I am trying to decide between a dealer installed roof rack on a Dodge Dakota quad cab or a similar Yakima rack to carry a Pungo 140. Both are around the same price. Any suggestions?
Good luck
Well, I have a 2003 Dakota quad cab. Bought all the Yakima stuff, couldn’t make it fit (I used to sell the stuff, I should know how to do it, and I can certainly read the directions). Local dealer couldn’t get it to work either, so he gave me a refund. Ended up with the “factory” racks. They’re kind of crappy, but they work. Beware that the adjustment screws are plastic (not a real structural piece, but poorly made none the less). I ended up putting a big Yakima basket on top of the factory racks in order to get a wider spread, and put the Yakima Outdoorsman on the back.
So, in a nut shell, try the Yakima racks first. Maybe you’ll have better luck (I could have had mis-printed instructions, or maybe they’ve made some changes lately, who know). If you can’t make them work, go with the factory rack, but be really careful when you go to adjust the crossbar spread. I’d also recommend an Outdoorsman or simlar product on the back so you’re not putting all of your eggs in one basket so to speak.
Feel free to post back or drop me an email if you want to discuss this in greater depth. I’d be happy to get you pictures of what mine ended up looking like.
works for me
I have Yakima racks on my 2002 Dakota Quad Cab. They work great. I recently removed them and reinstalled them with no trouble at all. You just have to get the right parts and it should work fine.
i’d go with
the yakima rack (and i did on my jeep) since its going to be much more versitile and more durable. most factory racks are a joke and not well designed at all. i was able to pick up my entire rack for 70.00 bucks, that included the railriders and a set of 48" bars, by doing some smart shopping at some of the local shops. the railriders were 50% off since they are being replaced by the control towers and landing pads. the bars were marked at 19.99 on clearnace. cant go wrong with that. a set of Mighty Mounts for my Mako saddles would have cost me 60.00 per boat as it is. so in the long run i saved some cash.
The Yakima…
The Yakima rack attaches to the factory rack on my Yukon… go figure…I needed em both!
No-brainer for me.
I decided to upgrade my 100# capacity factory crossbars on my Explorer to the 165# Ford accessory rack that would accept yak mounts. Got it cheaper than the Yakima dealer would sell it, and by golly, the Ford accessory rack has Yakima written all over it (track riders)!
Check the weight restrictions
That will be the biggest thing. I would go with the one that has the higher weight tolerance.
Unfortunately on my car, it came with a partial roof rack with a weight limit of 75 lbs. I had to have the Thule crossbars though to carry my kayak with, so although the Thule crossbars will carry more weight, I’m limited by the factory rack. Really stinks.