Can I Ship My Vehicle With A Roof Rack?

Shipping your vehicle with a roof rack is possible, but there are two things here. If the roof rack is removable, it can easily be fitted in the back seat of your car which won’t cost you extra cash. But, if it’s detachable, there will be additional costs on top of the shipping charges. Since the vehicle will take-up more space in the truck, we calculate the extra height and charge accordingly. When contacting a shipping transporter, it's important you inform them about your vehicles roof rack type. Otherwise, you will end up incurring costs you hadn’t budgeted for. Knowing your car’s roof rack type will help you plan your budget accurately. Here is everything you need to know about car roof racks.

You need roof racks from time to time

Roof racks are designed for both commercial and personal vehicles. Having a roof rack enables you to carry a wide range of items on top of vans, cars, trucks etc. while personal roof racks are mostly used to carry bikes, sporting gear, and other holiday paraphernalia, racks on commercial vehicles carry more weighty items such as ladders, load of boards, sheets of plywood, etc. The roof racks for commercial vehicles are, therefore, sturdier than those for personal vehicles. Basically, roof racks come in different deigns and sizes to suit the vehicle and use.

Permanent or temporally installation

Roof racks can be mounted on a vehicle either temporarily or permanently.

Many roof rack designs call for permanent installation, but there are also many of solutions that may be easily removed when not in use. Such designs are typically reserved for one's own automobile. So, it is important to know whether or not a roof rack may be installed temporarily before making a purchase. If you only need a roof rack temporarily, there's no need in investing in one that requires drilling into your car's roof. It costs more to ship a car with fixed roof racks, as was indicated earlier.

Your car’s roof type will determine the type of a roof rack you need to install.

Roof racks for bare roof vehicles

The tower style of roof rack is normally used for roofs without roof gutters. The towers attach to the roof using a kit from the roof rack manufacturer. Then, the cross bars are attached and accessories mounted to the crossbars. This option will also work well with a car that doesn’t have a factory roof rack installed. Most sedans from BMW, Mazda, and Tesla have fixed factory roof racks. But it’s not so obvious to spot these points since they are usually concealed by a little strip or plastic door. The bare roof vehicles like Toyota corolla will mount inside the cars door jams

Bare roofed cars require a specialized fit kit to clamp the door frames and hold the bars in place. This roof rack style is the most popular for personal vehicles since it fits almost all cars and it’s also completely removable which makes it easier when time comes to ship the car.

Roof racks for raised rail roofs or factory installed flush

This option is the best fit for vehicles that have rails running from the front to the back.

Some manufacturers install roof racks that either lack crossbars or fall short on functionality. In general, factory installed roof racks come with either a continuous side rail or a raised side rail.

If your car has raised rails, your towers won’t need other parts to mount. However, flush rails require a kit to fit to your vehicle. There are various aftermarket racks designed to suit different factory installed roof rack designs. While the cross-road tracks will work well with raised rails, the grab system will work well the factory installed flush.

Roof racks from factory installed tracks

This option is best for vehicles that have tracks (aftermarket or factory) running from the front to the back

Tracks on a vehicle are usually similar to fixed points where the rack mounts. The only difference is that the bar-spread is adjustable on a track-mounted system. Tracks vary in width and depth thus each vehicle requires a specific fitting kit to mount the tower to the roof.

Since vehicle roofs are shaped and sized differently, you may need to buy the load bars and supportive attachments separately. You may also need to purchase additional accessories depending on the items you intend to carry on your roof rack. Also, enquire to know if the roof rack design you’re purchasing will require parament installation or temporal.

For more information or inquiries, don’t hesitate e to contact us for expert advice.