On Honda’s website, the Accords have a “Removable Roof Rack” for $270 + install (which I assume is not necessary, since it’s “removable”). Can’t copy a link, so these are the specs:
Constructed of extruded aluminum and capron resin
Long-lasting and sturdy
Installs into roof presets
88-pound load capacity
Storage on top of vehicle permits more interior comfort
Prevents damage to your Accord interior
88# seems pretty light. The towers look a lot like a Thule or Yakima, but a lot cheaper, quality AND price. Any thoughts? Anyone have one?
I have a MR Adventure 16 (79#) and a Perception America 11 (56#). Always one or the other, never both at the same time.
88 Pounds seems on target.
From what I remember dealing with dealer accessories for small cars 100 pounds was the limit (that was 10 years ago). Roofs aren’t built like they used to be. They have the stress factors figured out to make the car rigid at the lightest possible weight (least amount of metal). This would make it very tough to have a roof with a large carrying capacity I would think.
Ed
2-door or 4 door?
You don’t mention what body type you have, but a Thule or Yakima rack for a 4-door Accord would run $250, and have the advantage of being a name-brand product with a custom fit rather than something being made who knows where by who knows who (and don’t count on a Honda dealer having parts on hand if you lose something or want to change to a different car).
You’d have to check with a dealer, but Thule’s load limits are typically 165 pounds on passenger cars. Since their system is engineered to put the load onto the frame at the points where it’s strongest, that’s not an unreasonable load. If the Honda rack is only saying 88 pounds as a load limit, that should probably tell you something about the sturdiness of their system, imho.
When we bought…
our Honda Odyssey, the local dealer was putting Thule racks on them if you wanted. They had the ordinary bars to go on the factory rack that Honda made, or you could get better crossbars and Thule accesories…
I’m assuming…
…you have a four-door because I have a coupe & don’t think the standard mountings will work because the rear windows don’t open.
If so, I would not be afraid to use the dealer supplied racks if they are a better deal.
I have carried way more than 100lb
on both our 1990 and 2000 Accord, and driven across country, up rough timber roads, etc.
Is there a reason to prefer Honda’s
rack over those supplied by Yakima or Thule? The price quoted is close, maybe a bit more, than you would pay for Yakima towers, clips, and crossbars from a typical dealer.
Reading between the lines of Honda’s
description, especially the part about keeping belongings outside the passenger compartment, it sounds like their >primary< goal may be to supply a rack to which people can attach those stocky plastic luggage pods. If this is so, then you should be doubly careful that they have also engineered their rack to carry canoes.