Roof carrier rack systems..

[scotman]

I would like member feedback on their roof rack systems. Do you change the attachment parts to haul various things like bikes and then paddle boards? If so, is the changeover fairly easy? Does anyone haul stand up paddle board or surfboard on their fiesta? I am trying to decide on a rack system for s.u.p. and possibly bicycle.
I am beginning work on an open roof/ beach version of a Fiesta hatchback. I am looking for a rack system that I can integrate into a framework that will bolt in place of the canopy top to provide some utility for carrying stand up paddle boards/surf boards OR bicycles if desired. I am most interested in rack designs that do not require me to remove the track bars in order to change the specific brackets. I guess that is the gist of what I am needing info on.

 

[scotman]

I selected Thule components for the detachable "Activity rack" on my Fiesta jolly. Thule has the widest selection of clamps and brackets in addition to the various cross bars. It allows a wide range of customization.

 

[Donnyv]

Anyone have photos of their racks?

 

[sundaynightcoffee]

This is an old post, but I love my roof system, I started off with a cheapo ebay buy to see if i really liked it, I did! I eventually upgraded to Rhino Rack and have used their square euro bar and their aero bars as well. Great quality and system, drove 1300 miles with it from TX to CO.

 

[Handy Andy]

Sweet!

Been looking into a similar upgrade.

Have you kept it on for a long time?

Curious to know how the mounts hold up...

 

[sundaynightcoffee]

I dont have this exact one anymore, but I have had it on pretty much all the time for ~2 years now. Holds great, no issues. The old cheap ebay ones may have scratched from user error. I had the thule cargo bin with quite a bit of stuff (not too much overall weight) and it held up that 1300 miles.

Here's the company of what I have now, pictures to come...eventually
https://www.rhinorack.com/en-us/vehicles/ford/107/fiesta



Highly recommend them, they have amazing customer service and an amazing product that I feel will last for ever.

 

[scotman]

Roof rack & carrier systems along with a couple of cargo organization/ retention choices for the two body styles should have been available as an original equipment option when the Fiesta was ordered.
Smaller car buyers that use them as primary transportation, need these item's to give them the occasional extra cargo stowage for longer trips. They don't want a larger car, They want a more configurable car.
Probably the greatest failure that Ford committed was the complete lack of proper cargo organization options as either factory ordered or dealer installed accessories.
Ford had publicly stated that they were going to offer many accessories for Fiesta as "factory invoiced accessories". I can speak from first hand experience and say that their plan failed in pretty much every respect. As in, i ended up having to get a set of mud guards through the service parts system as opposed to them being installed during dealer prep when my new Fiesta arrived.
Ford dropped the ball on maximizing the profit potential and then blamed the buyers for wanting smaller, lower priced cars that Ford "lost money" on the sales of!
Part of this post is me venting about fomoco's piss poor marketing efforts.
I know that Ford is capable of marketing niche market products. The coming new Bronco will have a plethora of functional add ons available in a option package or as an accessory through the dealership.
Given their understanding of all this, there is no excuse for the failures that seem to pile up on the edges of the markets that they want to sell in.
The end result of these failures is that we have fewer choices of vehicles, all of them being much more expensive.

 

[sundaynightcoffee]

Ford dropped the ball on maximizing the profit potential and then blamed the buyers for wanting smaller, lower priced cars that Ford "lost money" on the sales of!

I totally hear your pain, the mk7 and .5 would have looked nice with railings pre installed like they have been promoting for the mk8 in an outdoorsy almost subbie vibe to it. I saw promos when they first dropped the mk8, cant find anything now with a quick google search. Any genuine ford part, I would have highly considered before 3rd party sources. But here they absolutely "lost money" on their low budget eco cars, in comparison the amount of money they'd make on their trucks, suvs, and mustang, which is why they're cutting everything else. The bronco will absolutely be part of niche market, but they can charge an absolute premium for it and people WILL buy it. Budget cars make profit off of quantity, even though they are quality cars as well. Its sad that ford couldn't offer everything for us as other manufactures or other ford's lines of cars.

 

[Handy Andy]

This is a good thread, I too have encountered several problems trying to get support from FoMoCo and locate the very thing this thread is about.

Ford Focus used to offer a Roof Rack and Rail system - why not the Fiesta?

Well, after the laughter I heard behind the parts and service departments doors, I left and never looked back. I seems that like many other makers, vehicles and or otherwise, you are led to believe one has what you're looknig for - but left alone on the path when they're not.

I started looking into junkyards to locate the stuff I need to accomplish this. Not much luck and it's not a fun journey to look thru someone else's smashed up dream - so I wonder where did their ideas and support ever go?

 

[scotman]

Rack systems are an assemblage of a few specific parts (to the specific car) and the balance of pieces are universal. With very rare exceptions, all accessories are vendor supplied. Tbe vendors are also doing the component development.
My conversations with several marketing people gave me some insight into the process leading to the offering of any given accessory.
Added weight and safety considerations play into the plan. Along with a lot of study regarding if it should be offered in combination with other equipment in package form or strictly as a dealer accessory. All that along with determining how many units can be sold, which affects the cost per unit. My argument was always for a package. Rack system plus cargo organization.
In 2001 i sat in a meeting with Ford marketing people who were conducting a clinic on customer perception of various Ford vehicles.
They each took turns asking questions about what I thought of my car and also impressions of competitive vehicles. One of their questions was about "what was I most disappointed in with my car?" I responded that it didn't cost nearly as much as it should have! I then explained that they could have easily charged more for it if they had added an LSD and better suspension.
It is such a steep climb to get an accessory through the development process and cost scrutiny, im amazed that anything gets created.

