Roof bars?

[tdi guy]

I apologise in advance if we have dealt with this issue before (I did a search but perhaps I wasn't looking hard enough).

Have we reached a consensus on the best roof bars for a MKV (for carrying a ladder)? Assuming the VW bars are too expensive (still awaiting a price quote from my dealer), have you had good experiences with any particular model? I'm aware of several makers:

- Rhino;
- Prorack;
- Thule; and
- Rola (only 40kg rating, compared with 75kg for the other makes).

Thoughts gratefully accepted

TG

[Splashalot]

I've tried all of these brands (except pro-rack) and in my experience Thule makes the best. I have their aero bars for my GTI - the mounting is rock-solid and there's no wind noise. Highly recommended.

http://www.thule.com.au/images/bar_photo/D.jpg

[davidstossel]

We have Rola's installed on our TDI Pacific and have no issues at all. In my opinion they are the most pleasing to the eye, Thule's are far to boxy and un-aerodynamic in shape - personal opinion though. I also like the fact that they are so easy to remove - less than five minutes to take off. The life time warranty is a bonus also.

I have attached a photo to give you an idea.

Good luck,
DS

[Greg Roles]

Another happy Rola owner here, and I use mine for a K1 kayak, and have had zero issues even at highway speeds. With a big boat on top you can see if the racks are solid or not, and I have to say the Rola / kayak combo sits flat as a tack.

I did put some stick on "armour" clear sticker under the feet pads. as they do eventually mark the paint with a combo of accumulated dirt and micro motion.

[Unbelievable]

I have the Prorack on my GTI with a Thule bike carrier and Rola kayak holders. The Prorack looks good and fits well. I think it's much better looking, cheaper, and more functional than the crappy VW one. The place I bought the Prorack had Thule, Rola, and Rhino and recommended the Prorack as being the best - even though the price difference was not large.

I had Rola's on my Subaru and used them *a lot* for kayaks and bikes with no problems. I guess that's different to ladders, but I had more than 40kg on them with no issues.

[tdi guy]

thanks

Thank you all for your thoughts. No-one has 'bagged' any of them yet (other than the VW accessory - still awaiting a return phone call from the dealer...), so seems like these three should all do the job.

TG

[Golf]

Where is a good place to buy Rola, Thule or Prorack in Brisbane?

[davidstossel]

Where is a good place to buy Rola, Thule or Prorack in Brisbane?

The best place to buy Rola's are to order them direct from their website - www.rola.com.au. You could always go to Repco, but chances are they will not have the VW specific racks you need and will charge you for delivery to their store.

Via the website, you order specific to your vehicle and delivery takes about 2-4 days. This is how we purchased ours and had no problems at all.

Best of luck,
DS

[DionM]

Where is a good place to buy Rola, Thule or Prorack in Brisbane?

There's a roof rack specialist in Kedron. Failing that, I bought my last set of Rola (Rhino) racks from Autobarn when they had 20% off (for my Jeep, though).

[Greg Roles]

Yeah if you're in no rush, wait till Repco have an Anzac day special or something. I had to get mine ordered in, and yeah, paid a delivery bill.

[WEDEL.1]

The best place to buy Rola's are to order them direct from their website - www.rola.com.au. You could always go to Repco, but chances are they will not have the VW specific racks you need and will charge you for delivery to their store.

Via the website, you order specific to your vehicle and delivery takes about 2-4 days. This is how we purchased ours and had no problems at all.

Best of luck,
DS

What are they saying here?

Part Number RM323 (Not suitable for GOLF R32 vehicles equipped with factory front & rear curtain airbags)

RRP (incl. GST) $309.00 Aust.

[davidstossel]

What are they saying here?

Part Number RM323 (Not suitable for GOLF R32 vehicles equipped with factory front & rear curtain airbags)

RRP (incl. GST) $309.00 Aust.

How very odd. I do not remember reading this when I purchased a set six weeks ago. Having said that, I am in a Pacific TDI so I may have skim read over that sentence.

I thought all Golf V's had curtain airbags? How would it be any different for the R32?

DS

[WEDEL.1]

How very odd. I do not remember reading this when I purchased a set six weeks ago. Having said that, I am in a Pacific TDI so I may have skim read over that sentence.

I thought all Golf V's had curtain airbags? How would it be any different for the R32?

DS

Exactly my point. Our Edition has curtain airbags.

I will get a price of the VW bars.

Maris

[bazzle]

Where is a good place to buy Rola, Thule or Prorack in Brisbane?

ARB

https://www.arb.com.au

Bazzle

[Unbelievable]

Hey BTW it's worth noting that Thule, Prorack (and Rhino ?) have a "standard" channel which means you can put bike racks, boat holders etc etc from any manufacturer on them. Rola uses a different size which means you need to buy a (Rola) adapter to fit parts from other manufacturers on their racks.

Even more stupid is that the Rola kayak holder uses the standard size fitting - so it also needs the adapters.