Car Racks? Confusing and Expensive

I prefer Thule

– Last Updated: Jun-01-09 2:27 PM EST –

Both brands are priced similarly but I personally prefer the Thule over Yakima. The main reason being that Thule uses a square bar that seems stronger and the Yakima round bar allows many of their accessories to rotate on the bar. Both brands offer accessories that fit on either bar.
Jackyl, I believe the rotation is due to the round bar, not the accessory. Yakima is using the same universal clamp system as Thule and the same thing happens.

Yakima Landing Pads and QR towers

– Last Updated: Jun-01-09 4:20 PM EST –

You can get it with a lock so that nobody else can QR your towers, bars, and saddles. But you can quickly remove the whole shebang, leaving just the Landing Pads on the vehicle roof.

For J cradles, I find the Malone Autoloaders to be much better than the Thule J cradles. Flexible nonrusting, nonchafing support.

For hull-down cradles, the Spring Creek units work well. They have long rubber pieces that wrap partway up the hulls.

J-Cradle Rotation is a GOOD Thing!
I actually like the way the clamp on the Thule J-cradles can rotate around a round bar. That makes them fit your kayak PERFECTLY, since at any location on your boat other than dead-center, the support surface of the boat is sloping one way or the other. I find that the rear cradle slopes forward to fit snugly against the hull, and the front cradle slopes backward to do the same thing. In each case, the cradle rotates JUST far enough to align perfectly with the boat. Once that happens, you can cinch down your straps without creating extreme pressure on the corners of the support surfaces which would be inevitable if the cradles remained “aligned” as you have accomplished by putting a bolt through the bar. If the cradles rotate to a best-fit angle, there is a much wider area of support for the boat.



The rotation of the cradles can NOT lead to the boat being poorly anchored to the car, because the cradles cannot rotate away from their best-fit position once the straps are in place. I say that Thule couldn’t have come up with a better idea, in spite of the fact that this aspect of the design was not intentional.

Strength of Thule vs Yakima
I don’t believe Thule bars are stronger. Both brands use metal of very similar thickness, and in that case, the larger round bar must be stronger than the smaller square bar. Now, if the metal in the Thule bars were a LOT thicker than what’s in a Yakima bar, figuring out which was stronger would be much more difficult, but since the thickness is the same or nearly so, the Yakimas MUST be stronger. Is this important? Probably not, as the crossbars of both brands are “strong enough” to carry boats. I might mention that I have seen about a dozen sets of badly bent Thule bars and have yet to see a bent Yakima bar, but that could be coincidence, and I have no doubt that the Thule bars were bent by an extreme load.



For what it’s worth, a single Yakima cross bar will support my entire body weight without flexing to any degree that was visible. I have occasionally put them to that test by standing on the roof of my car while taking photos of something, with one leg against the side of the boat just for balance…

Agree about similar material
The material might be very similar but I’ve seen the opposite. I’ve seen several Yakima setups where the bar has bent in the middle and none for the Thule. Just coincidence I’m sure. I do believe the entire roof of the vehicle would cave-in before either bar failed though.

Rack Attack
I sent email with questions to Rack Attack and got an answer today. I then called them and asked if the Thule or Yakima setup was better for my car. They said the Yakima was a better choice for my car which was nice to hear since it was $50 less than the Thule. I ordered the Yakima and will hopefully have it by the weekend.

I disagree and still say they suck
I want them to stay perfectly upright when I am pushing on the kayaks.

If you want them tilted one way or another that my float your boat , but not mine!

And did your read what I said that no matter how tight you make them, all they do is bend their brackets around the round bars.



Out of necissity I did not have a choice, but had to buy two sets, but if I ever replace them it will be with Yakama ones.



Cheers,

jackL



Cheers,

jackL

I read that part too.
Yes, I read everything you wrote, and the one thing that bothers you seems pretty minor compared to the benefits of letting them tilt. That’s okay - to each his own, but if you don’t want them to tilt, I have absolutely no doubt it would be very easy to invent a more practical solution than simply making the clamps tighter or pinning them to the bars. The best way to anchor something against a particular force is to provide a counteracting force of a similar nature to the one you are resisting, not a force applied in a much less efficient manner. For example, you wouldn’t dream of trying to prevent someone from turning a bolt with a wrench by grabbing the round portion of the bolt with pliers - you’d get yourself a wrench of your own and twist it the opposite way. By pinning the clamps, you are effectively using a one-inch wrench against a 12-inch wrench, but at least it works. Now that they won’t rotate, finger-tight is as tight as they need to be, which means you can stop worrying about how they bent during that time when you were attempting a method of securing them which was hopeless from the beginning.

If you have rain gutters
Use the quick n easy system I have used them on 3 different vihicles seens the early 80’s and have never had a problem. Bought mine for $19.00 back in the dayand they are still working. In fact my boat is on the car (in the racks) as I type.

made new post over on Disscussion …
… forum about these … never tried them myself but thought they had “some” memrit , they aren’t expensive anyway .



http://www.maloneautoracks.com/inflatable.html

They do move too easily

– Last Updated: Jun-01-09 11:51 PM EST –

I put Thule J cradles on Yakima round bars also, and though my experience wasn't as bad as yours, they would rotate out of position with even a slight bump to them. I like mine set to conform to the kayak's contours, but I don't think this problem has anything to do with how they are positioned. The clamping system is just too "slippery."

Then I sold the Thules and got Malone Autoloaders and have not had that problem at all. They also don't abrade my hull with metal tubes chafing like the Thules did. I'm keeping the Malones!