 

[Handy Andy]

Makes sense, so it's vendors-side supply versus demand.

Ok, was wondering for as I attended car shows locally and thru out the Midwest region, I came across many different accessories under the "Brand" of the vehicle, The Brand being the more prominent (if not the sole reseller) than the name of the vendor being the one producing it. So to me, it gave the impression that the Make supplied the initial "seed" (Design and Prototype) to make the accessory. Otherwise we as buyers would never even be able to picture the item on the vehicle.

So being in these car shows, I am aware that many prototypes never make it past the floor - but the accessories used for the various vehicles were quite real and could be ordered at the factory as trim options.

Just in doing this - the time between the car show, and then visiting the dealer asking about them - I could not understand the blank stares and nonchalant and lackadaisical attitude the parts, services and even the Sales area - had towards selling an otherwise profitable accessory.

• IF anyone has ever tired to order or request say, a fog lamp kit for the vehicle - or even heated seats - well, you get them, but don't expect them to put it on or even work with you on how to put something together. I was amazed at the whole process of how they treated a customer that spent good money on their stuff to be installed at the dealer - only to find much was left to be completed by the owner. Subsequent visits later you still discover that unless it was bolted on at the factory, the dealership isn't required to support their product.
• Yes, I'm trying to find a roof rack, see the previous post...
• Seems to be more of a suicide in marketing...will I ever go back to that Dealer for another vehicle - Absolutely not!
• Brand - if I can ever find a dealer that will support after the sale and not act begrudgingly burdened by a request for service.
• There are more than one car dealer in the world, and knowing how unenthusiastic a dealership can be - I will be more than happy to share my wealth with another Brand if I'm allowed to participate in a process of accessorizing, that in this scenario - didn't even get started.

One would think that with the accessories offered, there would not be any safety or operation issues so if they made a bunch of these for the shows, where did that stock and inventory actually wind up at?

I just want one!

 

[scotman]

You are posing several different questions. Various accessory manufacturers also have relationships with the automakers. That's what I mean when I say "vendors".
The vendors have to meet several ISO and QS process and quality metrics in order to get status as a vendor. All suppliers to automakers are categorized in a tier classification.

The concept cars we see at various shows are usually either an effort to gauge the appeal of a styling feature or design that might be in consideration.
The equipment that is shown installed on show vehicles is very often a non functional mock up, never intended for real world use. So, just because you see it doesn't mean it's "real".

Finally, the issues encountered in trying to gather the goodies you want by using the retail dealer parts department versus doing the procurement of those items on your own. Prior to the internet it was a huge pain in the ass to research information and then order parts and kits. Now, not so much.
But all the delays, high costs and miscommunication are still alive and well at the dealer parts department. I don't blame the parts guy's. I blame the distribution systems and a little monster called "Matrix pricing programs".go ahead and Google search that m'effer!
I'm going on and on again. But this stuff is very complex to discuss!
I will say that I firmly believe that there is much less pure junk in the aftermarket than twenty years ago. But, there are still many sub standard things being sold at top dollar, especially if that product is a body restyling kit. Many of them are really just rough pieces of plastic that need many hours of rework labor time to get a good appearance. Most other products today are brilliantly engineered and finnished.
I will put the frosting on my opinions about this by stating that i am a guy who has been a dealership service technician, i also had a paint and body shop that also sold and installed car and truck accessories for over a decade and i also have worked as a technician in the industry on the engineering/testing/development side since 2002. So, i have my perspective. And I'm really tired!

 

[fordconnect]

What material are the shelves made of ? Are they durable ?

 

[zionwright]

This is an old post, but I love my roof system, I started off with a cheapo ebay buy to see if i really liked it, I did! I eventually upgraded to Rhino Rack and have used their square euro bar and their aero bars as well. Great quality and system, drove 1300 miles with it from TX to CO.

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I'm looking for a rack similar to this for my Fiest 2012. This is the only rack that I saw from this site: https://www.levittownfordparts.com/sku/vda6z-7855100-a.html

Any recommendations where I can buy other than this site?

Thanks!

 

[sundaynightcoffee]

I'm looking for a rack similar to this for my Fiest 2012. This is the only rack that I saw from this site: https://www.levittownfordparts.com/sku/vda6z-7855100-a.html

Any recommendations where I can buy other than this site?

Thanks!

Not familiar with the Thule version, but I still highly recommend Rhino Rack's System. I have been dailying plus many road trips plus 2 winters for the last 2+ years and its still in amazing shape. You can get their square euro bars for much less than the Thule.
https://www.rhinorack.com/en-us/vehicles/ford/107/fiesta

Could even reach out to them and see if they're offering any discounts or tell them that you were recommended from this post and see if they can help! They also have great customer service. I messed up the weather stripping when it was suppose to be cut and they sent me replacements with no hassle.

I have quite a few pics of how it really looks on my build https://www.instagram.com/sundays.fiesta