Mazda Miata: Classic Carriers Trunk Rack

Dear Dave,

Since I live in the Seattle area, I picked up the phone and called Classic
Carriers. Here is the information they gave to me:

They are currently out of carriers for the Miata. The old carriers they sold
were chromed, but the new type is stainless steel. The price is $376. They
will be receiving the new type carriers in about three weeks. The shipping
to Canada is $60. They are not permitted to put "Gift" on the customs tag,
but they don't know if there is duty on the product.

You can place your order by phone. The Seattle number is: 1-206-527-7058.
They accept Master Card and Visa.

Good luck!

"Dave Teece" <net> wrote in message
news:net... 

On Wed, 12 May 2004 17:06:18 GMT, Dave Teece <net> wrote in
news:net:
 

Any trunk rack will have a low weight rating. The metal is simply
not all that thick. The exception would be if the rack has parts inside
the trunk to re-inforce the lid substantially.

My trunk has been bent by closing it with too much stuff inside.
(previous owner)

Larry,

Thanks for going to this trouble for me. Their website says they ship
via UPS in the USA but I have not been able to find out if they would
use some other carrier to Canada.

The problem is not the shipping cost ($60 as you found out) but rather
the brokerage fee that UPS will charge to handle customs as the parcel
arrives in Canada. It could add another $100 to $200 to the bill for
just the HANDLING of it (even if there turns out to be no duty.)

Other couriers (Fedex etc.) or even the mail (if the package isn't too
bulky or heavy) handle it much better.

It concerns me a lot that Classic Carriers won't even extend the
courtesy of returning either of my emails... Makes me wonder how they
would handle a problem if there was one.

Dave

Larry Gadbois wrote:
 

Dave

Yes, I agree that the Miata trunk material is light but while the
standard Mazda rack is rated at 22 lbs, the Classic Carrier rack is
rated at 75 lbs. (I just want to carry a 37 lb bundle.)

The standard Mazda rack has four metal strips laying on the trunk so
each will have to bear only about 5.5 lbs. If you guess at the surface
area of each strip as at least 12 square inches (and I'll bet it is
more than this) that would be about 8 ounces / square inch. I'll bet a
bird dropping hits with more force! :-)

I would feel comfortable putting my 37 lb bundle on the Mazda rack if I
was confident in the fasteners holding it ON, but I understand it does
not bolt through with big washers inside but rather is drilled into
blind cavities with press-in fasteners that don't resist a hard pull
well. My dealer claims to have had a new customer test by yanking and
it came off in his hand. But I have not examinined one myself to see if
this is likely or not. It seems like some sort of expanding fasteners
would be possible if there is enough depth in the blind cavities to
allow such a fastener to open up inside.

My other reservation with the standard Mazda rack is it is not clear to
me how you fasten a package to it. There is the raised rail at the
rear, of course, but I am not sure if there is some way to attach to the
leading edge of the 4 strips. (My dealer doesn't stock them, they
bring them in once you order one, so I can't check and I rarely see on
on the road, here.)

Dave

Dave Null Sr. wrote:
 

I've got the Mazda OEM rack and we have loaded it on numerous occasions with
nearly 45 lbs. of luggage and driven 500 miles on the Interstates--I don't
know where the 22 lb. rating came from, I suspect it was Mazda's legal
department, not the engineers.

This photo:

http://mymiata.paladinmicro.com/KeyWestReady.jpg

shows us on our way to Key West with over 30 lbs on the rack.



"Dave Teece" <net> wrote in message
news:net... 

"Cliff Knight" <com> wrote:
 

Gee, don't you get wet, driving all the way to Key West from
Great Britain?

Leon

--
Leon van Dommelen Bozo, the White 96 Sebring Miata .)
To reply to me, the word Miata must be in the subject.
EXIT THE INTERSTATES (Jamie Jensen)

"Cliff Knight" <com> wrote:
 

I would suspect it may have to do with safety in an accident,
not normal driving on the Interstate.

Leon

--
Leon van Dommelen Bozo, the White 96 Sebring Miata .)
To reply to me, the word Miata must be in the subject.
EXIT THE INTERSTATES (Jamie Jensen)

Cliff,

Thanks for this added info about the usefulness of the Mazda OEM rack.
Can you add a bit of detail about how things are attached to this rack,
please? I see from your photo that you appear to have the luggage
strapped on but I do not know how you attach to the leading edge of the
fore-and-aft rails that appear to be mounted tight to the trunk lid.
Are there openings to hook into or are there fittings that attach to
these rails? Did you install it yourself or was it dealer installed?
(I would like another opinion about how easily it is to rip the rack off
the trunk as I can not believe they didn't provide some sort of
expanding fasteners rather than "press-in" inserts.)

Dave

Cliff Knight wrote: