Well in this particular case, an option from Unaka is made in the USA and cleans up the roof of the van the same way, but will do it for $600 less than AVC. Not a knock on the AVC rack, but I think out of the box the Unaka does the job for me, and it’s less expensive. I can appreciate that all of these racks are good, and the “right” rack for a variety of use cases.
Roof rack: FVC vs AVCRIG V2
Anyone have any thoughts on the newly redesigned AVC RIG V2 roof rack vs the Flatline Van Co rack? This would be the one for 148 HR EX.
The AVC rack now overhangs the rear of the van a little, which I like. The hardware is now stainless. But I think the towers are are still regular steel whereas the FVC ones are stainless (both are powder coated). And the tower angle issues have been rectified.
The new V2 rack is so new that I wonder if anyone even has it yet.
I need to get a rack soon and I’m leaning towards the AVC one, unless I hear some compelling reasons to go a different direction.
AVC: AVC Transit 148 High Roof Extended Rack V2
FVC: Transit 148" High Roof Extended Low Pro Roof Rack
The AVC rack now overhangs the rear of the van a little, which I like. The hardware is now stainless. But I think the towers are are still regular steel whereas the FVC ones are stainless (both are powder coated). And the tower angle issues have been rectified.
The new V2 rack is so new that I wonder if anyone even has it yet.
I need to get a rack soon and I’m leaning towards the AVC one, unless I hear some compelling reasons to go a different direction.
AVC: AVC Transit 148 High Roof Extended Rack V2
FVC: Transit 148" High Roof Extended Low Pro Roof Rack
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The Unaka Bike Thru Axle Fork Mount. It's very low profile which is why I originally wanted them. The inserts don't stay in so when you take the bike out the inserts fall out. Could be easily fixed with some glue or something but you need to switch the inserts for different fork sizes. I also don't like the clamping mech it takes a lot of effort to actually clamp it down. I think with some revisions it would be a really great alternative to the Rocky Mounts which are just super super nice.
Nice simple approach, but I wouldn't like having the big gaps below the angle and how the side rails run forward past the vent up here in snow country. It is already hard enough to get the top of my van cleared of snow and ice, especially in late winter when we start having thaw-freeze cycles along with a few inches of snow between freeze-thaw cycles, such that I get several inches of ice frozen on top of the van. This bracket approach would turn into one big ice cube on top of the van. If/when I ever put on a rack, I will want a completely smooth top with sides that extend almost flush with the roof.
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How much solar do you have up there? Looks like the remora can handle many 400 watt panels (like the solaria) inside, between the fins.
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600 W. 2xRenogy 100W and 2x215W Hitec solar.
I've only clocked it at 550W in reality, but it's definitely pretty solid with the remora rack. Installation is a bit tricky with access to panels, but very well build in general. I am still hunting a "whistle" at certain speeds, but will likely make a better filler around the Maxxfan to alleviate.
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118 Posts
Did you pick it up in CA ( or do you life there)? They claim on their site that they don’t ship to the US.
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I'm actually in the Tahoe area and paid for shipping - at the time, there weren't the AVC and FVC racks that came nicely into the roofline of van and I still think the remora is a bit higher build quality and has a nicely integrated light bar and aesthetics. So, yeah, call me crazy for paying shipping, but the customer service from Remora was absolutely stellar and everything came very well packed.
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