The Toyota Camry is a nifty little vehicle. Reliable, affordable, and from a great brand.
But, if you’re a nifty kind of person sometimes you need to get outdoors and let all that energy out.
Roof racks allow you to do that! With all kinds of mounts possible after getting one.
There are plenty of options for your Camry to make it happen.
Let’s take a look at the 4 Best Roof Racks for Toyota Camrys:
1. Seah Hardware Universal Roof Rack Cross-Bars 2 PC. 48 Inches
When it comes to a universal design, you want something easy to install that leaves your roof and paint job looking great.
Of all the roof racks on this list, this is going to likely be the easiest to install and take off.
Seah Hardware’s Universal Rack uses a pressure fit/strap system to stay put.
And you might think to yourself, “self, what if this moves while I’m driving?” And we think at first glance that’s a valid concern. But the way this actually works is that the straps loop underneath the car.
Then you tighten them as much as possible through the latch. The result? Tons of satisfied customers that love this thing. This isn’t going to be a permanent solution kind of deal. If you want a rack like that, look at our #2 option.
But, if you want something you can count on that is a great deal then we highly recommend considering this! For the weekend warrior who wants to save some cash, the value is definitely there.
2. SportRack Complete Roof Rack System, Black
The SportRack is a more permanent solution for a Toyota Camry owner.
This sits under the door jams, included in the purchase is a number of mounts to make sure there is one for every type of vehicle.
The cool thing about that is if you save the parts you could put this on another car someday. The actual crossbar section of this rack is powder coated steel. And it’s good to hold up to 130 lbs.
The more permanent solutions for racks do run a bit more expensive as well. This and our #3 item on this list are the priciest. But, that’s the norm as they’re “beefier” options.
Once you set this to the proper width of your Camry, it locks into place. With actual locks! The ends of this rack like most racks does have plastic for molding purposes. Please refer to the fit guide below if you’re set on picking this option. There are different models, and the corresponding model must match your year of Camry for compatibility.
A downfall of this rack type is that if you have a later model Camry, they don’t have a corresponding fit in their fit guide.
3. Malone VersaRail Bare Roof Cross Rail Rack
The Malone VersaRail might remind you of the Seah Hardware rack we featured earlier.
And they are similar, with some notable differences!
Your eyes might be drawn to the base of this unit. And those are definitely suction cups.
The use of the vacuum cup base combined with the under the roof straps makes for a very secure setup that you can be confident in. This can hold up to 135 lbs.
This design is a more heavy duty version of the Seah option. You’ll notice the thicker straps and hardware as well. It does cost a bit more as well, but you can be comfortable leaving this on your car for longer use.
4. Orion Motor Tech Lightweight Anti-Vibration Universal Car Soft Roof Rack Pad
Here’s an interesting alternative specific to those of you who may be into water or snow sports.
This is great for a Kayak or Snowboard that you want secured on your roof and quickly!
In fact, this whole setup shouldn’t take you more than a few minutes. However getting the Kayak on there will be a different story.
Like we’ve seen previously in the universal racks, the Orion Motor Tech uses the ratchet under roof technique to keep in place. And while they might look like soft pads from the pictures, they do keep firm and your things will stay in place.
If you plan on getting a bike mount or carrying other types of stuff, this won’t do. But for those of you into the sports mentioned above, this is a great pickup. It’s also pretty affordable!
What can I do when I get a roof rack?
There are all sorts of options for different types of mounts once you get a roof rack installed. A roof box is a common upgrade many people get for camping trips, or weekend excursions. Or you could even get a bike mount if you were comfortable with a setup like that(we aren’t!).
What matters most of course is the base before picking up any of these additional upgrade, and that’s what this guide was about.
I was thinking that I want a roof box but the whole setup is expensive, are there alternatives?
There are! If you went through this guide looking for a base for your roof box and did some quick math, you probably realized it adds up quick. Once you get a roof rack and then a roof box, you’ll be lucky if you’ve spent less than 500 bucks.
So a better alternative is getting a cargo bag for your car. Most options are waterproof. They aren’t as sturdy as a hard shell option like a roof box, but they’re still a great option and can be tied down securely. And nearly all of them are waterproof.
The best part? They’re usually under 100 bucks.
Conclusion
The Toyota Camry is a reliable car and if you like taking road trips, upgrading it’s roof carrying capabilities just makes sense. So we hope that this guide helped you pick a good option for your car.
Universal fits are what we recommend, and we really like the Versa Rack. But, there are plenty of good choices here and some cost much less.
Whatever you end up choosing, let us know how it worked out. We love hearing from our readers and thanks for stopping by!