Chrysler aerodynamic "stow 'n' go" roof racks
 

Some friends recently got a Chrysler minivan, and I noticed it has pretty clever stowable crossbars:

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1474300962

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1474300962

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1474300961

The bars stow in the rails themselves.

And extra clever bonus points: no tools required!

I didn't get a side shot, but they rails are fairly low - profile.

I also noticed if you wanted to take the rail off completely, the nuts are easily accessible.

That's neat. Thanks

They are great. Even better then a rack with the bars removed as they are much lower profile when stored. Then they are always there if you do need them. When we got our van used I was thinking there was something missing, I thought maybe the knobs were to remove the rails so it tried but instead found the crossbars.

As an added bonus, they've got slots in the verticals to run a strap through and along the bottom. It's easy to use and solid.

So the rail pivots 90°? Overall shape is square?

If you lay a level or straightedge on it, how much crown side to side? Front to back?

My neighbors park a Saturn coupe right outside my window. I notice the bottom of all the windows lies in a plane. (There is a little crown in the hood to hide the wipers) It occurs to me you could cut the top off one and graft it into the roof of a box van or short bus and have a teardrop bubble top. With a sunroof.

The crossrails are removable and stow in place, embedded in the side rails. They don't add any frontal area when stowed, except maybe the wing nuts.

It's not quite square. The distance between the anchor points athwartships is slightly less than the measurement fore & aft. Because the "feet" of the crossbars are bent/angled down when in use and then made straight out for stowing.