Is Renting with Roof Racks Worth It Here?

You’re planning a trip and staring at all the gear you need to take. The rental car is booked, but now you’re wondering whether you should add roof racks to the booking.

It’s not as straightforward as it seems. Sometimes, roof racks are exactly what you need. Other times, they’re an unnecessary expense and hassle when there’s a simpler solution.

Let’s work out which situation you’re actually in.

Who Actually Needs Roof Racks

If you’re heading to the Gold Coast with surfboards, we can stop here. You need roof racks. End of discussion. A 6-foot board and a sedan don’t mix, even if you fold down the passenger seat and get creative. All that happens is your mate squashed in the back, copes with fibreglass in the ribs for three hours down the M1. Roof racks fix this completely. Boards go up top, everyone sits like normal humans, sorted.

Cyclists face the same thing. Planning rides through the Dandenongs? Coastal tracks around Noosa? Trying to fit two or three bikes inside a car is a nightmare. Wheels sticking out everywhere, pedals scratching the upholstery, someone’s nice Trek getting dinged. On the roof, they sit secure, and nobody has to perform acrobatics to get in the car.

Then you’ve got the camping mob. Victoria’s high country for a long weekend. Queensland hinterland for a week. You need tents, swags, eskies, camp chairs, and that portable BBQ your mate refuses to leave behind. Suddenly, the back seat looks like you’ve ransacked a BCF store. A roof box gives you breathing room. Everything fits, people can actually sit comfortably, and you’re not unpacking half your gear just to grab lunch.

What ties all this together? You’re hauling stuff that’s awkward and bulky. The kind of gear that doesn’t care how big your car is because it simply won’t fit inside properly, full stop.

Roof Racks or Bigger Car: Which Actually Works

Here’s where most people get stuck. You need more space, but should you add roof racks to a sedan or just hire a bigger vehicle?

• When Roof Racks are the Smarter Choice:

You’re transporting long, awkward items like surfboards, kayaks, or bikes. An SUV won’t help here. A Kia Carnival has a massive boot, but it still can’t swallow three longboards. Roof racks are built for this exact problem.

You want to maximise passenger comfort. Four adults going away for a long weekend need their space. Roof racks keep luggage out of the cabin, so nobody’s wedged against camping gear for the entire M1 drive.

• When a Bigger Vehicle Makes More Sense:

You’re packing standard camping gear and suitcases. Sleeping bags, tents, eskies, the usual holiday stuff. All of that fits way better inside an SUV or people mover. You don’t need to climb on the car every time you want to grab something. Rain doesn’t matter. Open the boot, throw your gear in, close it, done.

You’re doing serious kilometres. Fuel costs with roof racks add up faster than you think. Sometimes the bigger car actually costs less overall.

You value convenience over everything else. Loading roof racks takes practice. You need to check the straps regularly. There are height limits to remember. A bigger boot? Open, load, close, done.

What Roof Racks Actually Cost You

The daily hire fee is just the beginning. There’s a whole fuel consumption issue that catches people completely off guard.

Empty roof racks increase drag. You’re driving Melbourne to Lorne, or up the Pacific Highway to Byron Bay, and those bars on your roof are costing you 5% to 8% more in fuel. Load them up with gear, and that jumps to 12% to 20% worse economy.

Let’s put real numbers on this. A week-long trip covering 1500 kilometres. With loaded roof racks, you’re looking at an extra sixty to a hundred dollars in fuel, depending on current petrol prices. That’s on top of the twenty-odd dollars per day to hire the racks themselves.

Compare that to upgrading from a sedan to an SUV. You might pay an extra twenty to thirty dollars per day for the vehicle, sure. But the fuel penalty is way less, and you’ve got more space, better comfort, and zero faff with loading gear on the roof.

Then there’s the noise factor. Wind whistling through the roof bars at 110 clicks gets annoying. Some people don’t mind it. For others, an hour out of Melbourne and they’re ready to rip the racks off themselves.

Common Mistakes People Make with Roof Racks

• Forgetting about height clearance.

Your rental sedan is about 1.5 metres tall. Stick roof racks and a cargo box on there, now you’re close to two metres. Pull into a Westfield car park with 1.8 metre clearance, and you’ll be on the phone to the rental company explaining the damage. Happens way more often than people admit.

• Leaving racks on when empty.

You’ve dropped the bikes at your trail, now you’re heading into town for lunch with empty roof racks, creating drag and burning extra fuel. Most racks take five minutes to remove. Just do it.

• Ignoring insurance gaps.

Some rental policies specifically exclude roof rack damage or slug you with higher excess fees. Scrape a cargo box on a low branch or damage the mounting points, and you might be covering the full repair cost. Worth checking before you sign.

• Overloading the racks.

Most have weight limits of around 50 to 75 kilograms. People assume they can pile anything up there. You can’t. Too much weight affects handling, especially in wind or tight corners. It’s also genuinely dangerous.

• Not testing before committing to a long drive.

That whistle at highway speed might seem minor in the car park. Six hours up the Hume Highway, it’ll drive you mental. If the noise bothers you, swap to a bigger vehicle before you’re too far gone.

When You’re Better Off Without Them

Short city trips around Melbourne or Brisbane don’t need roof racks. A few days getting around with normal luggage? Not worth it. Multi-level car parks become a headache. Tight streets are harder to navigate. Underground parking makes you nervous. All because you’ve got stuff on the roof you didn’t really need.

Airport transfers where you’re moving between accommodations. Your suitcases fit in the boot. Why add complexity?

Budget-conscious travellers watching every dollar. That 8% to 20% fuel penalty over two weeks adds up. It could easily hit a hundred dollars or more. If you’re keeping track of costs, run the numbers properly. Sometimes that slightly bigger vehicle ends up cheaper once fuel is included.

For the first timers who haven’t used roof racks before. There’s a bit of a learning curve to loading and securing everything properly. If the trip is already stressful enough, why add another thing to worry about? Nothing wrong with keeping it simple.

The Real Decision

Here’s the honest test. Lay everything out that you’re taking on this trip. Actually, spread it on the floor and look at it. 

Would it genuinely not fit in an SUV or a people mover? Because if a Kia Sportage or Toyota Kluger would handle it comfortably, that’s probably your answer, unless you specifically need roof racks for boards or bikes.

Roof racks work brilliantly for certain gear. Surfboards, kayaks, bikes, rooftop tents. Things that are bulky and awkward but not super heavy. For standard luggage and camping equipment, internal space is almost always more practical. It’s weatherproof, easily accessible, doesn’t hammer your fuel economy, and you don’t need to scale the car to load and unload.

At Cheaper Car Rentals, we keep things straightforward. We’ve got vehicles ranging from compact cars through to SUVs and eight-seater vans, which means you can usually find something that fits your gear without needing roof racks at all.

All our rentals include 200 kilometres free per day and RACV roadside assistance. If you genuinely need roof racks for a specific purpose, give us a ring, and we’ll talk through what actually makes sense for your trip rather than just adding extras to your bill.

We’ve been doing this since 1981 and have seen every possible gear combination people try to squeeze into cars. Sometimes, roof racks are absolutely the right call. Often, they’re not necessary at all. We’ll tell you straight which one applies to your situation.

Make a reservation and talk to us about what you’re actually carrying. We’ll sort out whether you need roof racks or just a bigger boot.