Thứ Sáu, 17 tháng 2, 2017

Roof Rack Flew Off at 75mph part 1

Local_Skater 02-03-2007 09:58 AM

Roof Rack Flew Off at 75mph
So I was coming home from Whitetail on I81 South with about $1500 worth of snowboards on the rack, which I have been using for the past few months. I was traveling at about 75mph (speed limits 70 in WV so flammers back off) when all of I sudden I heard a load clunk. I looked back and there were three snowboards dangling on my backwindshield. I pulled off to the side of the road as fast as I possibly could safely. The roads were wet and I had to stop on a turn with not much of an emergency lane and a big drop off the side. At this point I was freaked out as ****, b/c that could have been so bad if they had actually flown off...not to mention a friend of mine just died by gertting hit by an oil tanker on the side of I66 on Sunday. After getting out of the car I found that the front bar had slid all the way to the back and was saved by the straps holding down the boards. Just thought I'd share that.
RP31 02-03-2007 10:00 AM

Who installed it? Was it OEM?
Local_Skater 02-03-2007 10:03 AM

I installed it a few months ago and hadnt had any problems. Everything was locked down tight when I left the ski resort. The rack is made by Thule.
Subie Gal 02-03-2007 10:03 AM

was there a cross wind?

wow. that's a bit odd.

Jamie [url=http://www.subiegal.com/][img]http://www.subiegal.com/subiegal-smilie.png[/img][/url]
Local_Skater 02-03-2007 10:07 AM

Actually there was a pretty strong one.
Subie Gal 02-03-2007 10:09 AM

[QUOTE=Local_Skater;16916973]Actually there was a pretty strong one.[/QUOTE]

that would do it

those retaining clamps arent made to go 75 in one direction
and have 75 coming at it from the side as well

the stress would likely be too much fully loaded

Jamie [url=http://www.subiegal.com/][img]http://www.subiegal.com/subiegal-smilie.png[/img][/url]
sideways7 02-03-2007 10:26 AM

i would have to say that the rack was not installed properly. i do not have any experience with thule. but i have used a few yakima racks. when i was a lot younger and a lot dumber i reached some pretty high speeds with bikes on the roof without ever having any problems. most of those times always had crosswinds too. the only time i had a rack come loose was when i pulled my car into my garage with a bike still attached. ouch! maybe take a closer look at the contours of the clips and how they are meeting up to the countours of where they attach to the car. you might have to slide the towers in or out laterally to help those contours match up better.
sorry to hear about your friend.

mark
sc00ter 02-03-2007 11:14 AM

[QUOTE=Subie Gal;16916983]that would do it

those retaining clamps arent made to go 75 in one direction
and have 75 coming at it from the side as well

the stress would likely be too much fully loaded

Jamie [url=http://www.subiegal.com/][img]http://www.subiegal.com/subiegal-smilie.png[/img][/url][/QUOTE]

I hear that. In Colorado a cross wind blew my friends Jeep Cheroke off the road and bout 70 feet down a cliff. When we got back from snowboarding and saw a bunch of people standing where the car was and looking down the side of the mountain, we knew something was wrong.:lol:
caesar 02-03-2007 12:01 PM

[QUOTE=sc00ter;16917350]I hear that. In Colorado a cross wind blew my friends Jeep Cheroke off the road and bout 70 feet down a cliff. When we got back from snowboarding and saw a bunch of people standing where the car was and looking down the side of the mountain, we knew something was wrong.:lol:[/QUOTE]


:eek: thats carzy
dibblejr 02-03-2007 12:30 PM

I too have to side with the fact that they were probably not assembled correctly.
On the OEM rails the front and the back are different sizes. Neither of them could possibly slide all the way to the oposite end.
If you are sure you assembled them correctly I would get rid of them. Or get the Yakima airodynamic looking topper to put your stuff in.

Jay-R
Psybin 02-03-2007 12:59 PM

What is the max speed for a loaded roof rack? Bike and/or board.


I don�t have one, I�m just curious, if my hitch mounted rack plan doesnt pan out I�m going for a roof rack.
Local_Skater 02-03-2007 01:41 PM

[QUOTE=dibblejr;16917860]I too have to side with the fact that they were probably not assembled correctly.
On the OEM rails the front and the back are different sizes. Neither of them could possibly slide all the way to the oposite end.
If you are sure you assembled them correctly I would get rid of them. Or get the Yakima airodynamic looking topper to put your stuff in.

