2005 Dodge Caravan.
I’ve got the two bars that run from the roof-top front to the back. The side rails.
…and nothing else… :eek:
Very scary keeeds!
I don’t have the anti-scuff bars that run in parallel between them (to protect the paint) and I don’t have the bars that cross from passenger to driver side, either.
Did somebody remove half my roof-rack before I bought the van or is this just some piece of auto-fashion I haven’t seen before. The “half-dressed” look?
You can buy things that clamp to those bars… bike racks, ski racks… you name it.
That’s pretty much what a Jeep Grand Cherokee we had came with - just the side rails - so it might be a Chrysler thing to sell cars with half-racks.
As Santo Rugger said, there are plenty of things that can use the side rails as anchors. Around here, Thule and Yakima are the most popular brands, and I’m sure there are others.
Look at other vehicles on the highway - it seems to be a pretty common arrangement for manufacturer installed roof racks, for instance, on the Volvo V50 wagon:
http://o.aolcdn.com/commerce/images/volvo_08v50_angularfront_Regular.jpg
Yeah - we have a store nearby, “Rack Attack”, I think, that sells that stuff. I bet - since it’s sporting equipment, it’s surprisingly expensive.
Jeeps come the same way. Not exactly sure why but it seems to be the way they do it. Maybe it’s an American car thing… You can still put stuff up there but just make sure you tie it down so it doesn’t cut up your roof.
Like the Volvo? … Actually, I made a point of looking at roof racks when driving around town today. The “no crossbar, no anti-scuff” setup seems to be on many of the newer or more upscale vehicles. I think some designer wanted them to look sleek and not spoil the lines. The anti-scuff ridges wouldn’t be compatible with the sunroof, either. I noted that a Mercedes M class and a BMW X3 both had this arrangement, as did a VW Passat wagon, so there seems to be plenty of European examples.
We turned our Ford Escape hybrid’s roof rack into one of these by taking off the crossbars. It improved our gas mileage noticeably - perhaps the car manufacturers do it for the same reason.
On edit: why on earth are the Google ads on this thread for suicide prevention??