Mont Blanc Fitting Question

[johnnycircuit]

Hello,

I recently purchased/installed the Mont Blanc rack for my Cooper S. It's a very nicely made piece of equipment. However, during installation I had trouble with the adjustment on the "extension feet". I had a really tough time getting enough slack to get the mounting foot up under the trim where it belongs. It seems as though the adjusting bolt just isn't quite long enough to let the clamp under the roof before it's tightened. The front loadbar and clamps went on perfectly.

I was finally able to get the rack on with a great deal of force - too much I think. Customer support at Perrycraft is looking into this but I wanted to ask here as well. Has anyone else experienced this problem? Thanks for any help.

John

[squishy]

were you able to get the MB rack fit properly? have you been happy with it? any problems?

--squishy

[johnnycircuit]

Hi Squishy,

I'm still waiting to hear back from Perrycraft (sigh). Once the rack is on the car, it works great. I'll update my post if/when Perrycraft gets back to me with an answer. In the mean time, does anyone else have trouble getting the rack onto the car?

-John

[stellablade]

I bought the Mont Blanc rack from a guy on MIN2 recently. I've only fitted it once, but I had exactly the same problem. I think there is a knack to it though. I found it easier to put the extension bar clamp under the window trim first, and then hook both screws onto the slots. Alternatively, I tried unscrewing the clamps completely, fitted the clamp under the trim and then screwed the clamp back on to the threaded bolt. The rack is very well built but I agree that the bolts on the extension bar are too short.

I'm surprised no one else has had the same problem.

Quote: Originally Posted by johnnycircuit

Hi Squishy,

I'm still waiting to hear back from Perrycraft (sigh). Once the rack is on the car, it works great. I'll update my post if/when Perrycraft gets back to me with an answer. In the mean time, does anyone else have trouble getting the rack onto the car?

-John

[squishy]

John & others:

could you answer a few basic questions about the mont blanc?
1 - it appears to bypass the rain gutters and grip the roof below. is this correct?
2 - does it come with locks when purchased from mossmini?
3 - can you use the sunroof with it installed?

my MCS is due to be delivered this week and i have yet to decide what to do for a rack but am leaning heavily towards the mont blanc. any feedback pro or con would be greatly appreciated.

thanks,
squishy

[johnnycircuit]

Hi Squishy,

Yes, it clamps under the gutters (not to them). It doesn't come with locks, but they're available from Perrycraft for around $20. I haven't tried the sunroof, but I suspect that it wouldn't clear my bike carriers. It would probably work with just the Mont Blanc rack installed - maybe someone else can relay thier experience with that.

John

[blondie]

I have read a few other threads where they have complained that the bolt is to short and have spoken to MB but they have no plans to change the bolt :-( I'm thinking og getting one myself but have not seen one in the flesh yet. Can you not just replace the bolt with a slightly longer one??

Simon

[squishy]

Quote: Originally Posted by blondie

I have read a few other threads where they have complained that the bolt is to short and have spoken to MB but they have no plans to change the bolt :-( I'm thinking og getting one myself but have not seen one in the flesh yet. Can you not just replace the bolt with a slightly longer one??

Simon

simon you could replace the stud except on the non-threaded end it is curved to wrap around a pin. removing the old one and fashioning the correct curve on the new one would be a bit of a problem unless you have the proper tools. (what tools those would be i'm not quite sure.)

so far i haven't had the motivation to try such a thing.

--squishy

[blondie]

how much do these roof racks cost? and where can you get them from? I remember seeing them for 150 at some point. I was hoping the price would come down

[lespurgeon]

Are they better than the Yakima rack? My first thought was to order a Yak-Rak, as the company is somewhat local.

[stellablade]

blondie - you can get them from:

http://www.skidrive.co.uk
http://www.autorack.co.uk/roof_racks.php

I struck lucky and got one off ebay

Quote: Originally Posted by blondie

how much do these roof racks cost? and where can you get them from? I remember seeing them for 150 at some point. I was hoping the price would come down