Experience? Rola roof basket
- Thread starter Ghostrunnerr
- Start date
Rola baskets are made of cheese, the structure and support are all wrong (When again is not like you can carry heavy loads on them anyway)....
But the main tubes are of such diameter (they look kind if nice all fat) they kind of hold together, usually this kind of products are made by "Sequential welding" (more than one welding robot welding at the same time, so the structure does not suffer from heat distortion) well this ones for sure are build/weld by hand on a simple jig (Notice also how the two ends are symmetrical (well one has a plate but that is a second operation) to expedite production and storage...
In any case they are crap, but they are cheap and I got to made two really long ones for the same amounts one of the beautiful Kuat's will cost (That company never fails, great, great products)
I order three Rola's from Amazon, examine them from flatness (they were all bow/twisted) but I bent them back to a acceptable amount (Put one end on a wood (soft Jaw vise) and used a 10' 2x4 on the other end for leverage..
Then I examine them for gaps/distortions on the short "Cradle" tubes and the most crappy of the six segments got the ends cut up (Makita metal saw = Very straight cuts) then I ream all the holes (horrible welding seams) made six inch "Delrin" (nylon) solid sleeves, I did not bother to install O-rings since the tubes are out or round.
The result two Longer baskets for cheap.
Rust.. At first I contemplate using "Framesaver" (Great bicycle product for steel frames) but end up using Rustoleum rust inhibitor or something like that, is summer so no idea if it will work but I don't see why now.
The weld are horrible so on the three I got I use a flapper wheel on a 4 1/2" grinder and then reweld all the welding mistake (gaps on the weld) before painting (I'm still looking for a Toyota and i'm going to custom paint them To match and/or Contrast
Why all this work for a Cheppo basket..
Well because the fit in between the roof rails like they were made for the trucks and i don't have the guts to spend $450 on a grey color Kuat basket.
Pictures later when I get them painted.
But the main tubes are of such diameter (they look kind if nice all fat) they kind of hold together, usually this kind of products are made by "Sequential welding" (more than one welding robot welding at the same time, so the structure does not suffer from heat distortion) well this ones for sure are build/weld by hand on a simple jig (Notice also how the two ends are symmetrical (well one has a plate but that is a second operation) to expedite production and storage...
In any case they are crap, but they are cheap and I got to made two really long ones for the same amounts one of the beautiful Kuat's will cost (That company never fails, great, great products)
I order three Rola's from Amazon, examine them from flatness (they were all bow/twisted) but I bent them back to a acceptable amount (Put one end on a wood (soft Jaw vise) and used a 10' 2x4 on the other end for leverage..
Then I examine them for gaps/distortions on the short "Cradle" tubes and the most crappy of the six segments got the ends cut up (Makita metal saw = Very straight cuts) then I ream all the holes (horrible welding seams) made six inch "Delrin" (nylon) solid sleeves, I did not bother to install O-rings since the tubes are out or round.
The result two Longer baskets for cheap.
Rust.. At first I contemplate using "Framesaver" (Great bicycle product for steel frames) but end up using Rustoleum rust inhibitor or something like that, is summer so no idea if it will work but I don't see why now.
The weld are horrible so on the three I got I use a flapper wheel on a 4 1/2" grinder and then reweld all the welding mistake (gaps on the weld) before painting (I'm still looking for a Toyota and i'm going to custom paint them To match and/or Contrast
Why all this work for a Cheppo basket..
Well because the fit in between the roof rails like they were made for the trucks and i don't have the guts to spend $450 on a grey color Kuat basket.
Pictures later when I get them painted.
Real hard time making sense of this.... You will need to provide photos.
Probably not a good idea to compare a $450 basket to a $120....obviously there's differences...
Also, most baskets are similar size and will fit your roof rails fine.
Sorry My Ingles is not that good, plus I'm ultra dyslexia too
For examples most other commercial baskets use Four longitudinal tubes..
two at the edge/rim (top) two at the bottom closer to the center line holding all the smaller curved tubes dimensionally stable (Most baskets had the roof rack mounts hardware attach to the small (multiple) tubes.. (the Rola has some at the bottom edge of the basket but they are very "Malleable" and the are about 38-39 inches apart)
In terms of manufacturing this presents many challenge because four big diameter tubes are far more complex to keep alight specially after welding..
I post pictures of mine when I'm done with the painting..
Sorry you are right not a far fight, I did used it as a example because I spend $360 on the three racks, a few hours of grinding, bending, machining, welding and paint prepping, so I pass the $500 mark, then again I end up with two baskets..
As a Designer I totally love the shapes of the Kuat (all their stuff is top notch awesome, but so, so expensive).
As a person that Make Stuff, I understand the nightmare that is to custom bend so many different tubes (The contour to the main tubes for added basket space, but the difference is infimal) not to mention even reach them when you are welding them.
