Product Description

Highland 48" Black Universal Car Top Bar Carriers are designed to provide additional carrying capacity. They are made to fit cars, vans or SUV's. These bar carriers facilitate hassle free installation by using straps and universal, non-mar coated hooks.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #194 in Automotive
• Brand: Highland
• Model: 2005200
• Dimensions: 6.00" h x 6.00" w x 30.00" l, 17.00 pounds

Features

• Designed to provide additional carrying capacity
• Fits for cars, vans or SUV's
• 48 inch in length
• Facilitate hassle free installation using straps and universal, non-mar coated hooks

Customer Reviews

Worked for me but use caution and common sense
I used this to haul a 75-pound, 74-inch-long flat-pack furniture box about 100 miles on top of a 1994 Toyota Camry, and it worked just fine. I had my doubts when I bought it. I lost an upholstered chair on the Washington, DC Beltway once -- tied it down with rope and it took off like a kite. But this Highland carrier did the job. When putting it together, save yourself some aggravation and loop the straps through the plastic bases BEFORE you attach the bases to the crossbars (the instructions tell you to do the reverse, which makes the threading next to impossible). The pieces attached firmly to the roof of my Camry, with flat metal hooks going on the sills of the open doors. Once the doors are closed there's no way the hooks can come out. Make sure the straps are tight before you close the doors. This can be a little tricky as there seemed to be some slippage through the buckles, but with a little tugging and wiggling they snugged up pretty well. Note that the rubber feet that fit on the plastic bases provide grip and protect your roof when the carrier is on, but they fall off easily when it's not in use. I don't know why they weren't permenently attached. The maximum recommended load is 150 pounds but I didn't test it to the limit -- the crossbars look sturdy but they're hollow metal tubes, and they bounced a little under the weight of the box. Also, the bars have a textured finish but seemed a little slippery, so I wrapped some gritty no-slip tape around them (the kind used on stairsteps) to prevent any slippage. I attached the box to the carrier with two ratchet tie-downs (highly recommended over rope). The tie-down straps were looped once around the box and under each crossbar and the box didn't budge the whole trip home. One other thing, make sure to tie up any dangling straps -- the sound of them whacking against the roof of your car can be very disconcerting. An inexpensive solution that's good for temporary use with light loads on short trips in cars that don't have roof racks.

Update: Used the carrier to haul two of the same box on the Camry, bringing the load right up to the 150-lb maximum -- rock solid all the way. I laid the long boxes side-by-side with the longest width down to spread out the weight as much as possible, then duct-taped them together and fastened them down good and tight with tie-downs and rope (Overkill? perhaps, but better safe than sorry and sued.) My next car will probably be a small SUV, but until then I'm glad I have this carrier. Inexpensive, easy to use and remove and does the job.

Works pretty well as a kayak carrier
I bought this bar carrier as an alternative to a very expensive and more permanent Yakima kayak carrier. This carrier worked like a charm once it was attached to the car. The hooks that are supposed to catch something on the door frame did not work with my Ford Taurus. There was nothing on my particular car I could tie the straps to, so I ended up improvising by using heavier tie downs, taking them through both doors, which left straps on the inside of the car, but it worked. The system seemed very secure on top of my car, and I attached foam blocks to the bars, loaded my kayak, and strapped it down. The kayak held securely with just the two straps-I didn't have to tie down the bow and stern to the front and back of the car. In summary, the bar carrier is a fairly quick, inexpensive, and secure way to transport a kayak (I'm sure it would work with lots of other things too).

Inexpensive, OK for short distances
I wanted this mainly for securing plywood sheets and other long home improvement items. It is very easy to attach and detach; and seemed to stay in one place pretty well. There are four hooks that sit between the door and the car frame attached with nylon straps. If you are not going very long distances, I think this is a good buy, but for particulary long trips I would want something attached more permanently.

As far as the universal fit: it fits well on my 1997 Sentra, but I could not put it on my 2007 Mazda3 [maybe you can, but I couldn't figure out a safe place for the clips to engage].

It does make a bit of a whistling noise, but because it is easy to install and remove, this isn't much of an issue.