BTW, JackL, tilting the cradles to fit the kayak's curves helps keep the boat from shifting front or back on steep downhills or uphills. Ask me how I know...

I’ll take my bolt through the bar method
thank you.

Easy on and easy off in a matter of seconds.



Cheers,

jackL

I installed
Thule tracks on my hatch back, then the quick release towers, and areo bars… just one push of a button and the towers and areo bars release to stow away… I even put them in the car at the boat landing… they also have locks but I like just pushing the button…



The Thule J racks are excellent if you can stow them away…



This way I’m not driving around with the wind resistance and save fuel… even if it’s 1 mpg that adds up over the years… and yes the roof racks will reduce your mpg…



I’ll see if I can dig up a picture…



http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/mm242/islanders66/IMG_0186.jpg



http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/mm242/islanders66/IMG_0180.jpg

thule vs yakima battle royale
I can’t resist a post here. I’ve personally had both the Yakima Q Towers and Thule 400xt feet systems on the same car. And work at a specialty shop where i’ve done many installations of both. The following is my experiences with both:



Bars: Square beats round.

I can tell you for a fact that Thule’s are stronger. When i put four 60 lb kayaks on the Yakima i could flex the bars almost to the rooftop. None such with Thule. The round bars put big dents in the hulls of plastic boats on stackers, square bars do not dent as much. Attachments fit more securely on square bars than round, especially upright stackers and j cradles. There is one reason to go round: If your roof is very rounded (think new beetle) buy Yakima. When you put the square bars on a rounded roof they get angled all funky. With the round ones it doesn’t matter.



Ease of installation: Yakima by a hair

There are more small parts to a yakima but overall it is easier to get on and off, especailly after the initial install. The bolt that ataches the thule fit kit to the feet is often too short, and is easy to cross thread if not careful.



Attachments: No difference

The new Thule Hull-a-Port Pro is the bomb j cradle. Yakima saddles are the best. They both attach just as easily and securely



The Dark Horse: Malone

Strong, simple, seawings and autoloader j cradles just work and are cheaper than either yakima or thule. Beware on white hulled composite boats: the black rubber pads on malone racks will mark up.

The Round-Roof Thing, and J-Cradles

– Last Updated: Jun-03-09 5:09 PM EST –

I think for canoers, the round bars are a better way to go for anyone with an "average" car, on the subject of your comment about rounded-roof cars. With few exceptions, it seems that the only modern cars that will allow the front and rear cross bars to be "square with each other" are pickup trucks, vans, older-style SUVs (not the new teardrop style)and maybe a couple of "less-stylish" station wagons, like Volvos. On just about any other car, front and rear square bars will not be at the same angle, and even using gunwale brackets, only one "edge" will be in contact with the gunwale. Also, many canoes or similar boats have "pitch" that varies along the length of the boat, so a round bar, or a round bar that allows the gunwale bracket to be turned to the proper slope, would have a bit of an advantage. I wouldn't be able to carry my guide-boat on Thule cross bars without denting the gunwales, because the boat has extreme pitch from each end toward the middle. Of course, thick carpeting wrapped around the bars is a good idea anyway if no gunwale blocks are used.

What you say about the Thule J-hooks agrees with my observations to a much greater degree than the other statment here saying that they bend when the clamps are tightened. Even though the base is all plastic, they seem pretty rugged to me. I can't imagine them bending as a result of any reasonable amount of tension on the clamping bolts.

Someday I could put the strength of both brands to the test. We have equipment where I work that would allow precise measurement of applied lateral load and the resulting degree of deflection, and I have access to both brands of crossbars. I must admit that I doubt the Yakima bars deflect as much as you say, since one cross bar will carry my 165-pound weight near the center of a roughly three-foot span with no visible deflection. It's kind of an unimportant thing to worry about, except in response to statements that one brand or the other is "flimsy" or some such thing. The crossbars on the Sears roof rack we had on our IHC Travelall when I was a kid were made from stamped sheet metal, and even though the span from one end of each bar to the other was about 5.5 feet, they were strong enough, yet Thule and Yakima bars are both stronger.

how to mount 2 x 4s to roof?
I think you left something out.

rack attack, again
2nd what wayne said earlier. Please post again if you don’t feel like you’re getting anywhere.

Thanks for the help
OK, thanks for all the info. I think I will be looking into a used Yakima system. Like I said, I currently have a cheap rack with round bars, I’m wondering if I may be able to use the same crossbars with some q-towers…



I did look into the clips on rackhaus, but I can’t seem to find a place to order just the clips that I need for my car (98 chevy lumina). Still unclear about that…Also, is it a good idea to leave this type of system on permanently? My current system uses clips in the rain guards as well, but are tightened using nylon straps that just so happen to leak inside the car whenever it rains.

leaving rack on
My son leaves his rack on all the time because he uses it nearly every day. I take mine on & off because I don’t use mine so often and I don’t want my kayak saddles left out in the sun - and its easier to remove the racks themselves than the saddles. I mark where the clips go with a crayon, so I don’t have to measure where they go everytime, but a bit of paint or white-out would be more permanent. If you leave your rack on all the time, get the lock cores to protect your investment.



All components can be ordered separately.

The whole bar thing
You’re totally right when you say that the strength doesn’t come into play that much. Most people aren’t going to put over 200 lbs on the rack. I only noticed the deflection with 240 lbs of boat on long bars of over 60", so it’s an extreme scenario. Even so i think it would be interesting to see some scientific tests on both brands. If you get around to testing them let us know what you find out.

By the way i’ve been enjoying my “less stylish” '95 volvo wagon for a couple years now!