:smile: Good day all,
I just got my new HHR LS last month and decided to join this club to find out more about what people think about it.
I'm from Montreal Quebec, and probably one of the few that have an HHR in town, and I just love it. :nuts:
Except that I have a problem hough with getting a roof rack to carry my windsurf and bicycle. We were told by the dealer that the original roof rack is not strong enough to hold articles that are wind resistant and that the they would not be responsible if the original roof rack tares from the roof. We were not able to find a manufactured rack that would fit the HHR.
Any suggestions :confused:
Is there a roof rack solution somewhere ?
Windsurfing season is upon us and I need to find a solution !!
Thanks for your help.

Juli

Juli, Great decesion on the HHR! We just luv ours...

Do a search for roof rack on this forum and you will find an answer or twelve...

At the bottom off this thread I see 4 advertiser site's for racks, a1-roofracks, AutoTruckToys, Thule, and my personal fav Yakima, all dot com's....

Hope this helps...

Don't mean to be an ass, But why is this on the front page news?

I guess it would be great news if some manufacturer would come up with a better roof rack system. Wouldn't you ? :confused:

Yea, I want all of my posts to be FPN!!!!!

And yes, I would like to have some cheese with that wine??

You beat me to in Nate. :rof: Did you realize this is now the first thing you see when you come to this site. :smile: Good way to make an intro! :banana: :lockd:

Hey. Give her a break, nate. She's new.


What you may want to do, Juli is call around local shops that can customize something for you. Particularly truck accessory shops since that is what they specialize in.

He's not picking on anyone or anything. :confused: This isn't front page news by any means. ;)

I'm not pickin' on anyone... Was just a bit curious. Yeah, It would be neat though, If they did make a better roof rack.

Let's just keep posting on this thread and it will stay front page news ;)

It's already been moved to general discussion. ;)

Thank goodness! Now we can get back to the job at hand......making those red dots dissapear! :poke:

Well... all I can say is Thank you for putting me on the right track !!!!
:roflol:
P.S.: I'll stay away from the FPN !
It says on another thread that guido got his roof rack from Cabelas. Is this a manufacturer ? and do they also have roof rack that can be installed if you don't have the original roof rack on your HHR ?

Cabela's is a distributor.

WWW.Cabelas.com

I Imagine that you could find one there that will fit w/o a factory roofrack.

I second what your dealer told you; carrying bicycles on the roof of an HHR will most likely cause damage. The HHR's roof is made from very thin metal which bends or dents easily. The increased leverage of a bike (or bikes!), in the wind and leaning during turns would probalby case a rack to fail.

I used to own a bike shop (sold it in 2004), and would recommend you look into a rack like this:

http://www.bicyclebuys.com/productimages/0129998.jpg

The Allen Deluxe 3 Bicycle Carrier 103D (http://www.bicyclebuys.com/Items01.asp?NavID=moreinfo&SKU=0129998). I have sold hundreds of these racks and can vouch for their durability. You can't beat the online price either! This rack can be setup so the lower support rests directly on the top of the HHR's rear bumper, so all the weight will be supported there.

Using a total of 6 straps with vinyl covered hooks, it fits snugly and can be easily removed and placed inside your HHR when you reach your ride spot.

Again, I understand that a roof rack was what you were asking about - but I would not recommend one for bikes with the HHR. I don't think a kayak is doable either! :eek:

Hope it helps,

Welcome to the site. I'm working on a set of roof rails for my HHR LT2 with factory rails. They will be made from 1.5" alum. solid bar with rachet straps. When done they will be polished and maybe cromed to match the factory look. It will be designed to hold my longboard or bike rails. I will be test fitting them this weekend. The factory rails should be strong enough for that.

One other note, you can install the tow hitch receiver and get the bike rack that will slide into that to hold your bikes, that way you stay away from the paint and body.

