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!

 

Well... all I can say is Thank you for putting me on the right track !!!!

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:



The Allen Deluxe 3 Bicycle Carrier 103D. 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!

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.

 

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 .

 

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.