(Yet another) roof rack question

[JAFO]

I created the thread below to detail our experiences.

http://www.vehicross.info/forums/showthread.php?t=7932

I have the Thule Expedition 696 the larger of the two versions available. It installs with no modification. You just need to remove the rubber trim on the top of the roof racks. Or trim them around the mounting "T-Shaped" mounting bolts that Thule gives you that slide in the top channel of the roof racks.

Down side is that it does not have mounting brackets for load bars so that you can attach bike, ski, and other racks like the Thule Playpen had. But I'm going to fab my own.

[mrlegoman]

I created the thread below to detail our experiences.

http://www.vehicross.info/forums/showthread.php?t=7932

Yup. I've read through that post a few times. Good stuff, but I guess my question is directed more towards the uprights themselves. Am I forced to buy them from Isuzu? Or is their an alternative setup that can be rigged up?

[VehiGAZ]

To my knowledge (from reading every roof rack post I coudl find a year ago when I bought my VX), there is NO substitute for the official VX uprights & crossbars.

The uprights are specific to the VX roof rails - they even have the Vehicross logo on them.

[mbeach]

VehiGAZ,
The Yakima Universal Mighty Mounts will clamp onto the VX cross bars without difficulty. They cost @$45 for 4 of them. They also look like poop. They held my Powderhound about 2 inches above the crossbars, and they were not lockable (very securely, if at all). It would take a thief exactly 10 seconds to steal the entire rack, even if the Powderhound were locked.

Last night I replaced the Universal Mighty Mounts with $1.50 worth of eye bolts. I took pictures, but you might be able to get by on imagination.
Place the Powderhound rack on the crossbar(s) where you want it, and mark under the mounting holes.
Drill through the crossbars (remove the rubber trim first) and put the nut/washer on the bottom side of the eye bolt.
Thread the Powderhound mounting bolts/wingnuts through the eyes to secure the ski rack to the crossbars.
If done properly (it's difficult to tighten the nuts on the underside of the rack) this setup will be 'un-stealable' unless the thief takes the entire roof-rack /upright combination (I'm sourcing some anti-tamper replacement bolts to prevent that).

I'll pull the pics tonight and post them if anyone's interested. It just looks so much cleaner than the Mighty Mount option.
I wasn't going to post the fix for another week (it'll give me time to test the integrity of the mounting), but I ski 3-4 times and week and should be beating it around pretty regularly in the mean time.

[mrlegoman]

I'll pull the pics tonight and post them if anyone's interested. It just looks so much cleaner than the Mighty Mount option.
I wasn't going to post the fix for another week (it'll give me time to test the integrity of the mounting), but I ski 3-4 times and week and should be beating it around pretty regularly in the mean time.

Please do!

[VehiGAZ]

Ditto, that.

You ski 3-4 times a week?! Lucky dog. I need to move...

[VehiGAZ]

PS... thanks for the tip. I will skip the mounts and try the home-made mounts you suggest.

[JAFO]

VehiGAZ,
The Yakima Universal Mighty Mounts will clamp onto the VX cross bars without difficulty. They cost @$45 for 4 of them. They also look like poop. They held my Powderhound about 2 inches above the crossbars, and they were not lockable (very securely, if at all). It would take a thief exactly 10 seconds to steal the entire rack, even if the Powderhound were locked.
.
.
.

mbeach, the Yakima Mighty Mounts can probably be locked with the SKS Accessory Lock Housing (Part #07220).

www.yakima.com
GoTo Products / Rack Systems / Security

Also the Isuzu Dealerships sell clips, what look similiar to the "Universal Snap Arounds" that Yakima has on their website, however they are larger and wrap around our roof racks (cross bars). They sell both vertical and horizontal ones. I will get the part numbers when I get home. When you use these mounts with, the mounting bolts that come with the Powderhound, are captured when the ski rack is closed and locked.