Hi all! I am new to the forum and I have been thinking about this idea I have had for a custom rack for a while now. I will try to keep this as short as possible but know that I have been thinking about this for months now. So I go whitewater kayaking a lot. I often times need to carry 3 if not 4 kayaks on top of my honda fit. I currently have yakima q towers but the weight of the boats has caused the sheet metal where the towers rest to dent the roof and now my towers don't really work anymore as they slide around due to an uneven mounting surface. I am going to own my fit for a while and I don't mind modifications. I was originally looking at the yakima tracks system as a good option for carrying boats but the sheet metal that they mount the tracks to is even flimsier than where the qtowers rest. So a few weeks ago I get this idea that I can install my own plusnuts under the roof moulding where the sheet metal is much stronger and have a welder make 4 custom aluminum rack towers that fit within the roof gutters. This way the towers are mounted in a structurally rigid place. I am also going to ensure that the cross bars can easily disconnect from the towers so that just the towers are left when I am not hauling boats so I can save on fuel efficiency. I am going to install the plusnuts myself and to ensure that I don't hit the airbags I am just going to go ahead and drop the headliner. I have heard it is a pain but I think this is something worth doing correct the first time.

My concerns are:
Will it be okay to drive daily with no roof molding? waterproofness?
Am I missing anything else?

Seems like a pretty straight forward job to me. I have read other threads of people installing plusnuts into their fit and I have a pretty good idea of what is involved. I have only seen one instillation that mounted the towers in the rain gutter and it looked awesome. Unfortunately the part that they used is no longer manufactured thus I have to get a custom welded rack.

 

I notice you haven't touched bases with us, but I'm hoping you get to read this and respond. I also see no reason in spending in my opinion the cash for these plastic aftermarket roof racks. I heard of a member buying the close out rack system called Whisper I believe, It ran on a track system- which I would think would be well worth the money, you could adjust your towers without scratching hood. I think they were also priceeee though.


I would like to also build permanent ones too, and run them directly into the body with a back up in welding it to the body/hood, I don't know enough about where the air bags are, to attempt this, but it is nice to see somebody else come to the same conclusion as me. I'm a painter by trade, and although the fit can hold a 6 foot ladder, it also take up a lot of room for other things, I would love to make a secured rack, but those air bags are an issue.. I've also thought maybe I could use a stock set-up from Subaru, but I would still end up buying rails and well it might look nicer but again the money. so I hope you can respond, I would like to hear how you did.l