As a Pragmatic person, I think they when to far and most people don't understand the minute details and features they offer and they build them self out of the price point.
Notice how they use Four main big tubes and then two 1/2' to aviod any kind of deviation.
You see even the guys that sell them for a living (I can not even find pictures of customers using them) had no freaking clue about airflow dynamics and a rack mount it like that will drop fuel efficiency a good 5-7%, (The air will be force fed in between the rack and the roof) max wind too, just don't open your sunroof specially when eating popcorn
Just look at the back of it, it will let you open the rear door even with a spoiler, zero issues, So sexy, but not almost $500 sexy at least in my opinion and budget)
Then again regardless all baskets by definitions generate turbulent airflow on the roof of the vehicle, especially if you count the gad in between the roof of the car and the rails of the basket..
Very complex subject and for sure I'm not a subsonic airflow engineer..
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Hey @ patineto, thanks for the detailed response!
As a technical person as well, I do see your points on the structural design. There are definitely other/better ways to go about the basket design. In the end...I'm pretty sure the rola basket has no problem supporting its advertised weight limit at a minimum.
Agree on the Kuat products .....very nice top notch stuff!
I would like to see a pic of yours when you get a chance.
As a technical person as well, I do see your points on the structural design. There are definitely other/better ways to go about the basket design. In the end...I'm pretty sure the rola basket has no problem supporting its advertised weight limit at a minimum.
Agree on the Kuat products .....very nice top notch stuff!
I would like to see a pic of yours when you get a chance.
Sorry iF I geek out a little to much so early (been a new member) I'm just used to custom Dakar bikes and trucks that take a incredible amount of pounding and abuse and are as light (in proportion/scale) as possible.
Sorry I did not even take pictures of the delrin bushings but the are basically "PLugs" that also stiffeners so you don't need to used the ugly protruding plastic sleeves or ugly bolts, actually I tap the delrin for old long bicycle crank chainring bolts that are absolutely flush and silly strong too, plus stainless.
LIRunner03
New member
^^^Can you post a pic of how it looks with the lowering kit flipped
Fourrunfunnin
New member
Does anybody know if there is a system to mount this rack without the factory roof rails? I like the looks of this rack but want to remove my factory rails
kevinpt
Senior Member
Krayziekid
New member
sun roof open
Some what unrelated question for you. Think that lowering kit could be turned around (as in facing the outside of the car) and a small LED light or two mounting to it for side-firing camping lights? I have been looking for a way to mount lights to the side of the stock rack in a low profile way, and that looks like it could work. I know it's not what this thread is about (sorry about that!) but I was just curious.
kevinpt
Senior Member
you would not be able to face them out. try looking at the mounts for lights on tacomas, i dont know if the hardware will fit in out racks but they have light mounts that go over the side of the bed
BagiMT
Member
On the pictures it looks like you made your own lowering brackets. If so could you post some details and pictures on how you made them?
TheFauxFox
New member
seconded^
I had a ROLA on my Jeep Commander a few years back and loved the look. Only problem was within 3 months it started dripping rust water constantly on top of the vehicle roof. $250 and tossed it into the local garbage bin since I wouldn't try to sell it to someone doing that. Now that I have a 4runner I would like to get a roof rack but will be very careful about reading reviews.
Prefontaine
New member
Rola Rack - Low Profile Mounts
I've got a Rola as well. I've liked it so far. After reading a lot of reviews for it and other brands, I made sure to caulk and seal every nook and cranny on it, then use electrical tape over the seams as well. So far, no rust.
I'm looking for a low-profile mount solution as well. My 4Runner is a 98, so the kits I've seen online won't work.
Quick question for folks out there: When I hit 30 mph (almost exactly) I get a very loud humming noise. Accelerating above that speed or dropping below it makes it go away, so I know what the easy answer is to solving it. I expected whistling at a higher speed, but the humming? What's that about?
I've got a Rola as well. I've liked it so far. After reading a lot of reviews for it and other brands, I made sure to caulk and seal every nook and cranny on it, then use electrical tape over the seams as well. So far, no rust.
I'm looking for a low-profile mount solution as well. My 4Runner is a 98, so the kits I've seen online won't work.
Quick question for folks out there: When I hit 30 mph (almost exactly) I get a very loud humming noise. Accelerating above that speed or dropping below it makes it go away, so I know what the easy answer is to solving it. I expected whistling at a higher speed, but the humming? What's that about?
grave
Senior Member
Anybody have any experience with Curt roof racks? Similar in price to Rola.
https://www.amazon.com/Curt-18115-R...?srs=3023511011&ie=UTF8&qid=1479608414&sr=8-1
https://www.amazon.com/Curt-18115-R...?srs=3023511011&ie=UTF8&qid=1479608414&sr=8-1
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