Well... all I can say is Thank you for putting me on the right track !!!!
:roflol:
P.S.: I'll stay away from the FPN !
It says on another thread that guido got his roof rack from Cabelas. Is this a manufacturer ? and do they also have roof rack that can be installed if you don't have the original roof rack on your HHR ?

Juli, Mine is just a Temp. bag. Just for luggage not what you are looking for. Your gonna need something more stable. Try Thule or one of the other manufactures of permanent racks ;) .

I don't think a kayak is doable either! :eek:

One of the reasons I got the roof rack was because I was planning on getting a kayak this summer. What would you recommend for transporting a single person kayak? Just trying to get some ideas before I spring for the rack rails.

How long is the kayak and what does it way? I talked to GM and they were not much help, they said to check with the dealership of load carring. The owner's manual says it will handle 150 lbs. I know that the wind up lift is hard on the roof, but would think that a kayak would not have a lot of wind drag. You might want to go with a rear trailer hitch that would go up to the roof line to help support the tail end of the kayak.
It would look like a "T", that way the trailer hitch would help carry the weight.

I have Thule roof racks installed and use them for carrying windsurfer or kayak. They are pretty stable and look good with the factory rack. I'll try to post a picture.

Here is a link for the Thule HHR Racks (http://www.thuleracks.com/thule/fg_choices.asp?car_id=7862&sport=26&year=2006&factory_roof_rack=1&factory_id=11344&option_number=1)

Eli

My surf bud, just got a blue HHR with the crome package and also the factory cross bars. They look pretty good.

My surf bud, just got a blue HHR with the crome package and also the factory cross bars. They look pretty good.

Factory cross bars??
I've been away for 10 days.... what else have I missed?

The crossbar looked good. He said that they bolt on with lots of bolts. Will have to take a closser look.

I have seen pics of the factory crossbars, but weren't too impressed with them. They looked like they were pretty wide, which would prevent my Thule accessories from clipping to them.

We have over 900 members here, does anyone have these yet? Or even the Thule/Yakima crossbars? I would like to see pics if you do. My vacation is coming up and I need something to carry my kayak. If I had know that the factory rails were so cheap then i wouldn't have gotten them. Good looks only go so far.

-Saint

Hi

I am rather new as I have only had my HHR for about a month but I am trying to modify a set of Chevy Venture Van Cross Rails to fit on my HHR.
The problem is I have not figured out how to remove factory roof rails enough to slip the venture cross rails into the horizontal slot. I removed the screws on the underside but I can't remove the long bar. I don't want to go inside and start removing the headliner. Is there anyone out there that has worked on the factory roof rails. I have spoken with my dealer and they can order the GM Cross rails but I think they sit too high and plus they are close to $300. Thanks for any help.

I just thought I would ask again.

Does anyone have any experience with removing the factory side roof rails? I am trying to modify a set of Chevy Venture Cross Rails to fit into the Factory Side Rails but I need to be able to separate the two pieces in order to slide the Venture Rail into the slot. Just wondering with this many members someone must have some experiences. I have removed the screws on the bottom of each rail. Can the end chrome caps be removed from up above?


John

I have removed the screws on the bottom of each rail. Can the end chrome caps be removed from up above?
John
those caps lift from the end to the rail side and lift off. a small flat head screwdriver or a butter knife should help you get them off. just put it in the very far end and lift gently. the chrome cover should pop off. there is a tab holding it on the rail side.

HUH???

Far end? butter knife???

Pic me, PLEASE!!!!!

The roof is thin, but seems to hold my 9'3" surfboard. The end caps come off by lifting up on the end then sliding outwards. On mine there is a torks bolt and a hex bolt on each corner. They use a nutsert to hold the rack on. If you want to carry bicycles you can install the trailer hitch and then get the bicycle rack that slides into the receiver, that way it not rubbing on the paint.
Hope this helps.

CJ and Coolsurf

Thank You for your input. I will try it tonight when my wife gets home. I really appreciate both of you responding. I convinced my wife to downsize from a Minivan but we still need to put some bags on top when we travel to northern Ontario in the summer. We both love it but we have an 1100 mile trip (one way) ahead of us next week and I need to figure this out. I will post some pictures when I make some progress on this whole project. We need the back of the HHR for our Irish Setter and one grown daughter so that is why I need the roof. Thanks again for you help.

John:thumb:

CJ & Coolsurf :one:

The caps came off just like you said they would exposing the torx bolt heads.
I have one side rail off and will spend tomorrow fitting the new Chevy Venture cross rails. Thanks again and I will post some picts of the entire process.

Happy Birthday Coolsurf and thanks so much for your help. I told my wife she would have to drive my truck tomorrow to work so I can spend the day on the HHR.

John :smile:

you are very welcome

I promised I would share some picts of the Cross rails and why I needed them. Please understand the only way I could convince my wife to downsize from a Mini Van was to guarantee that I could put a roof rack on the HHR and I realize how it looks a bit out of place on top, but it looks better than one of those big boxes. I kind of like how it reinforces the truck theme.

Thanks to CJ and Coolsurf I was able to remove the factory rail end caps and install the venture cross rails but they would not work. The Factory Rails on the HHR are at such and angle that they position the cross rails to far up in the air.

So I went back to purchasing a set of Thule 450 Crossroads with LB50 Load Bars. I could attach them right next to the factory rail feet for a very secure fit. The Thule Basket attaches directly to the cross rails. As I said before we downsized from a mini van after 18 years and we love the HHR but we still travel to northern Ontario in the summer and we still have an Irish Setter and one grown daughter traveling with us so the basket in a necessity. We leave next Thursday and I will take some pictures of it loaded down. Thanks to everyone for their help. :thumb:

http://www.chevyhhr.net/gallery/files/9/3/0/ThuleBasketFrontView.jpg
http://www.chevyhhr.net/gallery/files/9/3/0/ThuleRackRearView640x480.jpg
http://www.chevyhhr.net/gallery/files/9/3/0/CloseupFront.jpg
http://www.chevyhhr.net/gallery/files/9/3/0/ThuleRackCloseup.jpg

Looks great, John! The Canuck flag looks great over the HHR logo. :thumb:

Sounds like you'd better get a sway bar on before the trip though...:lol:

Looks real good John. Is that a 690 - Thule M.O.A.B. Basket or another? I am faced with the same problem of carrying cargo on the roof.

Looks real good John. Is that a 690 - Thule M.O.A.B. Basket or another? I am faced with the same problem of carrying cargo on the roof.

Yes it is the Thule 690. I bought it from "Rack Attack" for $296 and free shipping. They had it in stock.

The rack looks great, my home made cross bars are working out also, it only holds 2 surfboards right now. Hoping soon to have picture, if I can figure how to download them to this forum.

The rack looks great, my home made cross bars are working out also, it only holds 2 surfboards right now. Hoping soon to have picture, if I can figure how to download them to this forum.


Send me an email with the pics and I can host them for you for a little while :)

Thanks endeavorc:

I will take some and let you know.

The Thule rack finder says: BASE PRODUCT 450 Crossroad | LB50 Load Bars. The Thule bars come in 50", 58" 65" and 78" lengths.

The rack looks great, my home made cross bars are working out also, it only holds 2 surfboards right now. Hoping soon to have picture, if I can figure how to download them to this forum.


Coolsurf
Your crossbars look very nice. I like them because they don't mess up the lines of the HHR Roof much and they look real simple. I was just surfing thru the Gallery and saw them. Right now I am working on a larger fairing for the front of my basket. I got a piece a scrap 1/8" aluminum and I am adding it to the front. The Thule fairing didn't go down close enough to the roof. I am going to do a trial fit tonight. Nice job on the cross bars. You might want to post some of your pictures to share :thumb:

As I promised a picture of the revised fairing I have been working on for my Thule Basket and Cross Bars. I still have some fine tuning but it is much quieter than before. We will see on our trip at the end of next week when it is loaded down. :smile:


http://www.chevyhhr.net/gallery/files/9/3/0/CloseupFairing.jpg

Thanks john, If I could figure how to post larger pictures i would.

