Roof Rack For Civic Hybrid 2007

I have been inspired by this site for many of my projects. This is one of mine that I would like to share.
When I bought my Honda Civic Hybrid, I lost much of the cargo carrying capacity I had while owning a 95 Geo Metro and 91 Honda Accord. I decided to get a new roof rack but found out that it would cost around $400. While searching the web, I stumbled upon some instructables on homemade roof racks and that gave me the idea for this. Luckily for me I already had an old "BIC" brand (universal) roof rack which I had been using with my 91 Honda Accord but which could not be attached on my civic due to the different roof configuration.
You may be able to find a rack like this cheap on Craigslist or other classifieds site.
I had to remove the old attaching gear and find a way to keep the rack on my civic roof. I used a couple (one for each cross member) of ratchet straps that cost 2 bucks a piece. I did not want to buy expensive straps as this was a trial. Now that I know it works, I will replace these with good quality straps.
Here are the steps.

Tools needed:
Pliers, Drill plus 3/16" drill bit

Parts:
Universal roof rack, 2 Ratchet Tie down Straps

Step 1: Universal Roof Rack

This is a BIC universal roof rack which was given to me by one of my friends several years ago. It used to fit my 91 Honda Accord and several other cars. I have used it with my old cars to carry 2 x 4's, ladders and other stuff. But the system for attaching it to the roof would not work for my new Civic. I removed the existing mounting straps and anchors which hooked above the car doors and replaced that with $2 ratchet straps.
To remove the old hardware, I had to drill out the metal rivets at the strap ends. You can get to these by sliding the rubber protector down off the attaching plate.

Comments

[sjoshi2]

This is very nice trick and easy I have also done this type of roof for my swift!!  My car looks more sporty than an ordinary mini car!! Second Hand Cars in Mumbai

[Mastros]

Rachets to strongly tie the rack is a wonderful idea. Myself, I'll prefer the hooks of the rachets to be outside the car, so there is no chance of the passengers hitting on them.

From my experience with my racks, I will suggest connecting the two racks with two more, vertical to them, so as to increase the rigidity of the whole system. One or two diagonal connections will make things perfect.
-.

[jimmyf]

I think that's a great idea. I usually carry 2X4's on this rack and tie them to the bars with bungee cords, so they essentially work as perpendicular bars and make the rack sturdy. This past summer, I tried carrying other stuff though and found I had to use a lot of ties to hold everything. So it's time to use some wood to make the rack rigid as you say.

[Phil B]

I had the same problem when I bought a car without rain gutters and did roughly the same thing you did, except that I made my own car top carriers with 2 x 4s and some old rubber hose for cushioning. The complaint I have with mine is the nylon strap pulls on the car's rubber sealant to create wind noise around 30 mph and above.

[jimmyf]

Thanks for commenting Phil and Rimar. Phil, I think you could try putting pieces of inner tube or some other material between straps and rubber gasket (weatherstrip). This is something I plan to do. In fact, I was looking at the vacuum molding projects at this site and think it might be a good idea to mold a plastic piece to fit at each door under the straps.
Rimar, I checked out your car rack and I think those screws are a great idea. my rack is Aluminium channel so I might have some trouble getting screws to stay in, but it's definitely worth a shot.

[rimar2000]

Nice job!
You can easily add a lot of usefulness to your car rack adding a series of hooks. This is done screwing some screws with its heads toward front, rear or down (not upward). My car rack is made that manner, it is very handy.