If you look into SUVs on the road carefully, you'll notice that, unlike sedans, there are car roof rails on both sides of the roof. This design style is rarely seen in sedan cars which only have a bare roof with no designated attachment points. Why do many SUVs have two roof rack side rails? it is a very interesting topic and we're getting to talk about it today.

Generally speaking, SUV is designed to satisfy the requirements of drivers for long trips and it should deal with complex road conditions, so SUV needs more room to fulfill different needs. However, the dimensions of the SUV mean it has limited carrying space, so we take the car roof into consideration in order to solve this problem. The installation size of the SUV roof racks or roof cargo is often equal to the roof area, therefore the roof rack storage capacity is very considerable and the large ceiling loading capacity is even larger than the car trunk, such a lot of self-drive owners will add the car roof rack, additionally, the truck roof rack is incredibly easy to disassemble, so it's also very convenient.

You can also install bike racks or kayak racks on the roof of SUVs and Camper. The space is very large in which will accommodate two people to stay if you place a manual or automatic roof rack tent. Most of the original SUVs are provided with a roof rack which may be mounted on roof rails, extending loading capacity that big spare tire, camper tent, and other self-drive accommodation items are often placed on the car roof. It's very convenient for self-driving travel enthusiasts.

The two lines on the highest of the SUV are roof rack rails, which are especially aimed at expanding space and increasing the carrying capacity of the SUV. However, some sedans don’t have such rails, mainly for the subsequent reasons:

1. Body Structure

The strength of the SUV roof is strong that not only effectively prevents rollover, but also considers the way to do less damage to drivers after the rollover. it can easily take a roof rack with a high strong roof. it's very difficult for sedans to roll over on the road because of the low center of gravity of the car. there's no got to design a higher strength roof from the planning point of view. of course, it doesn't mean that the roof strength isn't safe.

2. The Aerodynamic Layout

SUVs generally run on the road at medium and low speed and therefore the wind resistance has little influence on car stability. Sedans are designed to run at medium speed. the luggage rack with luggage will destroy aerodynamics and affect the high-speed stability of cars. Therefore, the sedan doesn't design a shell roof rack.

3. Form of the Car Roof

The oval shape at the top of the sedan is meant to spotlight the beginning layout, which doesn't allow luggage racks to be mounted. Even a number of sedans manufactured with a roof rack, the peak of cargo can't be more than 0.5 meters above the roof, which makes it impossible for some bikes to be placed on the roof.

These two rails that appeared on the roof of the car are parts of the whole roof rack. These two rails cannot meet the requirements of products transportation alone. It requires the car owner to shop for additional roof rack accessories like roof rack cross bar and roof racks required by the model for loading goods. How to enhance that the cargo is secure on the roof? Here we have different types of roof racks for your needs, cross bar, roof cargo bags, roof side rails end covers, bike racks, bike carriers, kayak racks, and more.

The rise of the car capacity also increased the load of the body and increased the wind resistance coefficient, which can naturally increase fuel consumption, The fuel consumption may increase by about 2L, the rise of fuel consumption for a long time is kind of considerable.

In short, the evaluation of the car roof rack is totally different in keeping with individual needs. For people who ought to travel long distances or off-road car owners, off-road roof rack is extremely practical. 

If you are not sure which roof luggage rack can fit your vehicle, please click Parts Finder and then input your vehicle's Year, Make, Model, and parts applications for more details.

Also, you can check ECCPP Blog: “Everything You Need to Know About Roof Rails and Roof Racks”.