Here ya go coolsurf. Those look really good too.

If you need instructions, there is a sticky on the Site Development board that explains how to POST PICTURES (http://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/showthread.php?t=3033),
but I'm happy to do this for you. :thumb:

http://www.chevyhhr.net/gallery/files/7/0/5/DSCN0803.JPG

http://www.chevyhhr.net/gallery/files/7/0/5/DSCN0801.JPG

http://www.chevyhhr.net/gallery/files/7/0/5/DSCN0805.JPG

Thanks courthouseded, that was quick!

Coolsurf.. Could I see some closer pics of the attachments to the rack. Although I really love that Thule setup too.

Back to kayaks. I have a sit-on-top that weighs about 40 lbs and is 11' long. The dealer assured me the HHR roof could handle that weight. I have a $400 Thule roof rack system on my Windstar van. The bars and rollers are so heavy, I didn't think it would be wise to try to convert them to fitting on the HHR. I was going to buy the foam block kayak racks. Do you experts think they will work? Also, the dealer told me the antenna is removable for when I want to transport the kayak. Is that correct?

I already bought the bicycle rack that fits on the rear door. I will try it out in a few weeks when I take my son back to college. I'll also get a good read on what kind of mileage I can get, loaded and unloaded.

Do you mean the antenna on the rear? I think it is, but the way it snaps in I'm not sure you want to be popping it in and out. I think you turn it counterclockwise though. Hope that helps.

front antenna unscrews and the back one uscrews like half a turn and it comes off.

the back one for the XM is so short that it is hard to believe it would get in the way of anything. you could also get a stubby for the front and that would probably make it short enough to no be in the way as well

Thanks for the info. I didn't even know there was an antenna in the back.

Sandybeach, I am an SOT kayaker as well. Keep us posted on what you decide. I have a small trailer if I'm bringing more than one one yak, but would like to roof it for just one. Thanks

After not being able to find an appropriate roof rack for my windsurf board and mast, we decided to simply strap it to the roof using a thick lawn chair mattress, to protect the roof. The strap would buckle up inside the cab. It was perfectly stable, even at 75 mph.
I sure you wouldn't be able to do that with a kayak !
Have a great HHR summer !
Juli

Juli, do you wind surf on one of the Great Lakes? How warm does that water get in the summer? I saw wind surfers in the Atlantic near Reykavik Iceland one day. I couldn't believe anyone would be that dedicated to a sport. The high temp up there during our 2-year military tour was 64 degrees. You can imagine how cold that water was.

I don't windsurf on the great lakes. I prefer warm water :cool: , so I mostly windsurf in the caribbean (Mexico, Jamaica and Barbados) while on vacation, and in a few lakes in the Adirondak (Lake Champlain and Meacham Lake)...I'll be at Meacham Lake next weekend, and I'll be in Mexico in October for 22 days. I just hope I don't get caught in another hurricane like last year in Mexico, Hurricane Wilma.
Take care.

I posted pictures of my kayak on the roof of my HHR using foam blocks. I just don't know how to get the picture in this post. I really don't recommend this method. The tighter I pulled the straps, the more the roof bowed. I'm going to keep looking for cross bars to put the foam blocks on.

I have to say it's a lot easier getting the kayak on and off the HHR than my mini-van.

I posted pictures of my kayak on the roof of my HHR using foam blocks. I just don't know how to get the picture in this post. I really don't recommend this method. The tighter I pulled the straps, the more the roof bowed. I'm going to keep looking for cross bars to put the foam blocks on.

I have to say it's a lot easier getting the kayak on and off the HHR than my mini-van.


