BajaRack: When Sergio Murillo Couldn't Find a Roof Rack that Met his Needs, he Built his Own

California businessman Sergio Murillo likes going back to his native Mexico for off-road on the Baja peninsula, but he was disappointed in the roof rack he bought for his vehicle.

"I didn't like the quality. It had a lot of plastic parts," said Murillo, who thought, "I can do this better," and so he did.

Murillo, 36, already owned a company that manufactures cable harnesses for a variety of industrial clients. He talked with a friend, Charlie Martinez, a design engineer, and together they created and patented their own roof rack. Murillo did a Google search, discovered the name BajaRack was available, and early in 2007 they launched a company to produce their own line of roof racks for sport utility vehicles and crossover utilities.

BajaRack is based in San Marcos, Calif., though the racks are produced – fittingly enough – in Ensenada, Mexico.

Late in 2008 the company added a third model to its lineup, a $540 rack designed for the roof of the Toyota FJ Cruiser.

Previous products were the $295 Mule, which is 39 inches wide and 48 inches long, and the $380 MegaMule, which is 48 inches wide and 64 inches wide. Racks come with metal brackets designed to secure the rack to a vehicles roof rails or to Yakima or Thule mounting systems, and also come with a cargo net.

BajaRack also offers several accessories including off-road lighting, shovel and tire mounds and cable harnesses.

The racks can be ordered directly through the www.bajarack.com website or are available at various off-road equipment outlets which are listed on the site under "Dealers." For additional information, call (760) 621-0171.