A roof rack may seem like a great idea for hauling bikes, snowboards or luggage on your automobile. However, roof racks considerably reduce your car mileage. So is it work it to get the roof rack or is there one more option available?
The roof rack effect
Sure, a roof rack on your car can haul lots of stuff. Your mileage can be reduced by 10 to 12 percent by just having an empty roof rack on your car. Add skis, snowboards, mountain bikes, rooftop box, or kayak on the roof rack and your mileage will reduce by 20 to 30 percent. That could very easily turn your car into a gas guzzler.
Other places to place your stuff
Hauling a lot of stuff on your roof rack reduces your gas mileage. That doesn’t mean you can stop taking stuff with you. So how are you to work with this bad mpg situation? You’ve a couple of different opportunities.
A mounted rear rack
For bicycles and smaller items, mounting a rack on the back of your automobile may be your best option. This will nevertheless provide hauling space and will improve your gas mileage by 10 percent over a roof rack. Rear-mounted racks can work on hatchbacks, sedans or station wagons.
A trailer that is aerodynamic
You may really improve your miles per gallon with a well designed trailer. The hit that you end up taking can be a much smaller one.
Rent a different car
The best gas mileage will come whenever you have your gear within the car. It could be cheaper for you to rent a car that would be large enough to fit all of your stuff in. At between $ 10 and $ 20 a day, you could very easily spend less to rent a automobile than you would in extra fuel.
