does anyone have suggestions for what type of roof rack I should get for this car? I finally bit the bullet and bought a new car. Which means giving up my 22 yr old Datsun w/ the rain gutters with an old style thule rack.
thanks for the advise!
acy
Malone Racks
If your Honda Civic has a factory installed roof rack on it, check out the Malone racks at http://www.maloneautoracks.com/. In fact, if you look at their racks, you will see a Honda Element with Malone racks. That is our Honda showing our kayaks in place. Good luck.
Malone Racks, Two!
Agree with Watkins. I have both the Auto Loader and the Gull Wing on my Tracker and have gotten my money’s worth out of them. They are durable and definitely a value.
New feet
If I’m correct, all you would need to get is a new foot pack and fit kit for the Honda. You could then reuse the cross bars and whatever carrying accessories you may have.
if separation is too little
– Last Updated: Oct-30-04 9:27 PM EST –
If the space between the bars is not enough yakima has a spreader arrangement.
However, they not have feet that you can attach directly to the roof? Yes involves small holes, but I did the whole job in an hour, silicone sealed, rock solid. The rack fits down on these small pods, and locks on. Very secure for the boat and anti-theft.
Civic is my main machine
I use my Civic for hauling both my solo canoe and kayak. I have Yakima racks with J cradles for the kayak. I position the J cradles about 4 inches from the end of the bars so it is nice and close to the side of the vehicle for an easy lift.
The racks are positioned 30 inches apart, front to back, and with a 48 inch bar both my canoe and kayak fit very well. I really like the civic because it is low to the ground and it is one of the few cars that has tow rings which are great for tying down bow and stern…2 on the front and one on the back.
With the canoe and kayak loaded, I can still open the trunk about 3/4 way to retrieve things.
I was getting a lot of wind noise so I did purchase the yakima wind deflector and it is nearly as quiet as when I am not carrying the racks at all.
I have a Honda CRV as well and originally used it for carrying my “toys” but the lift was difficult so I switched. Also, interestingly the Honda CRV has drilled holes for racks and they are also just 30" apart.
I plan to keep the civic for many years as my main transport vehicle. Easy to load, cheap on gas and a poor mans four wheel drive (front wheel drive).
Jim
rack feet? is that
what the part that goes on the roof and connects the bars are called? It sounds like I may be able to get new feet and still use the rest of the old rack, which would be cheaper.
Or maybe I should break down and spend the $$ to get something newer and more modern that matches my new Civic. there are so many of these cars out there if nothing else I need some way to identify it when I forget where it is in big parking lots.
Seems like a fun little car tho. Low to the ground, great gas milage… but when did they stop putting bumpers on cars?
Thule’s website
is www.thuleracks.com. It’s pretty thorough and can tell you what you’d need to update your rack system. The bars haven’t changed in size over the years that I know of. The items that hold the bars are called feet, and are sold as “foot packs.” They are attached to the roof with special hooks called fit kits.
Of course, there are so many new and nifty ways to carry your boats…
check their web site
I think they are called pods, but their web site has them.
I have them on two cars, spaced the same width, so when changing the rack, just pop it off and onto other car in 1 minute.