Wierd roof rack / carrier trend

[IndyIan]

Just another trend is my guess, probably meant to give the vehicle a certain look or perhaps suggest a certain lifestyle of the owner.

Sort of like the “adventure” racks I see on pickups with pristine looking shovels and canisters hanging off of them.

View attachment 165589

I saw a couple of these on our recent camping trip, all with new shiny unused traction boards hanging of them as well. I probably should get some for the subaru though, after my wife's last mushroom picking trip I noticed the hitch receiver was full of gravel.... She said there was a bit of a washout....

 

[SeaJay]

I used an oversized one of those things on my suby outback. I moved a ton of posessions over a few 1,000 mile trips a few years ago. Probably had a lot more weight on top than recommended by the manufacturer. Wind resistance knocked MPG down quite a bit, but never missed a beat. Kept it on for a while after I moved, got some questions as it does look wierd.