GLSKA FORUM

[kayaker.ian]

After a bad experience I just wanted to warn people that the factory roof racks now being offered on the Toyota Matrix are not very good. They use a silly little clip to hold the cross bars in place on the side rails, and with all the torsion that a kayak can generate in the wind, well the cross bars can come out quite easily. I didn't even make it ten kilometers from my house the very first time using them on a brand new car, and I wasn't even on the highway! Thankfully my Kayak is alright, but the roof of the car is all scratched up.
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The skydivers definition of living dangerously:
Pack fast,
Pull low,
And date your riggers wife!

[Bert Millar]

Sounds like you had the forsight to use front tiedowns or you would have lost your boat for sure. Most factory racks are more cosmetic than functional although I have had fairly good luck on Ford Escorts and Focus
using the factory racks to fasten a frame and cradle I made up . It has carried two kayaks for thousands of kilometres.

Blue Skies and soft landings.
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Bert