Originally Posted by
topflightpro
Roof racks totally tank mileage and cause a ton of noise.
I had one on my little BMW. Without the rack, I could get 25-26 mpg on the highway. With the rack, 22-23. Rack and bike, 20-21. And I had to keep the sunroof visor closed to help insulate against the wind noise of the rack. But if the bike was on there, I kept the visor open so I wouldn't forget about the bike and drive into something.
RTC, if you don't already have a tow hitch, install one and add a rack. If I remember correctly, the Rav4 door opens to the side, so you probably need a swing away rack, which is a bit more expensive, but much more convenient in the long run.
Also, if you have to add the hitch mount yourself, think carefully about whether you want to do it yourself or not before buying anything. I bought mine, got the car up on the ramps and then got a little nervous about dropping the muffler (turned out not to be a big deal). Called a couple local shops, but no one was willing to take on the liability of installing a hitch mount they hadn't sold (understandable), so I put it back up on the ramps, got back underneath and did it myself, but wasn't 100% comfortable until after we got back from the 1000 mile trip we took a week later with no damage.