I found this board through searching for information about Yakima and Thule roof racks versus OEM cross bars vs. drilled tracks and roof rails.

After much research and consideration I got the OEM cross bars ordered and installed through the dealer. Yes, it was some $$, but my potential DIY installation partner is someone I wish to stay married to so it was mutually-agreeable option.

In hindsight I wish I had roof rails from the factory but I didn't order the car and I don't have rails. Looked into that and decided it was not a viable option for me right now.

I needed something to carry all the "fun stuff". We are now a two MINI family and the Clubman is "the big car". The other is my wife's '06 Cabrio. I have a kayak and mountain bike to haul, possibly two bikes sometimes. May get a cargo box at some point. So far the cross bars seem sturdy if not a little whistle-y.

I had some Yakima kayak saddles from my old truck that I wished to reuse. I got two boxes of Mighty Mounts to adapt from round bars to factory bars. I have only test-fitted my boat so far but do know that the mounting screws protrude far enough below the bars that they will probably TRASH my sunroof if I were to open it. Haven't tried. Never will. The saddles will only be on when I am hauling my boat so they aren't a permanent feature. They might be noisy and easily stolen too, if left on all the time. Plus, they are not so attractive.

Anyway, here are some pictures of the racks after install and with the kayak saddles. I am probably getting at least one bike tray soon. I am hoping for one on Craigslist or somewhere but no luck so far.













I'll post more pictures when I have the boat on the car and after I install a bike rack.

TH

 

Looking good. I laughed when you said the clubman was your 'big' car, and you have a cabrio as well. You just described our family too! I also have the roof racks and have been using them for 2+ years, and like them. I leave them on all the time, as I don't find removing and putting them on much fun. I also wish I had the roof rails, but that wasn't an option when the clubman was first released.

I use it for kayaks too, I just skip the saddles and strap it straight on. Looking good, and have fun!

 

Good choice going OEM. I have the Thule rack and haven't been very satisfied.

 

Even if you have roof rails from the factory, you still have to buy cross bars before you can attach anything....

I bought the Thule bars and an Ascent 1500 cargo carrier for my Clubby for the MTTS/MITM trip in August, the good news is the same stuff also fits my wife's Audi allroad roofrails perfectly, so when we take our "big car" it will work there too!

 

Dave -- box looks good. And that is a worthy point about having to still use cross bars even with factory rails. I guess what I want in a perfect world are tracks on roof to move feet/towers and cross bars to any front-back spread I need. Wider for my boat and narrower for bikes.

Got bike rack installed yesterday. Ended up going Yakima all around. The "Universal Forklift" fits pretty much any factory style cross bars. It went on pretty easily. I had concerns about whether or not I could open the sunroof. I did some measuring to make sure clearance is OK. The sunroof vents and opens fully. Tight clearance, but it opens and closes with no problems.

It is a total coincidence too, that my car matches one of my bikes.





TH

 

Does anyone else have this issue..... When I put these same MINI cross bars on my clubman, the connection point for the rear bar above the club door at the rain rail pushes the rain rail down just enough that the club door closes on top of the top window seal, vs just under it (as it should) when I don't have the cross bar on.

 

I finally got my roof rack system for my kayak adjusted and set up a hoist system to get the 70# tandem onto the car solo without breaking anything (myself included). I need to put an extra pulley in for a block and tackle type setup. Single pulley was hard work to raise the boat. I have two sets of double pulleys for the storage system where the boat usually hangs in one of the garages. It makes it much easier to raise and lower.





Boat will fit in garage on cartop so I can load it up the night before for early a.m. departures.


Unfortunately the cross bars are not quite wide enough for the kayak and my bike to fit side-by-side.

TH

 

Nice setup! Interesting... coming from a Jeep JK my kayaks never fit on the Jeep through the garage door, maybe it will now on my new MINI... I would love that. It would be so much easier and faster than loading it all up at 5am.

 

Neat!