Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you needed to take a road trip, yet there was no way that you were going to be able to pack everything you needed for that trip into the vehicle you were driving? It happens to a lot of people.
It’s especially common when the vehicle you’re driving doesn’t have all that much room to begin with. A lot of times, the compact cars that are so popular today simply don’t have a lot of room when it comes to storing any type of luggage. That’s especially true if you’re trying to transport something that’s a fairly large or bulky item.
It’s also true if you’re taking a family vacation and you have occupants in the back of the vehicle. When you’re trying to cram four people into a compact car and the only storage space you have left is in the trunk, it can be a recipe for disaster. That’s precisely why so many people eventually make the decision to use a roof rack.
What is a roof rack?
A roof rack is capable of providing a fairly large amount of extra storage space without forcing you to use the storage space in the trunk or trying to cram both occupants and luggage into the back seat of the vehicle. It works very well for smaller, more compact cars that just don’t have space for larger items.
Some people use roof racks because they don’t have the space for more than one or two suitcases of regular size and they need something to give them that extra storage space so they can go on an extended vacation.
As previously mentioned, roof racks can potentially work well for transporting larger and more rigid objects. Sometimes, you even see people driving with a roof rack to support another object, such as a canoe, bicycle or piece of furniture. The question is, can you use a roof rack on your car without causing so much damage that it decreases its overall value at the end of the day?
How can a roof rack scratch my car?
The thing that most people worry about when it comes to installing a roof rack is whether or not the rack itself is going to scratch the vehicle. Make no mistake about it, if you don’t know what you’re doing and you try to install a roof rack on your own, you’re likely to cause some significant scratches on the paint.
The truth is, it can get even worse than that. Roof racks have to be installed with drilled holes and if you don’t know what you’re doing, you can drill into the wrong area, potentially causing electrical problems within the vehicle itself.
In addition, drilling holes improperly can cause the roof to leak, meaning that you could potentially have water damage in your vehicle the next time it rains. Rest assured, none of these things are likely to happen if a roof rack is properly installed.
Like so many other things in life, a roof rack’s effectiveness really comes down to having someone install it who knows what they’re doing in the first place and then using it properly. As such, a roof rack can become your best friend or your worst enemy, and it all depends on how you choose to go about installing it.
How to properly install a roof rack?
These days, most roof racks actually compliment the appearance of the vehicle as opposed to taking away from it. That wasn’t necessarily always the case, but they have improved their overall appearance a great deal over the years.
If you’re wondering how to properly install a roof rack so that you don’t scratch the vehicle, the first order of business is to decide whether you want to do the installation yourself or pay someone else to do it. Unless you tinker with vehicles all the time, you might do well for yourself to allow someone else to install it who has the experience that you are lacking. This is especially true if you’ve never tried to do anything like this in the past. It’s great to learn new things, but you don’t necessarily want your first big experiment in installing something major to be a project that could potentially damage your vehicle.
If you are going to install it yourself, there are two things that you need to pay attention to. The first is to purchase a roof rack that is designed to work with the make and model of vehicle that you have. You can’t just buy any roof rack off the shelf and expect it to work. The second is to make sure that you follow the installation instructions to the letter. It may take a little longer and you might even feel frustrated at some point during the installation, but it can definitely mean all the difference in the world between having a successful project and one that fails miserably and costs hundreds or even thousands of dollars to fix.
Which style of roof rack is safer for my paint?
Obviously, you don’t want to scratch the paint on your car or cause any other type of damage because you’re using a roof rack. There are a number of different styles of roof racks available for purchase but the most important thing to remember is that you need to choose one that works well for the make and model of your car.
You clearly don’t want to try and install a roof rack that was designed for a large SUV on a small compact car. It just doesn’t work. Aside from looking extremely out of place, it is more likely to scratch the vehicle and cause other types of damage because it’s not designed for the vehicle that it is being used on.
When you purchase a roof rack that’s designed for the make and model of car that you’re driving, you’re purchasing one that was manufactured to work with the contour of the vehicle itself as opposed to working against it. Therefore, it is less likely to cause scratches when you install a roof rack itself. It’s also more likely to work better when you decide to put that rack into use, something that will be discussed in greater detail in the following paragraph.
How to properly load something onto the roof rack?
Aside from installing the correct roof rack, the next most important thing is to learn how to properly load things onto that rack so that you don’t damage the paint by scratching it or even causing dents in the vehicle as you load and unload equipment.
There are a couple of different ways to ensure that you don’t cause any type of damage to the vehicle’s paint. Obviously, if you’re loading something that is heavy or has sharp corners onto the roof rack, it’s a good idea to use some type of barrier between the automobile and the object that’s being loaded. Some people use blankets. That’s fine, but if you’re going to do that, you have to be certain that you’re using a type of material that doesn’t lend itself to a great deal of movement.
It’s also imperative that you secure the object properly, especially if it’s encased in a blanket. The last thing you want is to have something moving around while it’s sitting on the top of your vehicle as you go down the highway. If you’re really concerned, you can purchase some non-skid mats that will protect the paint while simultaneously preventing whatever you have placed on the roof rack from moving around after it’s been secured.
By the same token, some automobile manufacturers even make special aftermarket products that are designed to be used in conjunction with a roof rack. These products typically create something of a rubberized barrier between the surface of the automobile and the roof rack, effectively preventing you from touching the painted surface with anything you might be loading, transporting or unloading.
Alternatives to roof racks that won’t scratch your car
If you’re still worried about causing undue damage to your vehicle by using a roof rack, you do have some other options available to you. Depending on the type of vehicle you drive, some of these options work better than others.
For example, you might decide to use a toolbox in conjunction with a hitch carrier and tonneau cover if you drive a pickup truck. This effectively turns the bed of a pickup into a very large trunk where you can store things and then keep them covered as opposed to having them exposed to the elements while you’re driving down the road.
Another popular item that people use in conjunction with pickup trucks is the camper shell. It effectively does the same thing as a tonneau cover, only it adds height and dimension to the bed of the truck. It also gives you a place to camp at night, hence its name. If you’re looking for a way to get some sleep where you can stretch out without being out in the elements, it’s quite effective. It works just as effectively for transporting fairly large objects without exposing them to the elements, as well.
If you’re looking for something more compact, such as something you could use with a small car, the roof cargo box is also a good option. Again, that’s something that you want to make sure you have installed by someone that’s qualified to do so in order to ensure that it’s properly secured and unlikely to cause damage to the vehicle itself.
When it’s all said and done, the choice is yours. It’s important to choose wisely, as you want something that makes your vehicle look better than it already does and it needs to be functional as well. Fortunately, you have a lot of options available to you so it shouldn’t be difficult to find something that works well for both your vehicle and your needs.
If you’re thinking of different ways to accessorize your truck or make it more functional, consider checking out my recommended accessories page. I spent a good amount of time picking out mods that can be useful for most pickup trucks.