Greetings from L.A.!

[Lily]

I recently decided traditional housing simply isn't worth it for what i actually want/need access to, so I've exited my previous lease and I'm (gradually) working on adapting my car into a living space - van/carliving is aspirational to me, both for cost-saving and philosophical reasons.

The biggest obstacles for me right now are increasing privacy enough to forestall nosy knockers somewhat, and even more pertinently the need to install a roof rack so I can support myself as a mobile massage therapist.

My friend suggested this forum as a place to ask for advice, both about vanliving generally and the roof rack specifically, since a lot of people here do DIY mods to their vehicles. If anyone knows how roof racks generally work and how to check that they would definitely work with my car (2003 Hyundai Accent, Sedan) before actually buying and trying to install them, I'd appreciate the advice! When I tried to get information online, I couldn't find any diamonds in the muck of SEO.

 

[maki2]

I suggest you just go and visit a few roof rack businesses. That is a good way to get a basic education in what types of roof racks are being sold and what the installation cost are. But do not be pressured into signing up to get one installed. There are companies that sell used roof racks and install them. People often sell used roof racks on Facebook marketplace and Craigslist.

So as a “newbie” to the subject just give yourself a bit of firsthand knowledge direct, experience so you do not overpay etc. We all go through learning curves. This one is pretty easy to do in a city location where there will be plenty of companies to visit. Getting setup for full time you will have a number of these new to you learning curves. Take it one at a time

 

[bullfrog !]

Welcome!

 

[mattvei]

Check out used vehicles for sale that have the setup you want, contact the sellers and see how they got theirs done and what they would do differently

 

[Morgana]

Could you ask at a dealership just to get an idea of what the options are? Sometimes the humans in those places can be very helpful (other times not, of course).

 

[maki2]

I recently decided traditional housing simply isn't worth it for what i actually want/need access to, so I've exited my previous lease and I'm (gradually) working on adapting my car into a living space - van/carliving is aspirational to me, both for cost-saving and philosophical reasons.

The biggest obstacles for me right now are increasing privacy enough to forestall nosy knockers somewhat, and even more pertinently the need to install a roof rack so I can support myself as a mobile massage therapist.

My friend suggested this forum as a place to ask for advice, both about vanliving generally and the roof rack specifically, since a lot of people here do DIY mods to their vehicles. If anyone knows how roof racks generally work and how to check that they would definitely work with my car (2003 Hyundai Accent, Sedan) before actually buying and trying to install them, I'd appreciate the advice! When I tried to get information online, I couldn't find any diamonds in the muck of SEO.

Finding a commercially available roof rack that fits a specific vehicle involves using keywords specific to your vehicles make, model and year.


Finding a roof rack that will fit your vehicle is actually very easy.
Your keyword string for the search is
Hyundai Accent roof rack 2003

But now you get to the next issue. How will secure the solar panel to the roof rack? Recently a new adapter kit that can be used on a variety of cross bars for mounting solar panels came on the market. Do a keyword search for “BougeRV solar panel crab mounting kit”