I have a new-to-me 2005 Mazda3 5dr(HB). I can’t find a rooftop rack for it for my canoe. I have a Yakima system but it doesn’t fit my new vehicle.
Any suggestions for “customizing” a system? (I know I should have considered what car fit my boat rack 1st!)
Thanks,
Ellen
Why can’t you adapt your Yakama…
system to your vehicle.
Yakama has a type of mount called “landing pads”, and there are several methods of installing them, one of which is bolted directly through the roof.
They have two types of them also. One goes all the way through which I am sure you wouldn’t want, but the other mounts similar to a toggle bolt mounts to a wall and does not come completely through the roof, but has it’s interior connector hidden between your inner roof and the outer roof.
I have used them (on a new vehicle!) and consider them to be as strong or stronger then any roof mount system.
Drilling the first hole hurts the worst !!!
cheers,
JackL
Yakima on your Mazda 3
There should be no reason that you cannot retrofit your current Yakima set up to your Mazda 3. As Jackl says, the Landing Pad, control Tower system will work fine. However, if I’m not mistaken, there is a Q-tower fitment for the 3/5 that includes different clips front and rear. That should give you an almost 40 inch spread, big enough for about anything short of a Dragon Boat! Go to someone who really knows Yakima (like rackhaus.com) and they’ll fix you right up, I’ll bet.
Assuming you have Q towers,
you need to retrofit by using 1 pair of Q99 clips on the front, and 1 pair of Q34 clips on the rear.
short roofs
I fall into the short roof category (saab 9-2x) and even with the shorter roofline for attachment, there is a short roof-adapter which can increase the bar spread. If there isn’t any current fit data for the 3/5, use the last year’s…the model is unchanged, at least in roofline.