Roof Bike Rack

You're welcome but don't expect great MPG with the bikes on though. The first photo was a vacation trip from MD to NC about 6yrs ago, three bikes no kids (they flew in later with mom). MPG was not that great, but I wasn't doing 65mph either - I believe I posted a trip report here.

The last two pics are more recent, when I took my daughter back to school on labor day weekend, from MD to Rochester, NY. One bike, drove more sensibly (I think I'm getting old) and I actually did 18mpg average. Coming back was no different, even with extended stints at 90 - 95 on the PA turnpike. Noise is actually quite acceptable with summer radials. With winter tires on, the noise from tires combined with roof rack hardware can be annoying.

johnma said:

moving People and 4 bikes is the problem. I am doing that today when i go out by my self. remove the front wheel and the bike will fit in the SUV without any issue. When comes to 2 kids, 2 adult bikes Plus 4 people. No way that i can fit without using external rack.

JM

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I think you'll really like the King Cobra (or whatever it's latest rendition is called). Mount the bikes with front tires facing rear of truck if you want slighter better mileage and slightly less noise. I also purchased the foamy thingy that wraps around the bar - it really dampens out bar vibes when less than two bikes are mounted.

Firewater said:

What is the part number for the horizontal rails and the rest of the bits?

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Don't recall P/N but if you go to Yakima's web site, you will be able to configure for the ML - they have newer better hardware than what I purchased years ago. You'll need the cross bar (x2) along with the cross bar attachments (x4) to the ML's roof rack. After years of experimenting, I have found that these bars are least noisy when placed as far apart as possible. For me, the fronts are as far front to still allow the moon-roof to flip open, and as far back as where the mid-section of the rack joins the rear section (basically a few inches ahead of the GPS antennae). Also, get the cross-bar pads - they help tremendously in dampening the bar vibration when unloaded. I did buy a couple spare rattler straps, just in case.