[MiniPopArt]

Hi -
I've been using yakima racks for years (15 to be exact) and love them. Recently I purchased the q-towers and whole setup for my cooper s. I use it both for skis/snowboards and bikes. I went to install it today and was surprised to see it pulling the weatherstrip away from two of the windows. I'm not sure if this affects anything directly - but pulled it off anyway. Anybody else have issues like this? I know they say to use it only temporarily or it may deform the weather stripping, but I think 1 hour is maybe a little too temporary!
Any help would be appreciated....

[Bilbo Baggins]

Are you talking about the black hard plastic rain gutter or the soft weather stripping that the window actually closses against?

The rain gutter is only glued in place and will come adrift from the action of any roof rack that clamps over it.

See my photo gallery. For just that reason I elected to go with the factory rack that does not have to clamp over the rain gutter and has double the carring capacity of the Yakama or Thule. In addition to the bicycle carriers and cargo box I also have kayak racks that fit and carry two 16'/5m touring kayaks.

The factory rack is the most solid rack I have ever used in over 30 years of car ownership.

[MiniPopArt]

I'm talking about the soft black weatherstripping...It lifted above the window on two of the legs...I'm thinking about the factory rack - but dealer says is will be $620 installed - don't you think that a bit pricey? Also I want to use the sportrack trays so that I don't have to take the tire off the bike - not sure if it will work with the mini bars...

[snid]

My thought on roof racks is this:

If you need a roof rack, get the factory one, It's expensive, but the best roof rack I've seen on a car.

If you think you may want a roof rack now and then, get a Yakima / Thule. Cheaper. Not as sturdy. More likely to damage the car (weatherstripping, gutters, scratches on paint, etc).

[BartMack]

I've got the Yakima, which I've used occaisionally on my last 2 MINIs. I've not had any issues with the rain gutter coming loose.

The only problem I've ever had was some light scuffing on the paint because I didn't clean the rubber bases good before installing them one day (on previous Cooper) Now I've got a 2-inch wide roll of x-pel clear bra stuff, which I'm going to make some protectors to apply to the roof of my S to minimize the risk of that happening again.