Best Roof Rack options for Double Cab Bakkie

[Skubarra]

Soon I will be joining the white bakkie brigade that Patchelitious love so much!

On my smaller SUV I used a roofrack for my bicycles which worked very well, I prefer that now over the tow bar bike carrier. and want to use something similar with the double cab

However its not so obvious to me what is the best route to go, I assume I need to buy a specific canopy suitable for roof racks but not sure which option to go(any suggestions?)

Any advice / suggestions / warnings on what to avoid / what worked for you?

Tx in advance!

[Shebeen]

1 minute ago, Skubarra said:

Soon I will be joining the white bakkie brigade that Patchelitious love so much!

On my smaller SUV I used a roofrack for my bicycles which worked very well, I prefer that now over the tow bar bike carrier. and want to use something similar with the double cab

However its not so obvious to me what is the best route to go, I assume I need to buy a specific canopy suitable for roof racks but not sure which option to go(any suggestions?)

Any advice / suggestions / warnings on what to avoid / what worked for you?

Tx in advance!

many options out there, both for the canopy and then the cab rack itself.

Personal preference, I don't like roof mounted bikeracks as plan A, for a start the bakkie will probably be way higher than your previous car was. 

 

I had to get a single rack recently, anything spelt with thu seems like a total overcharge so went with holdfast at way less. does hum a bit though at medium speeds

 

 

[Skubarra]

15 minutes ago, Shebeen said:

many options out there, both for the canopy and then the cab rack itself.

Personal preference, I don't like roof mounted bikeracks as plan A, for a start the bakkie will probably be way higher than your previous car was. 

 

I had to get a single rack recently, anything spelt with thu seems like a total overcharge so went with holdfast at way less. does hum a bit though at medium speeds

 

 

Tx - for holidays when we usually go camping with a rental trailer so its convenient not to worry about how I will get my bikes on/in the rental . Also I still have the overcharged thu rack I used on the SUV, if I can somehow fit it on the right type of canopy that would save some money.

[The Ouzo]

For bakkie you can either get cross bars for the cab roof, or, like you mentioned put it on the canopy.

But I think you may just have heart failure when you see the prices of decent canopies. 

I would look at one of the aliminium options for canopies, so much nicer than the fibreglass stuff. We use RamKappie here on the Tritons. It has a metal roof rack built into it, just not sure how you'll get your Thule stuff mounted to that.

[droo]

Tailgate pad for day trips, for longer missions the solution depends on a few things - canopy, armadillo cover or open, how much you want to put in the back, and will you be taking the bikes anywhere with tree cover.

Canopy and no height restriction - roof rack.

Canopy and height restriction - towbar rack.

Armadillo cover - Skitch crossbars.

Open - tailgate pad.

[Skubarra]

1 hour ago, droo said:

Tailgate pad for day trips, for longer missions the solution depends on a few things - canopy, armadillo cover or open, how much you want to put in the back, and will you be taking the bikes anywhere with tree cover.

Canopy and no height restriction - roof rack.

Canopy and height restriction - towbar rack.

Armadillo cover - Skitch crossbars.

Open - tailgate pad.

Tx - clearly this is not a quick simple fix 🤣. Probably will take me some time to figure out exactly what I want/need. A cheap solution in the interim would have been nice!

[ChrisF]

There was a thread a few weeks back about a "side-rail" system.

 

The "rail" is along the side of the bakkie, with the bike standing on the rail.

 

Nice low profile.

 

BUT, the vehicle will be wider by about 250mm on each side, if two bikes are loaded.

 

 

 

 

As @droo said, so many options depending on how you rig out the bakkie.

[droo]

35 minutes ago, Skubarra said:

Tx - clearly this is not a quick simple fix 🤣. Probably will take me some time to figure out exactly what I want/need. A cheap solution in the interim would have been nice!

The quick fix is a tailgate pad. You'll use it later no matter which way you end up going with the long term solution.

Otherwise if you already have a towbar and you hate your bike you can use one of those clip on two stick things.

[Skubarra]

24 minutes ago, droo said:

The quick fix is a tailgate pad. You'll use it later no matter which way you end up going with the long term solution.

Otherwise if you already have a towbar and you hate your bike you can use one of those clip on two stick things.

Tx @droo - this tailgate pad thing looks like a decent option until I figure out what is going to work in the long run 👍

[dave303e]

Ya +1 on the tailgate pad short term. The titan racing one is well priced. I love mine, so quick and easy to use. You can very easily get 4 or 5 bikes on there as well.

In terms of roof racks, bakkies are a pain with roof racks, worse if you have a lift kit. I have a 50mm lift from the aftermarket suspension and even my 10kg kayak is a mission to load sometimes. I went with an aluminium canopy just because of the side access hatches, not that I have it on that much, I need to load the bin too often.

The aluminium canopies have the rails for roof roacks, but tick the box for roof racks and it is easy 7-10k. I just bought thick wall square tube and T nuts that fitted in the rail.

But I would suggest low profile roof racks on the bakkie cab rather. That way you can stand in the doors and on the rock sliders to load the roof racks. You can also look up and see the bikes easier.