Hello everyone,

I just purchased a 2010 Red Fit Sport with a manual transmission. This makes 9 Honda products in my garage (ATC's, CT70, riding mower, boat motor, etc..). I love the new Fit and will be using it as a promotion vehicle for a new coffee business I am starting (King Louie Coffee)..Home Page. I am trying to mount a large coffee cup (looks more like a tin cup!) on top of the Fit for when I am at events giving out coffee samples (like the Red Bull cars with the gian Red Bull cans mounted to the Mini Coopers). I will paste an email I sent to a roof rack "guru" today...and will try to post some pictures I have. My company launches on 6/5/2010 so I need to get this "solved" soon...and I want to do it right without serious modification to the Fit. Here is the email and I will describe another idea I have below. THANKS in advance for any help.

I appreciate you looking at this and will try to explain in as much detail as I can what I am looking to do with mounting the giant coffee cup on the top of my 2010 Honda Fit. Please feel free to call me at the number below with any questions. This will be a promotional vehicle for my new company "King Louie Coffee" and I will be taking it to different events around the midwest handing out samples of King Louie Coffee (kind of like the Red Bull cars that hand out samples). The cup will be painted (powder coated) once I have determined the method for mounting to the Honda Fit.

The cup was babricated from an old 55 gallon drum and does have a very solid bottom on it. It is exactly 18" tall and close to 23" diameter (give or take a half inch depending on if you messure diameter at the top or bottom). And as the picture shows, there is the handle which is connected pretty close to the bottom of the cup. I would prefer for the handle to be facing the rear of the Honda Fit, but if it interferes with the mounting process I can be flexible in how it is oriented on the roof (The handle is very solid so maybe a mounting bracket could be welded to it??).

I would like the cup to be removeable, but attached solidly enough that I would feel confident driving around with it on top of the Honda (The cup weighs right about 40 pounds). I would also like to be able to park the Honda in my garage without having to remove the cup. When I park the honda under the open garage door I have 22" of clearance from the highest point on the roof of the Honda Fit to the bottom of the garage door. That only leaves about 4 inches of clearance so I am pretty sure the cup will not be able to sit on top of the rack but would have to sit between the cross bars (if the space between the cross bars is greater than the 23" diameter of the cup)....and some type of mounting brackets would need to be welded to the cup maybe an inch or two from the bottom. I guess another way to say this is that the cup would have to sit down between the cross bars low enough that it is an inch or two from the roof of the car.

I will attach a picture of the Cup and a diagram that might be a little clearer on the measurements...and the company logo!

The OTHER IDEA I had was to not use a roof rack and install rubber "feet" on the bottom of the Cup...and then install four "eye bolts" about 6" up on the cup...and tie off a roof strap to each eye bolt to the door frames. Don't know if they make any really high quality roof straps (the kind with a "J" or "Q" shape that will securely fit into the door frame?

Thanks again for your efforts in assisting me with this...I appreciate your help.

This is the "Cup" on top of my old CR-V.




Ron Branstetter
314-397-9746
ronb@kinglouiecoffee.com

 

I cannot help you on the mounting of it but I hope you're writing off the car as a business expenditure!

 

Please, no, the cup is hideous!

No, I am just kidding. I do not recommend it. The roof is filmsy and light itself and it will probably dent your roof. On my white car I just leaned on the roof with my elbow cleaning it and it got little dimples.

 

Just a thought.

Mount the cup to a piece of Plywood that is the width of the roof (gutter to Gutter). Put some feet under the edges of the plywood (right where the gutter is located) to lift the plywood off the top of the car.

Run nylon straps across the front of the plywood and the back to hold it to the top of the car. (if possible attach the straps down to the plywood by screws and grommets). The nylon straps go through the front doors and attach to each other inside the car.

Not pretty but once painted, it shouldn't look bad and could be moved from vehicle to vehicle.

~SB

 

this is the most interesting/odd question i have ever seen. Hope it works out though. Vinn is right though. The roof on the fit is flimsy, but specboy's idea seems pretty good.

 

Thanks for the feedback...and the idea SpecBoy...that is the best non-roof rack idea I have been presented....and I think that could work. The other option I am looking into is the Thule roof rack...but I plan on talking to someone there today to see if they have any ideas how the cup would mount to the cross bars.

Thanks again.

RB

 

the cup looks heavier than the fit.

 

it does look really heavy, you def. need to put something (ie plywood) between it and the roof. Looks like it would really mess the roof up. The thule would be a good idea but they are a little pricey, not sure how much your would want to invest in this. With the thule however, it would make things a whole lot easier and look a little cleaner as well.

 

Be sure to put a few drain holes in the cup. You don't want it to fill up with rain and crush the roof.

 

^ hahaha i didn't think about that good idea though.

 

A friend of mine did a similar thing with his civic. He just bought a few large magnets the size of the base and had them wrapped in some vinyl or rubber can't remember exactly which. It was really hard to take off because of the magnets but it stuck well and never came off going upwards of 80mph and it weighed about 75lbs.

I'll see if can find a pic of it.

 

This is the roof rack version of what I was talking about. It's a roof rack that has nylon straps that go through the car just below the headliner and connect together. Great for quick on/off.

Cabela's -- Universal-Fit Turbo Rack


~SB

 

I would start with the Yakima Landing Pad attached to the Fits roof. From there I see if I could attach the Yakima Control Towers to the cup you are mounting. If the towers could not be attached to the cup then I would would have the Yakima bars go through the cup. What has your rack guru suggested?

 

I would start by getting a lighter "cup", the one you have doesn't look like a cup, it looks like a 55 Gal. drum with a piece cut off. Go to any medium size print shop in your area and ask for a blue 55 Gal. plastic drum that their Aqueous Coating comes in, I'm sure they will give it to you free of charge, we give them away at our shop. Once you cut the bootom off, it will look more like a cup and it is a lot lighter than steel and you can paint it with plastic paint and attach the handle the same way.

I hope that helps.

 

I'd recommend getting a roof rack...kind of like what score04w has in his signature pic. Then mounting the cup on plywood or something on that somehow. I wouldn't let anything touch paint because it will scratch and ruin the paint and cause premature rust.

 

oh... I forgot to mention with my original suggestion, get the 3M clear Film for wherever you are planning on putting the feet

~SB

 

Get a couple of 2x4s and hammer that sucker down! hahaha jk I know someone who done pretty much what u r asking (huge plastic dog) and he used heavy duty magnets. Also he had left over sound proof insulation thing that u put around trunk and used them between the roof and the dog. I don't think it's safe but it hasn't fallen of the roof yet from what I heard. Good luck!

Edit: I just called the guy and he said he removed the headliner and used magnets both side

 

I have to say yeah, looks like a steel barrel.

Not dissing your idea, but I would go aluminum or fiberglass and smaller so it does not catch so much air.

Maybe cut up a beer keg? Just my humble $.02

 

Good advice, and true, I have to say does not look like any coffee cup that I have ever seen. Do not get me wrong I do like the concept.

 

that thing from cabelas i dont think would work. In theory it does, but putting a steel drum on it dont think it would support it. I still think the thule would be best, pricey but effective, long lasting and least damaging. I would also redesign the cup. You'd be surprised what you could come up with for little money.