I saw a red hatch nearby my house who had a roof rack without using a short roof adapter / stretch kit from thule/yakima. The front legs of the roof rack went between the door and roof. The rear legs went between the rear window glass and the roof. Anyone know how I can do this? I couldn't make out what brand his roof rack was. I've also seen VW Beetles with this setup.

I have a thule roof rack with the short roof adapter but my rear bar keeps sliding back because there's nothing securing it in place.

 

I think VW's are like EF hatches in that those rear windows pop open. Have you tried to pry back the window seal and jam the fit kit into the channel? I wouldn't do it, just saying.

My Thule SRA works like a charm. I have it positioned further back than the instructions show and I crank it down HARD, which really plants those rear legs.

 

I have it back further than recommend to transport my kayaks.. The problem with that is that it starts to slide.. Especially with such a big object on top of my car. These kayaks are 14 feet long, 30" wide, 70lbs .. lol.. as you can imagine they catch of air and wiggle around alot in the wind.

 

Have you tried to anchor them with a "bow line" down to the tow hook? My neighbor transports his kayaks without a rack, only a pair of foam blocks on the roof, secured with anchor lines front and rear.