Hi Gang,

Great site on a great car! I am considering a new HHR and need to know the roof rack rating in what ever terms Chevy gives them. I have a need to put antennas on a mast from a hitch, well. OK, just check out the photos and see what I mean.

www.buffalo.edu/~msadams

and click on ROVER.

Once Yakima has the attachment towers for the rails, I am good to go, maybe. The HHR would make for a tight fit with all the radio gear, but I only do the rover thing 4 times per year. It might even be worth renting a large SUV for those occasions.

Thanks,
Mark
Clarence, NY

 

to the site!!! I don't have roof racks or know the rating but am sure someone will come by and say something. Keep us informed of your HHR journey! By the way, interesting hobby!!!

 

If my memory serves me correctly I believe the owner’s manual says not to put more than 200 pounds on the roof rack.

 

This is straight from the online owners manual located on this forum:

Roof Rack System
Your vehicle may be equipped with a roof rack
system.
{CAUTION:
If you try to carry something on top of
your vehicle that is longer or wider than
the luggage carrier — like paneling,
plywood, a mattress and so forth — the
wind can catch it as you drive along.This
can cause you to lose control. What you
are carrying could be violently torn off, and
this could cause you or other drivers to
have a collision, and of course damage
your vehicle. You may be able to carry
something like this inside. But, never carry
something longer or wider than the
luggage carrier on top of your vehicle.
Notice: Loading cargo on the luggage carrier
that weighs more than 150 lbs (68 kg) or hangs
over the rear sides of the vehicle may damage
your vehicle. Load cargo so that it rests on the
slats as far forward as possible and against the
side rails making sure to fasten it securely.
Notice: Loading cargo directly on the roof of
the vehicle may cause damage to the vehicle
and would not be covered under warranty.
Do not place cargo on the roof the vehicle.
Do not exceed the maximum vehicle capacity
when loading your vehicle. For more information
on vehicle capacity and loading, see Loading Your
Vehicle on page 269.
To prevent damage or loss of cargo as you are
driving, check frequently to ensure your cargo
is securely fastened.
The roof rack system has siderails that are
attached to the roof. All cargo must be loaded on
the luggage carrier crossrails only.
Use GM accessory racks that are compatible with
your roof rack system, these are available at
your GM dealer.


By the way, welcome to the forum

 

My dad was a HAM radio operator while I was growing up. It's amazing how that hobby has changed. There was no mobility involved when those radios had tubes instead of integrated circuits.

 

Yes Sandy,

The hobby is very much different than even a decade ago. The technology in the microwaves has made it affordable, test gear way up in freq is now obtainable, computers have added scores of new digital modes and equipment is very reliable. A worthy sucessor to Heathkit has come along in www.elecraft.com
I have their K2 transceiver; it is awesome and fun to build.

But I digress. Seems that Thule has a model 450 foot that fits the roof rail. I'll go see if Yakima has a sub for that.

Best regards,
Mark

 

Yakima lowriders will fit the rails, although yakima will not warrantee the fit.

 

The roof rails on the Saturn Vue appear to be the same as those on the HHR. I'll try and confirm this on the way home today as I drive past both Chevy and Saturn stores.

Mark

 

k2qo!

 

We have a Saturn station wagon, on which we just put roof rails after seven years.......now we just bought a 2007 HHR without roof rack, and after spending just $260.00 on roof rails for the Saturn, we hesitated to spend $800.00 which Chevy wants. We were also told by someone who looked into it for us, and who works for Chevy, that we shouldn't put a roof rack on if it was not done at the factory, and if we do have Chevy do it we can only carry 100 lbs. If we put any other kind of roof rack on it he said we shouldn't carry anything on it, and on top of that, he said it wipes out the guarantee on the paint job. Don't know if this is right or not. Neighbor who works for Chevy said that putting on an after market roof rack is bad because the roof isn't reinforced and won't have the needed strength. Don't know if this info is correct or if he really knows what he's talking about.

I contacted Thule and they don't have anything that fits our car unless the side rails are already in place, and our thought is, that after years of spending money on roof racks every time we buy a car, maybe it be best to spend money on a removeable rack, but Yakima said they don't have one to fit our HHR either. We thought either might have been a good way to go since hubby's been wanting to buy a canoe for our camping trips. So our hunt for a roof rack isn't working, unless we fork out the big bucks, and we're not ready to do that. Right now we're looking at adding a carrier to the back end of the car.

In our case we don't need anything for a heavy load. We'll only be using the extra space to carry two sleeping bags, two Therma rest mattress, a small tent, and a big pack of red cups from Costco........just the stuff that's bulky in the car, and our camp stove. Everything that goes into setting up camp, goes in the carrier. So our search is on for something that will carry this stuff and we really don't want to pull a trailer at this point in time, so that idea is out. We tried to get Saturn to put a roof rack on like they did on our Saturn but they say they don't make that one anymore.

Any suggestions would be very much appreciated.