Thule vs. Yakima Roof Rack for 2010 Prius

Just an update with regards to the paint finish. After having my roof rack on for 4 months, I finally took it off since its getting colder.

I did notice some of the clearcoat being ... roughened up a bit, although its very slight. It looks like it can be buffed out since its very slight & can't be seen easily, esp. on my white car.

Here's the image below, if you look, you can see a slight squarish part of the paint where the Thule rubber feet used to sit on:



So, hope that helps for anyone installing a temporary rack on their car, just be aware of the paint being slightly scuffed. You could probably put polyurethane tape under the rubber feet/pads to totally avoid this - I tried that initially but didn't like the look, so this is what turned out.

 

That happened w/ my 2001 prius (scratched up because of friction) and now I have a newer version Prius; so I'm investigating if it's worth it to have permanent rail system installed. I called Rack n Road and they said it would be about $100 just for the install. I figure that $100 for install is cheaper than getting the side rails painted to avoid rust.

 

Would polyurethane tape help to avoid this as previous poster stated? I am really considering the roof rack for my road bike.. but i dont like the Clamp system nor the rubber feet compressing against the roof paint. Why couldnt toyota just make a rack mounting system as an option... just like BMW, if you dont want it, cover it with a rubber/plastic mold. If you want it, uncover it and screw on the feet for the rack. sigh....

 

I had Yakima tracks permanently fastened to the roof of my 2011 at a place called Rack Attack. The cross bars are very easy to clip on and off. When they're off, there's very little drag because the tracks run parallel to the car. I can get >43" spread between the bars, which is great for stability.

The bare bars make noise, but I don't want to use a spoiler because it gets in the way of my load system. When I have a load on there it breaks up the flow so there's no noise, so I just remove the bars (they fit inside the car if I need to bring them along) when I have no load.

Of course if you have a solar roof this probably won't work.

 

After seeing all the fuel consumption with the top mount roof racks I may just get the rear one now. But dang I love me a roof rack lol

 

Tape will for sure help it for the Thule. For the rubber "feet", if you put polyurethane tape under it, the tape will move somewhat due to the forces exerted on the tape - and the tape also stretches. Because of this it will not have a clean look when you put tape under the feet - it will pull and bubble up somewhat, thats why I opted to not do it. As you can see, the rubber feet did mar the clearcoat finish very slightly. Perhaps if you are clever you can make the tape work though.

 

Long time lover of Thule rack systems. Better car balance with a roof rack. Load is between the axles. Aero feet are on so tight you could tow the car with the bars. I have Thule parts from 30yrs ago that work great today.