Difference Between Roof Mounted And Rear Mounted Bike Carriers

There are three ways you can carry your bikes – either put them on the roof carrier of your vehicle or mount them on the rear bike carrier of your vehicle or tow them using appropriate tow gear. Let' check the difference between roof mounted and rear mounted bike carriers. Read on.

If you are young-ish with a lot of hand muscle and can easily lift your bike onto the roof top of your vehicle, a roof mounted bike would be most convenient as it provides you with an easy upright and lockable bike carrier suitable for any bike up to roughly 20 kg in weight. These especially the Thule brands come with soft claw pads of the frame arm and also a lipped lower jaw - together it ensures your bike is held in place whilst while you drive to your favourite holiday or mountain biking destination.

If you are worried about the bike carrier looking odd on the roof-top of your vehicle, know that the Thule roof top bike carriers are available in black or silver versions. If you want to know more about the Thule brand of roof-top bike carriers, Thule Pro Ride 598 is acknowledged as a very convenient and elegant way to carry your bike on your vehicle roof. Thule Pro Ride 598 can transport all types of junior and senior bikes that weigh up to 20kg in total safety.

All you have to do is to place the front wheel of your bike into the ‘downhill’ slope and you find that the bike automatically rolls into position. It is automatically and firmly held by the frame holder – you don't have to hold on to the bike while you tighten the frame holder - the beautiful engineering of the Thule Pro Ride 598 takes care of all that.

Now let's look at the rear door mounting (also know as 'Hang On') type bike carrier:

We won't bother to compare any Chinese strap on cycle carriers as they are known to damage your vehicle's, bend metal and in general are just not worth considering for purchase so instead. Let's check out the Thule Roof Racks Clip On bike carriers as these are really easy to use. The main difference between roof mounted and rear mounted bike carrier is the height that you have to lift the bike(s).

So if you are short or have less arm muscle, you might want to go with the rear mounted bike carrier as you will only have to lift the bikes four feet or so.

Take for example the Thule's Race Way carriers (2 bike or 3 bike versions), - these are excellent, have steel straps and are really easy to use. Check out all the options on roof top and rear mounted bike carrier at Bikes-n-racks Sydney, Australia. You can also visit their online site here: http://www.barsnracks.com.au for Custom Roof Rack.

How To Install A Tow Bar On Your Commercial Vehicle?

Imagine you have a large pump or generator or some specialised equipment that is required at the work site or that you have to often take back something large from a client site for repairs in a garage or workshop. A tow bar is the ideal solution in each instance – it's a utility multiplier that adds immense value to your commercial vehicle. Now let us see how to install a tow bar on your commercial vehicle.

Now, before you install a tow bar on your commercial vehicle, you may need to do a couple of things:

Pre-Tow Bar Purchase:

Do read up on the owner's book of your vehicle to find out how much weight your vehicle can safely tow – never assume anything because each vehicle has a different towing limit. Also, if your vehicle is brand new, make sure your vehicle can tow right away as often times, a brand new transmission system will not be able to tow right away. It might need to be used for a few hundred kilometres before it is ready to take the strain of a tow.

Purchasing the right tow bar:

Check out the tow bar designs and select one that is ideally suited for your purpose. You will also need to purchase a tow mounting bracket – one that fits your vehicle perfectly. Apart from the mounting bracket, if the towed weight is going to be more than 750 Kgs, you will also need supplementary electronic breaking (to be attached to the controller in your tow vehicle) to assist your existing brake system.

Once you have everything laid out and ready for installation, you are now ready to install a tow bar on your commercial vehicle. Here's how you proceed:

1. Locate the mounting points on your vehicle – if you are not sure where that is, refer to your truck's manual. Although unlikely, it is possible that you might have to remove the rear bumper and other things to get to the mounting points to attach the bracket.

2. Attach the Bar – Locate the two open holes on either side of the rear chassis. If your tow bar has a chain mount, thread the chain through the mounting holes and back into the tow bar using a wrench to tighten it. On the other hand, it your tow bar has a bolt mount, thread the bolts through these two holes and tighten them with the wrench.

3. Attach the Towed Vehicle – After you have fitted the tow bar, attach it to the unit you want towed. The exact process will depend on the kind of tow bar you've purchased selected – whether it has a detachable or fixed flange ball. Your tow bar will have a manual included – see what that says.

4. Connect the Wiring – The final stage to installing a Towbar Sydney is to connect the wiring between the lead vehicle and the unit being towed. If the unit you are towing does not have any tail lights, you will have to purchase a separate trailer light wiring kit.

The best place to check out all options on tow bars in Sydney, Australia is at Bars-n-racks and they can also help with the attachment of your new tow bar. For Arb 4Wd Accessories Sydney Visit here: http://www.barsnracks.com.au.

Which Roof Rack System Will Fit My Car?

It's always a big question not just because it is a matter of a perfect fit, but also because it is usually accompanied with “which is the best roof rack for my car”. Read on to see how this knotty problem is resolved.

