Many suvs wagons and crossovers are equipped with factory installed side rails that run.
Types of roof rails.
Today great diversity exists in passenger vehicle roof types.
Roof rails are usually one of two types.
Roof rack types rain gutters.
Thule complete crossroad system.
Whether it s ski racks bike racks cargo boxes kayak racks etc.
The thule complete.
Solid roof rails very similar to the above except they don t have any gaps between the rail and he vehicle roof.
When it comes to quality this is one of the best products available.
Factory optional crossbars.
Crossbars support the weight of all the gear you re adding to the roof and transfer the weight to the towers feet.
There are 7 basic roof types.
Types of roof racks side rails flush raised.
There a number of cars that come from the manufacturer with roof rack mounting points built.
What are roof rails.
This makes them look all cool and streamlined so you will likely find them on cars and suvs with a more modern design style.
Rain gutter roof.
In this type of roof rail the feet of the roof rail are attached.
Thule aeroblade roof rack bar.
The next most common roof type is the raised side rails found on the majority of suvs wagons and mini vans.
Raised roof rails most likely seen on suv and station wagon style cars.
Vehicles are equipped with roof rails to simplify the attachment of various kinds of roof racks and carrying.
The newest style of rail.
As the name suggests this type of roof rack clamps to the car door jambs the door jamb is the part of the roof you can see when you open the door see the image below.
To determine what type your roof is check out the images below.
Top 15 best roof rails and roof racks.
Different cars require different base roof rack systems so the first step is to assess which roof rack options are available for your car and then select the type best suited for what you want it to do for you.
Rain gutters still exists on some late model.
These are as the name implies rails that are raised up probably about 2 inches on the vehicle roof.
Factory track fixed point.
Once you figure out which type you would like assembling the base roof rack system will be straightforward and you will be off and running or riding in no time.
If your car doesn t have any of the features mentioned above then it will need a door jamb type of roof rack.