>If I need to use cradles, can I use a 48" bar or must it be longer?

If you use a bar that is longer than the width of your car, beware! You can spot people who do this because they have 1" diameter overlapping scars on their foreheads.

Just kidding--if your roofline is a lot narrower than your car's overall width, you'll never hit the bars--the top of my topper is only 42" wide, but I have 60" bars on it. The pickup is roughly 60" from outside of wheelwell to outside of wheelwell so I'm never that close to the end of the bar.

I used to drive an Olds 88 4-door. I only ever hit my head on the back rack as it was immediately above the back seat. The front rack was over the front door hinges, and my body never entered that area. FWIW, I hardly ever rode in the back seat, so the rear racks caused me little injury.

> I also have a Jetta and am concerned about using too wide of rack on a small >car.

What are you worried about? You won't be able to load stuff so heavy and so wide it will tip your car over. Well, I can't say you could never do it, but if your boat is that heavy, you used a bit too much epoxy in the construction! Put on bars that fit the stuff you'll need to haul at one time.

Happy hauling, Shawn