The way to finding the which roof rack system will fit your car as well as the best roof rack system for your car is to first check out the best roof rack system for any car and then see if they have a model that is specifically designed for your car.

That's right! Each roof rack manufacturer makes minor variations in their roof rack design so a particular model will fit a particular brand and model of vehicle. For example, each roof rack manufacturer will have a roof rack specifically manufactured for (say) Landrover and for a specific model too. The way they do this (usually) by separately marketing roof rack accessories i.e. 'shoes' or 'fit kit'. The bars of the roof rack remain the same but the shoes that anchor the bars to the car or vehicle vary slightly depending on the size and shape of each car or vehicle.

Which is why you first find the best roof racks in the market and then tell the salesperson which vehicle you need them for. They will outfit you with the roof rack and the appropriate fit kit for your vehicle. Once you've got that in hand, you can either fit the roof rack yourself or have it fitted at the nearest automotive garage.

Before you start checking for the best roof rack system, here's a tip: look up your vehicle manual and read up on the section on roof racks – specifically your vehicle's weight carrying capacity on the roof. You need to do this because you can't just dump loads and loads of stuff onto your new roof rack. Doing so will cause your vehicle roof to collapse – after all, they don't have a 'pillar' in the middle to hold up the roof. Your vehicle's roof is supported by 4 rather flimsy pieces of metal at the 4 corners. So any excessive load placed in the middle of the roof rack will first cause the roof rack to collapse in the middle and in turn, the centre of the roof of your vehicle will also cave in looking rather ugly and be expensive to repair. So read up your vehicle manual before you head out to buy or order your first roof rack.

That said, roof racks typically distribute their load towards the outer frame of the vehicle's roof. But again, weight specification apply so read up on your vehicle's load bearing specifications first.

Here are two of the best Roof Racks Sydney systems in Australia and all of these can be view and purchased at https://www.barsnracks.com.au/:

1. Whispbar Flush Bar Roof-Rack System

Definitely one of the best roof rack systems for your vehicle. It's optimised 'S' shaped aerodynamic bar almost eliminates wind drag and wind related noise. Thanks to their Smart Fill(TM) technology, these roof racks are also easy to attach and remove.

2. Yakima RailGrab Kit (58" Bars + 4 Towers)

Yakima manufacturers the awesome 'Tower-and-crossbar kit' for the roof rack system and it's versatile design accommodates vehicles with raised or flush side rails. Also, Yakima Roof Racks with a low profile that give you that integrated look for your roof rack.

Why Should You Consider Installing a Rhino Roof Rack On Your Off-road Vehicle?

These days there is a wide choice of roof racks available – from cheap Chinese imports that might not last the journey, to amazingly well designed, rugged roof racks made right here in Australia.

So as a vehicle owner needing to install a roof rack your choice should ideally be dictated by two things – purpose of the roof rack and quality. Purpose? You wonder if roof racks are used for purpose other than carrying things. Well no, but they are purpose built to carry certain type of things. For example, there are roof racks purpose designed to carry kayaks or skies or bikes and so forth.

The one brand name that stands out both in terms of design and quality is Rhino. Let us see why you should consider installing a Rhino roof rack on your off-road vehicle.

Rhino roof racks easy to install, are rugged, economically priced, and have a lower wind resistant quotient. As a standard, Rhino roof racks are powder coated silver or black and include keys and locks as accessories. Rhino roof racks are versatile enough to fit bare roofs or roofs pre-fitted with rack studs.

More reasons why you should consider installing a Rhino roof rack on your off-road vehicle include the fact that Rhino roof rack base components are available to order as part of a complete rack or separately. There are also Leg Kits available for each type of roof rack and to fit any vehicle you might have. Additionally, all Rhino products are covered with lifetime warranty.

If the purpose of installing roof racks is to carry your snowboards or skies, then the Rhino Ski Snowboard Racks and Rhino snowboard carriers make an ideal choice. Rhino ski racks and snowboard racks can hold up to 6 pairs of skis or 4 snowboards. Rhino has paid attention to detail and designed oversized buttons and knobs to make it easy to put or remove your skies despite wearing gloves or mittens. Even the locks are easy to operate.

If you need more reasons to consider why you should consider installing a Rhino Roof Racks Sydney on your off-road vehicle, know that Rhino also manufacturers bike racks and these can carry just about any bike frame style or type. In fact, Rhino bike racks are designed to mount on either car roof or trailer hitch receivers with ease. The Rhino Bike Rack fastens to your car roof with ease and you can carry your bikes upright.

Add or removing bikes from your Rhino bike carrier is easy thanks to the low height clearance and wide spacing between trays. In fact, customers claim that they can load and unloaded their bikes in seconds.

If on the other hand, you are looking to carry suitcases and holiday gear, consider the Rhino Roof-top Cargo Box. These are spacious , very rugged and aerodynamically designed. The Rhino Roof-top Cargo Box is available in four different sizes and each either black or silver coated.