Jay-R[/QUOTE]

It was definitly assemble correctly...I don't know what caused it to happen considering I've used it for the past couple months w/o any problems. I don't have rails btw. It clamps in to where the window rolls up. They were tight and I have no idea how it could of come loose except for the force of the wind as they had locks on where they tighten up.
dibblejr 02-03-2007 01:50 PM

Gotcha, ive got 4 of those adapters right here in my living room. I wonder if they flexed just enough to let it happen. Anyway I know snowboards are expensive, I would def. go with a permanent mount if it is something you do often.

Jaut my $.02

Jay-R

[QUOTE=Local_Skater;16918389]It was definitly assemble correctly...I don't know what caused it to happen considering I've used it for the past couple months w/o any problems. I don't have rails btw. It clamps in to where the window rolls up. They were tight and I have no idea how it could of come loose except for the force of the wind as they had locks on where they tighten up.[/QUOTE]
Magnum626 02-03-2007 02:20 PM

Maybe someone was trying to steal your roof racks and you didn't realize they were loose?

The way they clamp and then tighten and lock, I don't see how it can come off at least not without you hearing a different windnoise up on the roof. For them to move it's gonna make some noise or scratching no?

Any pics of the damage?
Local_Skater 02-03-2007 05:40 PM

No damage really, it happened so fast, it wasn't like a gradual slide back or anything.
GAMO 02-03-2007 06:16 PM

Did the roof rack itself fly off, or did it take some of the mounting with it?
quentinberg007 02-03-2007 06:21 PM

I've had the rear crossbar pop loose on my GC impreza before. I think it actually happened from over-tightening the feet to the window trim. Most racks are made to pop off if a really large impulse hits them (driving into your garage w/ bikes on top, for example). Basically, make sure you are keeping it 'snug' instead of so tight that it is flexing the window trim. Regardless, I'm not a fan of racks on the GC impreza. The roof and window contours are not ideal at all.

I just bought a full Thule setup for my GTI. Hopefully it is a little more stable than the generic setup I had for my impreza. I regularly have $4k worth of bikes on my roof, so there is a lot to lose.

~~Quentin
JRL 02-04-2007 02:00 AM

[QUOTE=Psybin;16918073]What is the max speed for a loaded roof rack? Bike and/or board.


I don�t have one, I�m just curious, if my hitch mounted rack plan doesnt pan out I�m going for a roof rack.[/QUOTE]
The OEM Euro rack is 80mph under load. Dont know about Thule or Yakima.
shemoves 02-04-2007 02:09 AM

I've stood on my Yakima and 'surfed the car.' No, it was not moving.
kbahus 02-04-2007 03:04 AM

I have had three fully rigged DH mountain bikes, each weighing 45-55lbs on my Thule rack going through the canyons at high speed with zero problems. No way snowboards took it off, even with a strong wind, without some kind of installation error.
Local_Skater 02-04-2007 08:24 AM

Well...even though bikes weigh more...did you ever think about how much air can get up under them?
Magnum626 02-04-2007 09:14 AM

[quote=Local_Skater;16925033]Well...even though bikes weigh more...did you ever think about how much air can get up under them?[/quote]

I agree....without the thule visor thing it makes a lot of noise on those windy days. I feel it with just one.

So any damage to the vehicle? I think I'm gonna double check my rack and make sure it's secure.
Counterfit 02-05-2007 02:35 AM

[url]http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=882744&highlight=yakima[/url]
Local_Skater 02-05-2007 06:43 AM

Thanks for the write up...my rack uses the aero fit kit though. Will that make a difference?
Squeakywaffle 02-05-2007 07:30 AM

I have hit 100 in a school zone with one of the biggest cargo boxes thule makes (loaded with 200 lbs cargo) on my old legacy, with the standard thule clamps (dunno what they're called). No evidence of stress.

I think you might have installed it wrong. I had the same kind of thing and it was incredibly solid.

Actually it wasn't in a school zone, it was on a deserted highway in the middle of a national park on which we saw one other car in a period of about an hour and a half. So back off, flamers.
RP31 02-05-2007 07:39 AM

OMG you were going 100 in a school zone? WTF you jackass!? You have no regard for human life! DIAF! :lol: :p

Yes, +1 for incorrect installation. That's why I asked who installed it, and was quite sure of the answer before it was given to me.

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