Looking at possibly getting a 5 door Mini, either a couple years old (2022 or 2023) or brand new. Looking to see if anyone has one and has experience with roof racks.
Seems the roof comes with ether flush rails or bare roof. Thule and Yakima both offer racks that fit either. Anyone have experience with either? Is your rack secure?
I’ve never really liked the clips that go under the door frame (what they would use for the bare roof option) - just seem less secure to me.
So hoping to hear from people who have this car (or possibly the other model MInis) and what rack you’ve used and how it worked. Thanks.
I use a Yakima pull out bar… probably has another name but it pulls out from roof rail and provides a fulcrum for getting her up into the Yakima j racks.
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Thanks for the reply.
Not as much worried about the way the kayak attaches to the rack and is loaded and unloaded, but in how the rack attaches to the car’s roof. Looks like your car has the flush rails. Which rack system are you using to attach - presumably Yakima? Has it been secure (doesn’t slide on the rail)?
Do you take the rack on and off? If so, how hard is that?
The j bars attach to the racks very securely. After I get my kayak up there and strap it down I grab it and pull on it every which way to make sure I’ve got it up there good and tight and it does not move in the Jbars or along the mounts.
The mounts attached to the mini rails are super secure. They are Yakima and have never moved since I put them up there. I leave the j racks up there even when not in use as the vehicle still fits in the garage. I use my kayak a lot so I don’t remove anything.
Hope that helps.
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Taking the rack off is as easy as a few screw turns same for putting it back on. But the spacing is critical so one needs to measure before returning the rails to the roof.
