Having learned that the metal in the roof of my GM pickup oil cans when subjected to the load of a kayak on foam pads, I decided I had to get a real roof rack. (Other solutions won’t work when we’re towing our travel trailer.) I had decided on a Yakima rack and figured out the various bits and pieces that fit my vehicle. Then, while just giving the whole issue a little time before pushing the button, I saw the Yakima New Products page.
Yakima has a new (to me, at least) “FX” product line. It’s much more streamlined looking than the traditional tower and rail arrangement. I plan to add a bit of tape that matches the color of my truck to the portion of the clip that sticks out below the tower and I expect the FX rack will end up looking much more like a roof rack from the factory as opposed to an add-on made of various pieces. That was pleasant surprise #1.
Pleasant surprise #2 came in the mail yesterday. I ordered the rack from REI yesterday morning, being content to get the reward points at REI. Then yesterday afternoon an REI sale flyer arrived in the mail with 20% off Yakima racks – but starting November 10th. So I got online and started a chat session and REI is going to refund the difference between the prices. It will take two to three weeks to process, but 20% off plus reward points has definitely taken a bit of the sting out of the need to get the rack.
FWIW
Jim