As I used to only use me roof top bike carrier rarely I used to take it and the roof bars off after each use.

Currently using it every weekend at the moment so planning to leave it in situ.

Are there any issues in doing this? I know that as its aluminium it shouldn’t rust but what about other parts e.g. the rubber grips.

BTW it’s a Thule.

Anyone had any long term issues with keeping their carrier on the car constantly?

Thanks.

I have 3 Thule 591’s on the car all the time as they are used a couple of times a week. A wee squirt of GT 85 into the mechanisms and the wheel trays etc every few weeks and they are fine. Current ones are 2 yrs old.

I’d be worried about all the money I was pissing away in unnecessary fuel consumption

APF

The other issue is that it’s a bit of an advert to any would be thieves, have had a couple of freinds have their houses broken into possibly as a result of this.

Used to, expensive Thule kit, they got nicked.

I had mine on the roof almost all the time for a few years.
Sold them to a mate when i changed cars.
He tried to adjust the position of the feet on the roof bars but the steel clamping mechanism and alu bars had become a happy chemical marriage.

Took a long time to break the bond to get them moving again.

Apart from fuel consumption you really need to watch the paint below the rubber pads. I left a rack on for about a year and when I took it off it removed the lacquer off the roof (so I put it back on and didn’t tell the missus!)

Get some ‘helicopter tape’ or ‘paint protection tape’ and stick it where the roof rack pads sit to protect your paint.

For the rack the only problem is corrosion from being out in the road crap all the time and UV degredation of the plastic/rubber parts. Make sure you wash the rack and your car with a decent car washing detergent and if you can park in the shade but look out for tree sap. I wouldn’t go OCD though, just look after it as you would your car and yup keep the moving bits oiled as it will stop any problems.

Ps lift the rack and the bike carriers in one go and see how much extra weight you are driving round with.

I bought an estate car after trying that but I still have the thule set up for holidays etc.

I do. two 591 carriers on oem seat bars. Had them there for 4 months and no problems.
I get around 3 to 5 miles less per tank because of them which isnt a problem.

Won’t have any physical problems with the bars/rack other than a thick layer of dead flies and not been able to take it through a car wash. Main problem is the waste of fuel as it creates more drag lowering your MPG.

I’d be worried about all the money I was pissing away in unnecessary fuel consumption

+1

I’ve been doing it for years.

Thule aero bars and two 591 carriers.

If I’m going on a long road trip without the bikes I’ll take them off but 99% of the time they stay on. Increased wind noise is pretty evident at motorway speeds and i’m sure it does dent my fuel consumption too. But the bike carriers haven’t developed any problems from being left on the car

Cheers all.

I think whilst I’m using them weekly I will keep them on (only do 60ish miles a week) and will remove them once I know they won’t be in use for a while.