I was able to mount my Yakima Ridgeline racks over the weekend. I was kind of hoping they wouldn't be too bad to get on and off so that I'd be able to switch between on and off throughout the summer and save some range, but they were a real pain in the arse to install. So it looks like my range will suffer all summer from racks and all winter from cold! Oh well. I've always had Yakima racks because they're quite solid, but maybe in the future I'd consider something less solid for ease of mounting and un-mounting. Anyway....ever wonder what an 18 foot boat would look like on a MINI? Not as ridiculous as I was worried it would. Next I need an energetic yellow cover!
That's disappointing to hear. I have two Yakima crossbars waiting to install but haven't gotten the towers yet... The clip system did look a little awkward, was that the reason they were difficult?
A couple things. First, I have the roundbars (I've had them forever, so didn't want to invest in new crossbars). The adapters for the roundbars don't install in quite the way the instructions say to do it and you have to awkwardly get the adapters partially tightened, then slide the bars through, then tighten them all the way from underneath while keeping them upright and without having them move their positions. It's hard to describe, but it's a balancing act. That alone wouldn't have been so bad, because you only have to do it once, but... Second, the mounting clips. On my old car, I had Yakima's old Q-tower system that attached to the tops of the door frames (4 doors). Once you had those all put together you could just flip one piece on each up and down by hand to mount or unmount the towers. I had a system where I placed a little piece of electrical tape within the door frame (hidden with the doors closed) where the towers go and I could just take them on and off with one little flick of that piece. On this system, there are metal clips on either side of each tower that clamp to the roof rails. These clips just slide into place and sit loosely on metal pieces on the tower until you tighten them down to the roof rails with the (provided) allen wrench driver. This means that those clips can *very* easily be knocked/jostled out of position as you're adjusting the placement of the towers before you can tighten them down and they just fall off. I won't say the number of times one of the clips fell off while I was repositioning a tower and clanged down the side of my car causing some choice words to fall out of my mouth. Then, in order to tighten (and therefore loosen) the towers, you have to use the allen wrench driver, so not like the previous system where I could just flip up/down a piece by hand. I was hoping I'd be able to do something similar to the old system where I could put a nearly invisible piece of tape on the roof rails to mark proper placement and be able to take the racks off and on on a whim, but obviously that's not happening. The bottom line is I'm a few hundred bucks into this system, so I'm not going to be switching to something else, but if I had it to do over again, I'd find something easier to mount/unmount. I use my racks pretty frequently to carry my canoe, so it's definitely not worth the hassle to take them off with this system.
Since you got your canoe mounted, does that mean you found a tow hook for the second mount point? I can verify that the Mini only has one hook, and that the threaded opening size on the front and back mount points are the same.
Thanks for the confirmation! I did not find a second hook with the Mini (of course), but in rummaging through the pile of stuff I had taken out of my traded-in Prius, I found the tow hook from that that I accidentally kept. (Oops! Sorry to whoever buys that car.) That hook fits well enough in the rear slot that I'll just keep using that.
I tried my canoe setup for the first time recently (floated down the river under there recent lunar eclipse). This is an 86# canoe and it’s a wide as the rails. It was rock solid. So much so that I didn’t bother with front and rear tie downs. Although I’m pretty sure that in my state they are required. Very little wind noise. Hardly knew it was up there! The racks are super easy to put on and take off.
Looks great! Your boat is almost three times the weight of my racer...I worry mine would try to fly away without tie downs! Are those the MINI racks?
I bought my racks off EBay. The seller is OMACUSA and the racks are made by Farad in Italy. Looks like they are $90 shipped right now.
My Cooper SE doesn't have roof rails but I'm wanting to get them installed. Got quoted $2500 from my local MINI dealer for an installation process, but I'm just curious if there's another way?
You could do it yourself if you're feeling brave. It involves removing your headliner and drilling holes in the roof.
I wonder if a third party shop might be able to give you much better deal. $2,500 sounds way over priced to me.
You could try a smooth roof rack if getting a rack on is your goal. This is one is not for the SE model years, but there must be something similar out there. Amazon.com: Roof Rack Cross Bars Lockable Luggage Carrier Smooth Roof Cars | Fits Mini Cooper Hatchback 2001-2013 Black Aluminum Cargo Carrier Rooftop Bars | Automotive Exterior Accessories : Automotive
Instructions (attached) require removing the curtain airbag gas generator (aka explosive) and drilling holes in your roof. Definitely not suggested for those without a good amount of previous experience
Yegads, I don't think $2500 is so outrageous. I love the final instruction: – Re-assemble the car in a logical manner
Is a shame they try charge $2500 but is a lot of work involved but I read my papers when I bought my SE is shoving code 386 for roof rails if factory installed $250 my SE I bought from dealer lot in January 2022 and come with roof rails
Fortunately I have a roof rails and I’m not going to use them on small car and I thing is a big deal here and my car have a big advantage in resale value as I thing install them for $2500 is great idea but as SE is such big dement sell yours and buy one with roof rails factory install this $2500 my offset a difference in price
I love a look as big canoe on a roof on SE and I try to make a joke if you tip over near the river you still will be afloat carry a SE upside down .Just a joke Good setting. What was your speed Carry that baby?
Will they sell the rail part? If so try to find a good BMW/MINI indie mechanic. I bet they’d do it for a lot less. Really a shame they don’t install these from the factory since they blend right into the car. I don’t notice them at all on my car.
I respect that, and am totally not disagreeing with you, but I like my roof smooth as it is without them. I have rails on the Crosstrek, and have yet to get crossbars after 4½ years. [Disclaimer: I do intend to get a set soon, along with a StealthHitch]
