In a message dated 98-11-23 16:30:36 EST, BDenton_at_aquagulf.com writes: << I'm buying a 99 Doge minivan and trying to decide whether to purchase the factory racks or not. I have Yakimas on my current minivan witch has rain gutters. What's the best option? >> Yakima will generally tell you that "raingutter" applications are the strongest way to install a roofrack. Unfortunately, the automakers aren't listening these days. Yak also sells various brackets which can be through- bolted or blind bolted to the roof creating artificial "raingutters" as was mentioned by another respondent. But the best advice is to read the fit book --- or Thule's equivalent --- to see what the rack manufacturers recommend. They tend to be conservative, but anything they will recommend tends to be pretty solid. As far as Yak's DoubleCross system is concerned --- brackets which attach to the factory installed raised rails on some wagons, my Subaru Outback included --- the fit is good and capacity is impressive. While I agree that most dealer racks appear to be cosmetic, in the case of the Outback, the carrying capacity with DoubleCrosses, according to Yakima, goes <up> from the 100 pounds advertised by Subaru using their crossbars, to 165 pounds using DoubleCrosses. I've carried two kayaks and a bike at a lot higher speeds than I should have in crosswinds, and have never had a problem. So don't automatically dismiss the idea of using factory siderails until you've checked it out in the fit books. Jack Martin *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
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