I just have the Thule cross bars and I use them all of the time. I remodel a lot of stuff and have several rent houses, so I do more than light camping. The last time I used them, I had 8 sheets of siding and a prehung exterior door on top of the truck. I am sure it was way overweight, but nothing crushed...

Point is, that is what I like about the bars. You can push them to the back and not hear them, position them where you want, or take them off easily. That said, the racks look a lot cooler

 

I just remembered one important use I forgot about..carrying my kayak..so maybe I'll keep it on spring-fall and remove for winter.

 

We are going to watch July 4th fireworks while sitting on the rack next year.

 

there's a dirt race track close to where I live, you can park track side. I think it would be cool to watch a race up on top of the rover.

 

Or girls at the beach...

 

hmm I think I need to forward this post to your wife..whats her email address?

 

She already knows.

 

i need to get one. i want to put my tire up there.... i dont want to put my tire on the gate any longer. im sick of watching the hinges die a slow death and considering im sleeping in the back of the truck when we go wheeling i don't mind cuddling with my tire but i rather not...

 

I like the look but question how convenient a cargo rack is to use regularly. I have a LR Travel Box for the factory roof rack, I'm 6'2" and have to stand on the seats to reach inside the box, and a cargo rack might even be worse. Another issue for me is the noise. The wind noise from my crossbars is hard to deal with, I can't imagine how loud that thing is. Anybody know what impact it has on gas mileage?

 

My SD rack lowered my average MPG by 1 mpg.
So I went from a weekly average as a daily driver from 15.6 down to 14.5.
As for loading the rack, thats what the rear ladder is for, add a floor to your rack and you can walk on it all you want.
Load front to back.