I have a roof mounted bike rack. I have to hang the bikes off the side via the cross bars, then climb up onto the roof and lift/attach the bikes to the rack. If you open the front door, you can step lightly in the v-shape area that appears between the door and the windshield and boost yourself to the roof. If you spend more time on the sofa than the saddle, this may not work out well for you.

Pro roof: * I feel the bikes are secure up there, mostly because they are out of reach. * parking lot navigation is not an issue, since the bikes are not swinging around * rear hatch is not blocked

Con roof: * my fuel mileage drops between 2 and 3 MPG depending on how many bikes are up there. * you have to climb up on the roof. I'm not a husky fellow, so it's not too harsh on the fiberglass. * I'm always afraid of low bridges. It's almost 12 feet to the highest saddle. * the rack is heavy. It's a lot harder to raise the roof.

----- Original Message ----- From: "Tim Schneider" <Tim.Schneider@SYNOPSYS.COM> To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM> Sent: Wednesday, June 02, 2004 10:37 AM Subject: Re: acessory rack mounting

> At 04:49 AM 6/1/2004, you wrote: > >Date: Tue, 1 Jun 2004 03:31:04 -0400 > >From: Michael Rule <mikerule@UFL.EDU> > >Subject: accessory rack mounting > > > >Hi Volks, > > > >What are your preferences for mounting Thule/Yakima-type racks to > >your Westy? I've been waffling between towbar, tailgate, and roof > >mounted for 3 weeks now... seen some clever set-ups for all- but > >I'm interested in opinions, encountered issues/problems, and > >general thoughts! > > > For roof mounted you *may* need a ladder.. IMHO > you *will* need a ladder to get a bike up there > (and properly secured) > > Also, have a yakima rocketbox and without a ladder, > you cannot reach over and into the box to tighten > the inside (away from the curbside edge) set of > screws/nuts.. whatever you call them. > > For the above reasons.. I'm going with a fary lee > rack on the liftgate for bikes, then the roof rack > still for the rocketbox. > > one can lift the westy pop top with the rack and > *empty* rocketbox installed, but it takes more > effort. > > mind you, we dont put really heavy stuff in the box on top.. > just bulky light things (sleeping bags? kid carrier/backpack) > that sort of stuff > > hth > > -tim >