Yup, roof racks are too expensive. On the flip side, I have hauled a great many canoes, a great many miles. I took a 20' Old Town through a pretty wicked prairie thunderstorm once, and had 3 canoes on my Dodge Omni at 80mph. Of course, I also tie bows and sterns down, but I never really want to doubt the quality and design of my roof racks. The Yakima system I have includes lots of stainless metal hardware and has lasted several years and through 3 cars with no problems. I'm sure there are less expensive racks that are completely functional, but for me, I don't really want to chance it. Some of my canoes are expensive, and would not fare well if they came off the roof. Also, the car or motorcycle behind me that got hit with the flying canoe might not fare well either.
If carrying just skis or the occasional bit of long lumber or a ladder that doesn't have as much wind load, maybe pool noodles would be enough (strap them down through the windows). For the amount of hauling I do, I would like the best racks (actually considered having a body-shop weld them down, but the fuel economy suffers, and I thought it might invite rust).
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View my fuel log 2014 Mirage SE 1.2 manual: 45.0 mpg (US) ... 19.1 km/L ... 5.2 L/100 km ... 54.1 mpg (Imp)