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Recommendations for a Roof Rack

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roof rack
23K views 38 replies 18 participants last post by  Howard 
#1 ·
Hi All!

I would love to purchase roof racks for my 2019 Chevy bolt (that does not have rails).

I know it’s possible to get the blocky standard Thule and Yakima racks from RackAttack.

Does anyone have experience with low profile and more sleek (and less expensive) racks?

Thanks so much!
An.
 
#2 ·
Without existing rails (or tracks or raingutters or rack attachment points), it may be hard to find anything other than the doorframe clip type racks. It looks like Thule's doorframe clip setup for the Bolt has been discontinued.

The Bolt Premier rails are not as useful as rails could be, in that they really only provide fixed point rack attachment points; the rails are flush rails with only a minimal indent, making them less effective for crossbars that clamp onto any part of the rail. Some people who have Bolt Premier with the rails have found less expensive crossbar options, but they may require modification. The rails can be added to a Bolt without them, although there may be aftermarket track options that could be more versatile if you want to make permanent modifications to the car.
 
#3 ·
Roof racks will kill your range by 30%, have you considered a tow hitch?

Will likely save you money and probably even be more versatile and easily accessible. A lot of people here with them can tell you how it impacts gas mileage but I can guarantee you it's a lot less than roof racks.

They're like resistance sails in the wind in a type of car you're generally concerned with reducing that kind of thing obsessively.
 
#4 ·
Roof racks will kill your range by 30%, have you considered a tow hitch?

Will likely save you money and probably even be more versatile and easily accessible. A lot of people here with them can tell you how it impacts gas mileage but I can guarantee you it's a lot less than roof racks..

They're like resistance sails in the wind in a type of car you're generally concerned with reducing that kind of thing obsessively.
I'll second that opinion. Get a light duty trailer instead. I have a Sportsrig trailer and at highway speeds the range impact is suprisingly minimal when hauling our tandem trike.
 
#7 ·
This is where "your mileage may vary" comes into play. I see you're from NYC like me @Jake from State Farm so I'll say that 55mph is way different from 75-85mph. Your trip to I want to say, Harriman (?) is going to be much more efficient than traveling across South Dakota where the speed limit is 80mph and people go 80-90. Aero bars will be better than my old school square bars and a fairing which is really what I'm basing my experiences on (just finally got rid of those with the last VW GTI!) In the GTI I'd get 33mph highway then till NJ then it would drop to 25 when I was cruise controlling at 74mph on say I-80. The 30% number was based on my experiences plus this after Googling to see how bad it was on EVs.

Aero consideration do get over the top though (omg pun) when things like the Kona EV doesn't even have an option for roof racks because of aerodynamics yet it has the setup for it right there because the gas version can get them. Can't even put them on aftermarket cost effectively because it's riveted to the roof. Super annoying because we're the only country that made that decision so there's not a lot of options out there aftermarket, other countries you can get the rails on the EV.
 
#9 ·
We're talking ~25-80 miles lost depending on empty/carting something, right? The rest is up to her. For me, empty roof racks costing me 25 miles is a deal breaker but I don't know anything about surfing, not even transporting the boards, so 🤷‍♂️

I could only imagine 5F range in the dead of winter with my winter tires and a Thule bag or cargo carrier on top. I bet it would drop to like 100 miles range @ 80% and I'm not even joking. I only get 140 miles already when it goes just below freezing without the racks.

I'm surprised no one here has chimed in yet with specific mileage lost from roof racks on our Bolt, this seems like the kind of thing we'd all have at the ready.
 
#11 ·
As with any aerodynamics, the efficiency loss with roof racks is going to be very dependent on the speed you're travelling. I have door-clamp Thule racks on my LT. I used the bars from my previous car, and had to buy new feet (used off Ebay) and "fit kit" (new from Thule) to put my old bars onto the Bolt. I've considered upgrading to the newer "aero bars", but instead I just take the rack off my Bolt when I'm not using it. I use it to carry a canoe/kayak during the summer and e.g. Christmas tree and maybe some lumber when needed. The rack fits very well and feels rock solid to me. About 5-10 mins to get on/off.

I haven't noticed anything like a 30% hit when the rack is on my Bolt. I can imagine you might see that at 80-90 MPH, but I usually don't go that fast when something's on my roof.
 
#20 ·
Factory roof rails can be fitted to an LT. Talk to your dealer. I have the round Yakima bars. I have ATOC tandem racks and the Yakima paddleboard rack. I also have a hitch rack for e-bikes. I have carried all of the above into the mountains in Colorado. I lost probably 15% with all that going no more than 65 mph, the speed limit. For really long distance driving, I remove the roof rack and use only the hitch rack. Loss at 65 mph seems to be about 5%. Maybe 10% at 70 mph. Obviously more at higher speeds. Range will go down approx linearly with speed.
 
#22 ·
Back to the hitch idea- I would be surprised if an option does not exist to mount a surfboard vertically on some sort of attachment. Being a mountain bike user, I can 100% say that putting my bike on the back of my subaru (I haven't set anything up on the Bolt yet) is night and day better than on the roof. Maybe research that further. Under 14 feet tall you should have no problems logistically with underpasses or bridges.
 
#29 ·
I have a Yakima rack that's outfitted with kayak saddles. One of the things I really like about it is how easy it is to mount and dismount the rack. The "tower adapters" remain screwed into the roof rails on my Premiere level Bolt, but the rest of the rack unlocks and pops on or off with ease.

I normally hang the crossbars with saddles in the garage and drive around without them, only putting them on the car when I want to haul the kayaks. I've been considering getting a second set of crossbars for general use as it's a pain to remove and then reinstall the kayak saddles when I want to use the rack for something else.
 
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