the road after the flimsy rain gutters let loose? Please keep to what you know instead of what you've heard or surmised. It gives people more choices instead of trying to sway them with unqualified statements.

Nice car by the way. Is it true you can't open the sun roof with those racks?

 

Yakima specifically states that you are not to leave the rack on long term or you will deform your plastic gutters. I have seen this happen in Colorado to a MINI owner that left a rack on for a season of snowboarding.

I have a yakima rack myself, but it's far from being the most robust attachment method. Yakima also states the rack is limited to something like two bikes and they don't recommend putting the rocket boxes on the rack when mounted to a MINI.

 

Actually, I have tried a Yakima rack, so I am "keeping to what I know instead of what I have heard or surmised". My statements concerning both styles of rack were meant to be informative and not to say that aftermarket racks are not good for most people who sometimes need to carry a bulky item like a bike or skis.

The nice folks at the bike shop let me install the Yakima rack to see if I felt it would work for my purposes. My concern was that the roof sheetmetal was thinner than I felt comfortable with and that the towers might cause deformation because I planned to carry heavier items than just a bike or 2. Also, I did not feel comfortable attaching the rack using the plastic rain gutters. Just grab hold of one and you will see that it flexes very easily.

No, I have never heard of anyone having their rack fly off, nor have I stated that aftermarket racks are not good for most people wanting to carry skis or a couple bikes. But someone wanting to carry a heavy load such as two 16 foot sea kayaks or a safari style basket full of heavy gear, the typical aftermarket rack might not be up to the task. For bikes and skis, nobody should have a problem with a properly installed aftermarket rack.

Many people do not want to drill holes in their roof or pay for an expensive installation, and those are certainly the downsides of the factory rack that make aftermarket racks a good choice for most people that do not forsee the need to carry a heavy load on their rack.

And to answer your question: yes, you can fully open the sunroof with the factory rack

 

Yucca --

Similar kayak setup here with factory rack. Even got my MA to toss in an extra tow hook so I could lash bow and stern!

Its been two years on the factory roof rack; no probelms at all. All seals for the mounting posts are tight and not brittle. However, my roof is white and I did have to buy new plastic caps this summer as they were beginning to yellow a bit.

Theo

 

With the factory rack, is it necessary to leave it attached all the time? I know it's mounted directly to the roof but can it be taken off and the holes plugged? I don't like leaving racks on year round and really don't like them on when they aren't needed.

 

The rain gutters ARE flimsy ...

 

The factory rack is easily removeable with a tamper resistant torx driver that comes with it. Just 8 torx screws and it is off. However, the attachment points might be considered Frankenstein-ish, MINI provides oval shaped plastic covers that hide the bolts but are still noticeable. . .

I guess what I am saying is that there is going to be something sticking up on top of your roof . . . sorry I don't have a picture. Some people might hate having something blemishing the roof and others don't really care. I like the look of the rack better than the covers.

I do suggest that you see what it looks like on and off before having the dealer drill into your roof.

 

I start with the premis that racks suck...... I have owned about 10 cars/SUVs with racks and own boxes full of old parts that I can not use. I just bought another today for the XTerra. The Yakima internal for bikes $200 and the adapters and "Hully Rollers for another $200.... I had the bars and a "steel head." The aftermarket are good for about 65-75 lbs and the factory is about 150 (from memory) I have the factory which uses Thule components...... It just depends on the weight your going to carry.....If I have a bad attitude it's because I have spent so much money on all the different configs and they make noise.....bend rain gutters.....mess up paint.....necessary evil at best.