OK, so about to be an owner of a 2011 Rav4. And with every new car purchase- another $300 or more for new racks. Understand for my 55 pound sea kayak, don't use the Toyota crossbars. I'm wondering with the slightly curved roof line as with many cars these days, is it wiser to use round bars vs. rectangle or aero, in order to align the saddles at proper angles? Especially given an earlier suggestion to keep crossbars at ends of Rav4 side rails. Does this make Yakima a better fit for the Rav4? Thanks!
are these proline rails vec. specific ?.. or just sort of generic cut to fit type of thing? Do you feel it is a better rack to go with these rails verses the rail grab system that thule and yakima would use on a Rav 4 ? … how many holes in the roof are required? sorry for all the dumb questions. Im looking into getting a new vec. and was looking at a Honda element and a Rav 4… Did not like the element for the fact that the factory rack mounts are too close together but these rails seem to be an answer to this problem…
Since we broke the welds on the front rack of our Element (found out trees are stronger than the welds). Was thinking about calling Rutabaga since they do racks. But, Jack, I never had any issues with carrying 17' boats on our Element with the short spread. You'd better "Speak now or hold your peace" on the Element. This is the last year it will be made. Best paddling vehicle out there IMHO!
to answer your question When I used saddles I had a curved roof, the saddles looked off-perpendicular but were probably only tilted less than 10 degrees - and away from each other. IMO I never found it a problem. Good tiedown to the rack with a supplemental belly strap seemed more important.
But now I just use the rack itself padded with a $35 set of foam blocks. Which is how most of these boats are shipped in the first place.
4 ft span on curved taurus roof South 95 at 70 mph is not scary with 19 ft seda glider on roof. I do not fear it will blow off and smash thru a windshield. After a 2000 mile round trip, I cannot wait to do it again. Unofficially the yakima dealer told me to drill thru the yakima clip and up thru the doorframe about 1/4 in with stainless steel screws the same size as hole. Front bar is by front windshield. back bar is by back windshield about 4 ft apart.
After 10 years and thousands of miles of hauling kayak and canoe there is never a worry to haul 21 ft mohican or any other boat at 75 mph. ezvee by kayakpro also works
Proline Rack Answers I recommend that you call them up and ask all the questions from them directly. They are very knowledgeable and they actually answer the phone!
But, I’ll answer the best that I can. The rails I got last were the curved ones and while they did not match the curve of the Focus Roof perfectly, the aluminum rails did flex just right once the fasteners were tightened. I think I drilled four wholes on a side and it was really easy. I’ve carried about 180 pounds of boats and gear on it, but usually if is more like 140 pounds on average.
You can see the pictures of what my car rack set up looks like here:
aero bars Not sure about the RAV4 rails, but my guess is that they are much stronger than advertised: lawyers have a way of understanting these things to minimize risk to the company. Seems to me that lots of folks use the rails on all sorts of cars/SUVs to mount racks with no problem. With respect to what kind of bars, I have a set of Whispar “bars” mounted on a Lexus ct200h–great car for kayaks by the way–and love them. Quiet–virtually no wind noice or mpg drop–and they look great. You could mount them on the RAV4 rails no problem–they even have an industrial version for ladders etc.