SandyBeach

You may have already seen this but I am very happy with the Thule Crossbars that I bought this spring. They fit very securely. Also since I only need the basket a couple of times a year I can remove everything, including the crossbars all at once.

I took it off last week in 10 minutes and after I waxed up the roof and side rails there was no evidence that they had been there for the entire summer. I looked at the factory cross members and I just didn’t like them, plus they would have been on all of the time.

http://www.chevyhhr.net/gallery/files/9/3/0/ThuleRackCloseup.jpg

How heavy are those bars, John 11? The Thule cross bars for my minivan are very heavy, probably 20 lbs each. I want to keep the weight to a minimum. I do like putting the weight of the kayak to the outside where the roof has more support.

How heavy are those bars, John 11? The Thule cross bars for my minivan are very heavy, probably 20 lbs each. I want to keep the weight to a minimum. I do like putting the weight of the kayak to the outside where the roof has more support.

SandyBeach
Yes they are pretty heavy, but I did cut them down in length so they fit the rails width. I can't really weigh them now because they are attached to the basket. The nice thing is that I was able to position them so they sat over the supports of the factory roof rails. I didn't get any deflection on the roof even loaded down.

http://www.chevyhhr.net/gallery/files/9/3/0/ParrySound.jpg

I just looked on Thule's site. Those parts that clamp the cross bar to the roof rack are $140.00 for 4. I don't need any of the other parts. But, that's more than I can afford with a car payment. There has to be a cheaper solution.

I just looked on Thule's site. Those parts that clamp the cross bar to the roof rack are $140.00 for 4. I don't need any of the other parts. But, that's more than I can afford with a car payment. There has to be a cheaper solution.

I understand that is a lot, but the factory rails are close to $300.
I went to the website "Rack Attack," I got mine from, they are listed at $126 and at times they run specials at 10% off plus free shipping.

Here is the website: http://www.rackattack.com/racks/450-thule-450-crossroad.htm

I did try to fit an old set of Chevy Venture Van crossrails on my HHR but the angle was different and I just couldn't get them to work. Good Luck. :smile:

I went to the website "Rack Attack," I got mine from, they are listed at $126 and at times they run specials at 10% off plus free shipping.

I've dealt with them before, reasonable pricing, great service, I highly reccommend them.:thumb:

GM now has cross bars available for $299.00 at http://www.gmgoodwrench.com/accessoriesjsp/accessorydetail.jsp?make=chevrolet&model=hhr&year=2006&detail=06_HHR_RMR&sid=8672024893255711.

No wonder they like to add roof racks to vehicles at the factory. This is easy money for the auto manufacturers!

I've been following the posts here on HHR Roof Rack Cross Rail threads.

I have been looking for an economical but reliable and easy to add and remove set of cross rails for my HHR stock roof rack on my 2LT.

I've been reading your posts and sounds like some of you may have found a few sets that work well for you folks.

Any recommendations as to what make and model along with a good dealership to purchase from. Any help would be much appreciated.

If you have more pictures, I'd love to see them. Especially the Mont Blanc Series and the Thule Series...

Thanks...

I have the set from GM, they look real nice but I won't put them to the test 'til my annual vacation.
I got them from gmpartsdirect.com...;)
you can see them a little in this pic...
http://www.chevyhhr.net/gallery/files/1/8/6/6/DSCN1652.JPG

I have the set from GM, they look real nice but I won't put them to the test 'til my annual vacation.
I got them from gmpartsdirect.com...;)
you can see them a little in this pic...


Thanks Jeremy...

I've seen those in person on GDZHHR and love them... Unfortunately can't afford the new ones at this time...

By the way... When I first saw your white HHR pictures here... it inspired me to find one for myself... hope to see your HHR in person someday! It's a beauty and reminds me a lot of mine each time I see your signature...

Question: Are the factory GM cross rails able to be positioned?

I had them on my Aztek...and they were able to be slid back and forth (when the bolts were loosened) I like how they look when they're both all the way to the rear...almost like a spoiler.