FWIW I have both a Paulchen and a Yakima roof mounted rack, I use the
Paulchen most of the time.  If I'm going to be parking the van with bikes on
it I use the Yakima.  If I had to choose one or the other I'd go with the
Paulchen, it's more convenient, does not reduce mileage and is very well
built (mine was originally purchased in Germany in 1986, I bought it a few
years ago).

dave
www.251.org

>I went through the Bike Rack angst last year.  I finally settled on a
>Paulchen unit from Steve at eurocampers.com
>
>Pretty spendy, but for me it was the best solution.  Steve also has Fiamma
>units for about 1/2 the price of the Paulchens (I think), and they seem
>decent.  I love the ease with which I can stick the bikes on the back of
the
>rack and go.  Plus, the rack doubles as a cooler carrier when not bringing
>the bikes.  I think that you will find universal agreement from those of us
>with the Paulchens that they are the best way to go.
>
>The big problem with mounting something on the roof is the overhead
>clearance.  I know that if I mounted bikes up there I would eventually ram
>them into a Taco Bell drive through.  I reasoned that that would end up
>being a LOT more expensive than buying the Paulchen.  I even have a spare
>Yakima set up with all the goodies sitting in my garage, and the rails
>installed on my pop top - I only would have had to buy new cross bars.