I've been using a very-weathered set of crossbars from my 13' trek on my 17' forester; figured it was time to replace them. I came across these CargoLocs on Amazon.
Anybody have experience with these or similar?
https://www.amazon.com/CargoLoc-2-Piece-Aluminum-Roof-Cross/dp/B00GA2HKAU
Posted Dec 4, 2019, 6:54 PM UTC
Soooo after looking at a bunch of the universal locking bars, there's a significant percentage of failures with the clamps just breaking and stuff flying away (seems to be usually kayaks).
The search continues...might settle for the Brightlines version of the OEMs.
I have the Brightlines but haven’t had the weight of a kayak on them in the 9 months of ownership. I’ve got no complaints with them holding my Yakima Load Warrior basket (and whatever has fit in it).
Ordered a set, will compare side by side to my older OEM ones and get back. Never had an issues w the OEMs after 6+ years even with heavy winds and 4 snowboards up top.
I think the cargoloc ones with the sliding rails are just terribly designed...plastic sliders in the winter sounds too brittle to me.
Randomly coming across this while I'm on my hunt. Any update so far?
The brightlines set was no bueno.
I drove around on the freeway real quick (like a 10 minute round trip). Decided to return the BLs and continue using my OEMs that came off my 13' trek. I have one minor issue with my front right clamp not holding over time since my bolts are worn down (it just needs to be pushed forward after it slides back a bit, but nothing unsecure).
Long story short I don't think there's really a better/safer option outside of the more premium Yakima/Thule options. I only carry snowboards though - if I had a box or anything with a higher load requirement, I would absolutely avoid any knockoff Amazon stuff until a better brand/design comes along.
I have this exact set. Purchased 2 snow seasons ago to hold my snowboard racks. I do not remove them during the summer. They have so far held up exactly as I would have hoped, so no complaints here.
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I've had a 140lb RTT on Thule Aeroblades for a couple of years now with zero issues. Significantly more expensive than what you are posting.
Yeah I've always used premium stuff and never had a problem except for the time my rack key broke off when I was trying to lock it, (Yakima + Fatcats, have a Thule box too that I never use).
Just discovered this world of replica Amazon Chinese junk but after a bit of research I'm gonna stick to expensive stuff. Even a 1% failure rate is too much for me, don't wanna cause an accident on the highway. Seeing all those people complain about the plastic breaking leaves me with zero confidence. Poor design, poor construction. Guess i know why the Yakima/Thule stuff costs so much more :D
I think this is a smart call. The knockoffs have zero reputation to uphold while the Thule's and Yakima's have vested interest in producing something that at a minimum doesn't kill anyone :)