For more 4WD Equipment Sydney and also the best place to buy this, visit Bars-n-racks retail outlet or shop online here: http://www.barsnracks.com.au

Tips for Installation Of Roof Rack on your Vehicle

While most people get their roof racks installed at the local auto-garage, it is not too difficult to do it yourself especially if you are used to doing things around the house and are handy with a spanner, wrench or screwdriver. Read on to see how easy it is to install a roof rack on your vehicle – even it is bare roofed.

Even if your vehicle is bare roofed and does not have a factory installed rack, all you need is the rack itself, a fit kit, a foot pack, and crossbars that's it. While the installation process itself is easy, depending on the vehicle, there are only slight variations to the installation process.

Tip: If yours is a small 2-door vehicle, ask for the short-roof adapter. These will increase the roof rack’s carrying capacity and also increase the gap between crossbars so that they are adequately spaced and ensure better weight distribution.

A 'Fit kit' is a custom-designed kit that ensures the best fit for your particular vehicle brand and model. It usually consists of a 4 strong clamps that fasten to the edges of your vehicle roof along with pads that contour to your vehicle’s roof.

The foot packs have four 'feet' and the Podium-style foot packs are most popular. Once these feet are fitted to the roof of your vehicle, you connect the fit kit meant for your particular vehicle and attach the rack’s crossbars.

You vehicle might either have a factory-installed roof rack mount locations or, it might have raised roof rails. In either of these two cases, the roof rack installation process is slightly different.

Installation of a roof rack:

First-off, there are several different types of roof racks e.g. Bike roof racks, Kayak roof racks and so forth. Let us see how each of these is installed.

The Bike Roof Rack: A roof-mounted bike racks come in two pieces, the roof rack and the actual bike rack. The bike rack is fitted to the roof rack and it holds the bike in place. If you have two bikes to carry, you buy two bike racks.

Tip: Buy a lock along with each Custom Roof Rack.

The Kayak Roof Racks

You're in luck if you have a vehicle that is shorter in height because lifting a Kayak over your head to place it on top of your vehicle requires quite a bit of physic and strength.

Tip: If you are short or your vehicle is over 5.5' in height, you might want to buy a 1.5' tall and sufficiently broad stool. You will need it when loading and offloading your kayaks.

Tip: Before you buy a Kayak carrier, measure the roof of your vehicle's roof – length and width. You want to be sure the Kayaks are going to fit the roof with only a feet or so jutting out at the front and rear. The Kayak carrier too has to be sufficiently long so as to accommodate the Kayaks. Also remember to buy straps to hold the Kayaks in place. For one or two Kayaks, shorter straps should be okay but also consider the Kayak's width, length and depth when selecting your straps and bar spread.

Finally, the best place to buy Rola Roof Rack is Bars-n-racks at Sydney and their branch locations spread across Australia.

Whispbar Roof Rack System Features And Benefits

Whisbar roof racks systems are way ahead of any other roof-mounted carrier system for your vehicle – both in terms of design and in terms of strength. With their unique aerofoil-shaped bar, the sheer quality of design and materials used as well as the finish sets it miles ahead of its nearest competitor. Let's check out why Whispbar roof rack systems are so good.

You realise you are using a superior roof rack system the moment you start installing the Whispbar roof rack because one of its features is the space they keep behind and in front of each location where nut or bolt has to be inserted and tightened. The space is important because you have to be able to insert a spanner or other available tool to tighten the bolt and you need adequate space to work. Trust us, we've seen too many roof rack systems (especially the Chinese made ones) where there is inadequate or down-right no space to work with and it can be quite frustrating.

The premium feature and benefit of buying a Whispbar roof rack system is the aluminium wing-shaped crossbar called the “Whispbar”. It incorporates a revolutionary space age design that nearly eliminates the otherwise irritating whistling sound caused by air moving past the roof rack. The added advantage to the design is that it also nearly eliminates wind drag and therefore does not increase your fuel consumption – though to be honest, we are referring to an empty roof rack. Once you put luggage on top, there will naturally be wind drag.

Quality costs. Whispbar roof racks are certainly not cheap but they definitely are value for money. Part of the benefit from having the S-wing system is that it can be used for every roof type, including flush mounted roof rails, raised roof rails, T-tracks, clamp on systems, Fixpoints and even cars with gutters. Just buy the right adopter kit when you – it’s just a question of which adapter kit you use. With a bit of luck you’ll only need to buy a new adapter kit when you buy the Whispbar and you are ready.

Yet another feature offered by the Whisbar brand of Roof Racks Sydney is that they let you choose the style of bar that suits the look of your car, truck or 4x4. For example, “flush bar” has 'feet' at the end of the cross bar and looks awesome on a sedan. But here's a little secret, for maximum load carrying capacity and flexibility you might want to choose the “through bar” - it's simply more street smart.

If your car is your pride and joy, it might be worthwhile to check out the Rola Roof Rack systems and you can do so online here: http://www.barsnracks.com.au