48" Universal Car Roof Rack Cross Bars, 176lbs / 80KG Load Capacity Roof Rack for Bare Roof, Aluminum Adjustable Crossbars Car Racks Roof Racks for Naked Cars SUVs Without Roof Side Rail

Thanks

Return not fitBuild quality very badNot worth it

I have intense mixed feelings about these. Here's the story: every year for Christmas we go to the beach, and because it's a road trip, we take my economical Ford C-MAX to get there. We have a tall narrow Christmas tree that is pre-lit that we actually take with us and set up in the hotel room, and it is actually pretty easy to keep that in the box and just take it with us. But my car is still a small car and last year I decided to invest in a cargo bag for the top of the vehicle. My car does not have rails it's just the roof. The bag worked mostly fine but there were some incidents that happened with extreme weather and I still cannot figure out how it happened but the rubber mat that helps the bag grip the car was magically ripped out by rainwater somewhere on the road. After this happened and it made things just a little awkward when we came back home, this year I decided to invest in some crossbars for the top. My thoughts would be that the bag would be able to strap to those and that it just might make it a little bit easier to secure the bag to the top of my car without putting all the weight directly on the roof.That was the goal anyway.So I looked into these bars that said they were universal and should have fit. In terms of width they fit fine, but the universal attachments that secure it to the roof... They're not so universal. They also have these rubber pads that are supposed to just stick? That they have these little nubs that you press through the metal that's supposed to hold these rubber feet on so the metal attachments don't scratch your roof, but after having the rubber mat for the bag be ripped out when the bag had been tightly strapped to the roof, I was not about to trust these little feet. They didn't really secure enough, the rubber nubs that you would punch through the holes in the metal attachments are not nubby enough to stay and so while they fit on the feet, they also easily pop off. I was absolutely convinced that somehow while driving down the road, those feet would just get shaken to bits and I would lose one, and then I would be stuck with raw metal scratching my car, so I made the choice to put some glue on them - The only way they would stay in place was if I added JB weld to the feet. That held them in place but unfortunately seemed to make them less flexible? It was almost like then it was difficult to get them to lay flat on the vehicle - which at least confirmed that the metal would have pulled at an angle and the rubber feet probably would have pulled the nubs out and I probably would have lost them on the road. Now I will admit that me using the glue on those rubber pads is not what was asked and may have affected how the rest of it worked, but I honestly didn't see any other way to guarantee I wouldn't lose them just because they didn't securely attach to the feet of the bars and I felt like I didn't have any other choice.When tightening down the bars, it fits securely on the front part of my car, but the bar that should have fit fine on the back of my car just would not do it. Now my car is a 2014, so she's a little old, she's an elderly lady at this point, and maybe her frame is a little off kilter with age, but considering that my alignment when I drive is just fine, I wouldn't think that her frame is that crooked - what I mean to say is that when I would try to strap down the back bar there was nothing I could do to get that to work on both sides at the same time. I had to ask my sister to help me, and it was like one side would fit as it should but then the other side would lift up weirdly. I measured them to make sure they were in the exact same place on both sides of the car, and yet it was like it wouldn't fit unless you had the bar at an angle sitting a little bit more forward on one side than the other, and then that would put stress on the frame of my car!And after saying all of this here's where it gets a little interesting. The front bar I was able to make it work decently enough. But that back bar would not work for the shape of my car (which is a curved roof kind of like a Prius but not) no matter what I did. The more you would tighten down the knobs, the more the feet would lift up off the vehicle. It was so weird. And I just couldn't get it to work for anything. So I settled and said that well... My bag has these front straps so I won't worry about the back bar, I will just use the front bar and make sure that the front straps of my cargo bag are tightly secured to this. This idea worked fine for our trip there. The front bar worked great and did help secure my cargo bag and I was grateful to have it. That's why I say I have intense mixed feelings about these bars and I can only give them three stars. The front bar worked for a short amount of time. On our trip home though, it's like this bar suddenly caught whatever no-fit that the back bar had and it suddenly didn't work the same, and we have no idea why. Nothing was really waited on that bar, it was more used to strap the bag too to make sure the bag didn't slide off the back of my car (because I no longer have the rubber mat, right?) So I can't say that it was bent out of shape because of that. And it doesn't make any sense to say that my car was out of shape and would suddenly change shape that quickly to suddenly make it so that when you tighten down the bar the feet were lifting up. Like I don't even fully know how to explain how nutty this was that it secured just fine at the start of the trip but then while loading up to go home, it didn't want to fully flush attached to my car. It was so weird.But maybe for a more standard vehicle because my CMax is a little non-standard I guess, maybe it would work for a Prius or ordinary sedan. Maybe for a vehicle with a more square top rather than the little rounded slope my car has... I'm not sure. I didn't return them because well ... It didn't seem right considering all the bug guts that are now on the bar and that I used it, but it's still not great. I have saved all the various sized pieces for them though, and I'm hoping that maybe I can use them on a different vehicle in the future. And who knows maybe next year that front bar will decide fits again and I can use it on my car once more. Who knows. But I'm just saying that they weren't really universal and they weren't really that good. They were very three star worthy for the price I paid, because hey I also didn't want to pay $200 just before Christmas for a proper set of bars that will fit my car. Maybe someday but since I only do this once a year and it's not that big of a deal this is fine. But man some of the weirdness... Like for the manufacturer I would just straight up recommend finding us better way to have those rubber feet attached. Just bigger rubber nubs even that will be harder to pull out or something. That was just bizarre. So these weren't bad but... They weren't good and I really don't recommend them unless you're in a pinch and can't afford something better. Sorry.

Good solid roof rack at a good price. The instructions that came in the box were more like a parts list but still important to make sure you have everything. There are better instructions on this Amazon advertisement about halfway down the page listed under the heading " Details Define the Quality ". I found the pictures to be particularly helpful.

If you enjoy poorly written instructions, cheap plastic parts and tightening mechanisms which don’t release for removal; this is the product for you! Returned it immediately.

The roof rack is a decent economical solution for occasional use it may not be suitable for all vehicles or long-term heavy duty needs. If you have a car with a standard roof design and require a budget friendly option, this might work for you. However, consider investing in a more tailored fitting product for frequent use.

Got these in today and they look like a good product. Mounted up on my car with minimal trouble. I will use them for a few months and report back here if I have any problems. As of now, they are a good product that works well.

Unfortunately, this roof rack didn’t meet my expectations. Assembly was more frustrating than expected, especially with the multiple clamps that don’t align well. Getting both rails properly placed was a challenge—if one side fit securely, the other would end up wobbly and unstable.Even after installation, the performance wasn’t great. While driving, there’s a noticeable wind howling noise coming from the gaps at the front and rear. It gets quite distracting on the highway, which defeats the purpose of a streamlined design.For the price, I believe there are better, more reliable options out there. The build and fit just don’t justify the cost. I wouldn’t recommend this one, especially if you're looking for a solid and quiet setup.