Can you take roof rails off a car?
If you own or are planning to buy a car with a factory roof rack you’d rather not have, the good news is that they can be removed. Most factory roof racks are designed to be permanently mounted to the vehicle via built-in factory rails, and therefore they’re the most difficult type to remove.
Do you need roof rails?
We highly recommend having a roof rack. They allow you to carry almost anything you don’t want or can’t fit inside your vehicle. It could be big things like boats or bikes or nasty things like wet camping gear or hockey equipment. Some vehicles come with factory installed rack systems, some don’t.
Where are the roof rails on a car?
Different cars use different methods of attachment. Roof bars for cars with raised roof rails: Most commonly found on estate cars & SUV’s. Raised roof rails run from the front to the back of the roof and look like the picture below.
Do you need a roof rack for a car without rails?
Roof bars for cars without rails or fix points: If your car doesn’t have any of the features mentioned above then it will need a ‘Door Jamb’ type of roof rack. As the name suggests this type of roof rack clamps to the car door jambs (the door jamb is the part of the roof you can see when you open the door – see the image below)
What kind of roof rail do I Need?
Roof bars for cars with solid roof rails: Again, most commonly found on estate cars the ‘solid’ roof rail pictured below is a more modern version of the raised roof rail. They tend to be found on cars from roughly 2006 onwards and are flush with the car roof, ie there’s no gap between the roof and rail.
Where are the fix points on the roof?
A ‘Fix Point’ is a designated point on a car roof or inside the door jamb, specifically designed for mounting a roof rack to. There will usually be 4 of them and they’re usually hidden away under a small plastic cover or cap on the roof.