Roof racks flying off....anyone

[Banjo79]

I was in the process of buying racks for the vf wagon. Have two Thule 598's and 2 mtb's to regularly move. This sucks, as I wanted the rail mounted type bars for strength but its looking like the removable type might be more secure. Pics of these little tabs would be great. Are they really plastic? Could the rails be further secured?

 

[Holden Customer Care]

I was in the process of buying racks for the vf wagon. Have two Thule 598's and 2 mtb's to regularly move. This sucks, as I wanted the rail mounted type bars for strength but its looking like the removable type might be more secure. Pics of these little tabs would be great. Are they really plastic? Could the rails be further secured?

Hey Banjo79,
We happened to come across your post and thought this information might come in handy.

For genuine accessory roof rack installation on VE/VF vehicles, Holden strongly advises following the installation instructions provided with the product. This instruction has been attached for your review if the original instructions have been misplaced.
Pay particular attention to the following sections of these instructions:
Page 1:
IMPORTANT:

• The roof bars must not be fitted to a vehicle when the ditch molding has been removed.
• If you experience difficulty when installing the roof bars, consult your GM Holden Dealer.

Page 4:
# 22 – Rotate the key to the locked position and remove the key. Rotate the Holden logo to cover the key barrel.
NOTE: If difficulties are experience in locking the cover into position, return to step 18 to ensure the bar is secured to the vehicle properly.

#23 – Repeat on all roof bar end fixings
e. To check final installation, hold the roof bar near each leg then apply pressure in the fore and aft directions to ensure no movement is present in the roof bar. If movement is present, contact your dealer.

We have attached the instruction file for your reference.

Thanks,
Holden Customer Care.

 

[Banjo79]

Thankyou Holden Customer Care and welcome to the neighbourhood. I'm just not sure it answers the fundamental question, "are the rails secured sufficiently to the vehicle?" I have no doubt all manufacturers feet attach adequately to the rails.
My car is finally booked in for painting on the 26th Nov and the plastic covers are coming off on both sides. The panel beaters and/or myself are going to have good look at just how secure these rails are to the car. I'll see if I can get pics up of the clips in question.

 

[myVRrules]

I have proracs on my 2008 sportswagon. Have travelled thousands of kms round aust with a roof pod.

The locking tabs that are on the roof rack fitting are a each a couple of cm long (from memory). Mind you, you do need to be careful to make sure they slide into the roof rail as far as possible. On the prorac the next fitting then physically prevents them from sliding out even if the locking screw comes loose. You would need to have the metal tabs or roof rail snap/break for it to fall off the car. I think it would take a lot of force to make that happen.

Not sure what genuine bars are like.

 

[mike_nofx]

Does anyone with the dodgy racks have a picture of how they secure to the roof? I have Holden racks and they seem quite solid to me like theyd not come off too easily.