

Some of these include: their weight and strength, the profile for loading and unloading, as well as any available accessories. There are many factors in the selection and use of roof racks. Factory Bars - other vehicles have a factory-installed permanent roof rack.Side Rails - vehicles with factory-installed rails, which may be flush against the roof or raised off of the roof, running front-to-back on the roof.Fixed Point - some automobiles have fittings for proprietary racks which mate with reinforced lugs in the roof, or have pre-threaded screwholes.Bare Roof - many modern vehicles, which do not have gutters, can have a roof rack installed by attaching hooks to the top of the door frames.Rain Gutter - older roof racks were usually mounted directly to the gutter surrounding the roof line.The most common components of a roof rack system are: towers, fitting pieces (for attaching towers to a specific vehicle), crossbars, and gear mounts.Īutomobile roof racks are split into different types, depending on the vehicle roof: Roof rack suppliers developed new products designed to securely attach to various types of automobile roofs.

Other vehicles were introduced on the market with hidden rain gutters during the 1980s, and by 1990, vehicles with external rain gutters were becoming rare. The first mass production cars without any visible rain gutters were the 1975 AMC Pacer and Chevrolet Monza. This made attaching an accessory or aftermarket roof rack a relatively simple process. These gutters are formed by the welded flange (raised rim or lip) on the left and right sides of the car's metal roof panel. Until the late 1970s, almost all regular passenger automobiles had rain gutters.

There is a long history of the use of roof racks and their designs. These include car top weatherproof containers, some designed for specific cargo such as skis or luggage. They allow users of an automobile to transport objects on the roof of the vehicle without reducing interior space for occupants, or the cargo area volume limits such as in the typical car's trunk design. It is used to carry bulky items such as luggage, bicycles, canoes, kayaks, skis, or various carriers and containers. A roof rack is a set of bars secured to the roof of a motor car.
