[Shalmaneser64]

Thought I'd start this, instead of keeping the discussion going in the SmartBall thread.

Miss Mercedes was kind enough to share some details on her roof rack, and some pics.

I've been looking for a while to see what sort of racks are/were available. I'm not interested in drilling into the cage for a permanent mount.

The two major players seem to be Thule and Yakima.

Thule says that:

Max Accaputo (Thule) 2 Oct 2020, 12:50 GMT-4 Hello, After extensive testing by our engineers, this car is deemed a no fit due to the fact that there is no safe place to attach the rack to the roofline of the vehicle. Also During OE testing, the front of the Fortwo lifted off of the ground when more than 45lbs was put on the back, which causes us to deem the vehicle a no fit for rear of car racks as well. Thank you for choosing Thule. Max Accaputo Thule America Customer Service Rep.

Yakima, on the other hand, actually offered a rack system:

NAKED ROOF | QTOWER FIT ON SMART FORTWO 3DR 2008-2018 (USA)








This fit is listed for reference only. Some or all of the products for this fit are obsolete.
BASE RACK
TOWER: Q Towers (Set of Four)
FRONT CLIP: Q116 Clips
REAR CLIP: Q116 Clips
CROSSBAR: Small (48") RoundBar Pair (2 CrossBars)
FAIRING: 40" WindShield
MINIMUM BAR SIZE: Small



MEASUREMENTS
M1: 36 "
M2: 5 "
M3: 36 "
M4: 18 "
WEIGHT LIMIT: 100 lbs











COMPATIBLE PRODUCTS
Bike
RaptorAero
ForkLift
FrontLoader
WheelHouse
HighRoad
HighSpeed
WB200 Fork Mount
WB201 Frame Mount Bicycle Carrier

Snow
FreshTrack 4
FreshTrack 6
FatCat EVO 4, Black
FatCat EVO 6, Black
WB300 Snow Mount
Ski & Snowboard Carrier




NOTES
ID
Note
61
The roof, rubber/chrome door seals and/or trim may deform or be damaged under prolonged contact with any roof rack towers and/or clips. Do not over-tighten or overload the rack. Remove rack when not in use.
63
For a secure fit, pull down door frame seals enough to insert the clip against underside of raingutter, trim, and/or roof.
68
The clip fits tightly between the window and the door frame. Open/close your doors carefully to prevent window contact.
81
All loads extending beyond the length of the roof (except cargo boxes) must be secured to both the front and rear of the vehicle, in addition to the rack.
84
SideWinder (Tandem Bike Mount) will not work due to crossbar spread limitations.
110
If your vehicle is equipped with a sunroof or panoramic glass roof, prior to operation, ensure adequate clearance exists with roof rack and/or accessories installed.
114
Check clips after installing. Grab each clip and try to pull them hard away from your vehicle, twice. If the clip moves after the second pull, tighten the adjustment post. If the clip still moves after the second pull, recheck your measurements between the towers and adjust if necessary. Check clip again.
140
Load/Mount will prevent rear hatch from opening fully. Use caution to prevent damage.
167
DISCONTINUED CLIP: Yakima no longer stocks or accepts orders on the clips for this vehicle. Check with your dealer or online retailer.
180
This fit requires the use of current generation Q Tower (4 Pack PN 8000124 or 2 Pack PN 8000135). Contact your local dealer if you have questions or call Consumer Service at 888-925-4621 from 7am-4pm Pacific Time M-F.
183
Due to unique vehicle characteristics such as wheel base, height, and/or overall proportions, any load carried on the roof may have adverse effects on driving dynamics. Exercise caution when operating this vehicle with any load on the roof.
187
Boa and ForkChop bike mounts will not work on this application due to crossbar spread limitations.

Note point 183 - probably a sound warning.

This system is no longer being made, although there does appear to be a replacement model that might work as well. There seems to be some question as to which clamps are needed. I've sent Yakima an email to see if I can get clarification.

 

[Miss Mercedes]

Fantastic work! There are some generic racks on eBay that are clones of the Yakima rack that also work. The only problem is that they are hit and miss so you may end up buying one and it doesn't work (as I have). That said, I do know some people on the smart Facebook groups that have eBay racks that work just fine.

My warning is to be careful with what you choose. I don't know what Thule is talking about with the 45 pound thing...Our tailgates are good for 200 pounds and last time I sat on my tailgate I didn't make the car do a wheelie. maybe they were using a 45 pound sail or something. lol

What is true is that what you put on the rack will change the dynamics of the car. I had to remove the wind deflector from my roof rack basket to be able to maintain Interstate speed. On a day with a moderate crosswind my top speed was 60mph with the wind deflector on. Without the deflector in the same weather the car could manage 80.

