So I’ve picked up bike carriers for one car and ski carriers for my other car. I thought I’d mention it here because these things can get awfully expensive for what they are.
Car 1: two bike upright carrier by Yakima. Roof mount. REI.com price is around $500. I paid $100
Car 2: six ski carrier on Yakima Q towers with locks. REI.com price $600. I paid $120.
Of course I still feel that this is pricey but I bagged a big savings by buying the sets on Craigslist. Changes in car style and bike style like carbon frames that must be held by the wheels forces people to sell these systems at deep discounts used. I have also been successful at buying an elaborate multi ski/bike/surf carrier and breaking it up into what I need for my cars and selling the rest on eBay to recover some of the cost.
Finally I’ve been buying Yakima round bar systems. I sell off the genuine Yakima bars and then I make bars from 3/4” plumbing pipe wrapped with 30mm black polyolefin heat shrink wrap tubing. It looks great and is dirt cheap. I cover the ends with black crutch tips I get for $0.50 ea.
So those are my tricks.
In the past I’ve gotten lucky at rummage sales and bought systems cheap. Especially since one of my cars has rain gutters. People want to toss their gutter systems. But recently I picked up a gutterless tower system cheap because the guy traded up to an suv with integrated rails. The vehicle was too wide for the sedan width cross bars. Finally he didn’t want frame grabbing upright bike mounts because he and his wife just bought carbon bikes.
Wow talk about a chain reaction of consumer choices that come to bite you.
Perhaps some of this will help. I suspect many of you carry equipment around on your cars.
I’ve always been impressed with this solution too. With some nice woodwork one can neatly carry gear on the roof. There are more diy setups online showing suction cups and wood framing.
).