 

[Tiny-car-guy]

Just an FYI - I purchased my roof rack last week off eBay for $168 (free shipping). The other sellers selling the exact rack we’re charging $150 + $125 s/h from China- but in there defense they were looking at 2 wk vs 45 day’s deliver. I will leave the link in case anyone is interested, and will amend my post and let you know how well they work. I will say this about the seller, he contacted me immediately after I ordered and requested a picture of the roof and make/model just to make sure they sent out the right roof rack. Here is the link.

Roof Rack Cross Bars Luggage Carrier For Mercedes-Benz Smart Top Universal | eBay

All products are quality checked. Otherwise deal is final. or negative. We maintain high standards of excellence. We will be happy to resolve any issues you may have in a cordial and friendly manner.

www.ebay.com

I also ordered these bumper protectors to put under the roof rack to protect my roof
Amazon.com: Youngine Universal Car Front Rear Corner Bumper Guard Protector Carbon Fiber Anti-collision Strip Sticker Anti-rub Edge Lip: Automotive I will post if the roof rack fits

 

[Shalmaneser64]

Just an FYI - I purchased my roof rack last week off eBay for $168 (free shipping). The other sellers selling the exact rack we’re charging $150 + $125 s/h from China- but in there defense they were looking at 2 wk vs 45 day’s deliver. I will leave the link in case anyone is interested, and will amend my post and let you know how well they work. I will say this about the seller, he contacted me immediately after I ordered and requested a picture of the roof and make/model just to make sure they sent out the right roof rack. Here is the link.

Roof Rack Cross Bars Luggage Carrier For Mercedes-Benz Smart Top Universal | eBay

All products are quality checked. Otherwise deal is final. or negative. We maintain high standards of excellence. We will be happy to resolve any issues you may have in a cordial and friendly manner.

www.ebay.com

I also ordered these bumper protectors to put under the roof rack to protect my roof
Amazon.com: Youngine Universal Car Front Rear Corner Bumper Guard Protector Carbon Fiber Anti-collision Strip Sticker Anti-rub Edge Lip: Automotive I will post if the roof rack fits

Keep us informed. Looks like a typical clamp system.

 

[Shalmaneser64]

So I picked up a set of Yakima Q Towers, a pair of 48" round bars, and a pair of the Q stretch bars. The strength (and weakness) of the Yakima systems are the retaining clips. Finding the right clips, particularly for the Q system, which has been out of production for a while was a bit of a challenge. Seems that the early adopters of the Q towers used Q34 clips. Yakima recommends Q116 clips. I found a set of Q34 clips that I'm going to try. At some point I'll compare them to Q116 clips.

The other thing that I have discovered is that the follow-on Yakima product, the Base Tower system, appears to have never been officially endorsed for the smart. But if one does some cross referencing, one can see that there were cars that used the same Q Towers/clips setup as the smart, that are supported by the Base Tower system. It would seem reasonable to think that the Base Tower system should then work on the smart. The nice thing about the Base Tower system is that the towers themselves have a lot more adjustability, to better handle roof curvature, and they accommodate an aerodynamic crossbar. Unfortunately, this system is also out of production, it seems. And to make matters worse, it uses a different style of clip, with no apparent cross reference between the two systems.

I'll update when I know more.

 

[Shalmaneser64]

So I did a test fit of the Yakima setup yesterday afternoon. A few more discoveries were made. it seems that the Q Towers come in two styles - old and new. Go figure. Yakima indicates that you need the new style Q Towers for the smart, but there doesn't seem to be any reason or justification, and I used an old style set, which seemed to fit just fine. The only difference that I see is in the way that the cross bar is held. Old style uses a cam, and new style uses a clamp. I also used the Q34 clips, which were the ones recommended by smart owners before the official Yakima configuration was spelled out, in which they specify Q116 clips. The Q34 clips work fine. I think you could probably lift the smart off of the ground by the cross bars. The cross bars have end caps, which have to be removed in order to get the Q-Towers on. At least one, anyway. Good luck without destroying them. They are a friction fit, and will not come out. The distance between front and rear bars is only 18 inches. Not a whole lot. I have a stretch kit, which adds another 9-10 inches between front and rear bars, that I'm going to try today. If it works, I'm going to pick up a Haul-Master roof rack from Harbor (Horrible) Freight this afternoon.

150 Lb. Capacity Roof-Mounted Steel Cargo Carrier

150 Lb. Roof-Mounted Cargo Carrier

www.harborfreight.com

With 20% off and the remains of a gift card that I got in exchange for returning two sets of their killer jack stands, it should run me about $30-40. Compare that to the Yakima LoadWarrior that lists for $349.

 

[Shalmaneser64]

Installed the Yakima bars with the stretch kit today. Moves the bars from 18 inches apart to 27 inches apart. The bars themselves are 48 inches long. There's some noise above 30 MPH, but not too bad.

 

[Shalmaneser64]

Put the HaulMaster roof rack on the Yakima bars yesterday. It actually seems quieter with the rack than without it. It screams for some rally lights.