Mounting Thule tracks on shell... ISO advice

[asteffes]

Hi, folks. I recently ordered Thule tracks for my SnugTop shell. The kit includes spanner nuts, but since my shell is fiberglass I'm planning to use bolts. Of course, I'll use lots of silicone caulking to seal the holes. I'm also planning to beef up the inside of the shell with some sheetmetal to provide more back-up material than washers alone would provide.

I'm not looking to carry lots of weight, but the items I would consider carrying (bicycles, skis or a cargo box) would probably generate significant aerodynamic drag. I certainly don't want the shell to crack, so I'm hoping my idea of backing up the tracks is a sound one.

I would appreciate any advice from folks here who have installed these tracks on a fiberglass shell.

 

[p1michaud]

Some advice...

...I'll use lots of silicone caulking to seal the holes. I'm also planning to beef up the inside of the shell with some sheetmetal to provide more back-up material than washers alone would provide...
-Adam

Adam, I've installed a THULE system on my shell and here are a few pics and advice. I know BajaTaco and mountainpete should be able to chime in with a few tips for you as well.

Roof rack on shell:

With the Bikes loaded on:

Tips:
1-Make sure you use the small plastic washers between the rails and the shell (they should have come with the hardware to install the rails). Use tons of silicone because it's easier to wipe off a bit of excess as it squeezes out than having to remove the complete rack and re-install it if you have a leak.

2-If you have a liner in your shell make sure to use the smaller drill bit (1/8")for the pilot holes then the larger drill bit (7/32"). You also want to make sure your drill nice and slow with someone inside watching to make sure the liner does not get bunched up on the drill bit and start tearing/separating from the fiberglass.

3-Using larger washers inside the shell (i.e. 1" in diamter) should be more than sufficient to spread and support the load. Remember that most shells are only rated for ~200 to 250 lbs.

4-Take your time to lay out your rack on the shell so it's straight. I used some masking tape to hold it in place then measure it to ensure it was properly ligned up. Don't want to be drilling holes in the wrong place.

Good luck and show us some pics when you are done.
Cheers :beer:,
P

 

[Nullifier]

I have installed countless tracks into topper since selling racks is a big part of our sales in the shop. Just use a large fender washer on the inside you'll be fine.

As was mentioned the most time is spent getting the tracks parallel. I recomend however lining them up so that the tracks will be outbaord of the foam core section of the toppers roof. If you go through the foam core you will need to get longer bolts, but the foam can compress under stress and then it will be loose. I would also use a self locking nut in the insed with a plastic cap to make it smooth.

In reguards to using alot of silicone. less is more. a small amount around the bolt holes is all you need. if you use alot it will squish out and have to be cleaned up. I would put the bolts in the tracka nd then silicone. If you get the silicone on the thread of the bolts ot will jam up the nut making hard to tighten and almost imposible to remove if you need to.

 

[mountainpete]

I think the guys covered it pretty well... take your time and plan it out before drilling. Plan out what you want to do and do it once.

The only varied opinion I would have is on silicone use. I personally like to have lots - especially if you have to drill through a honeycomb section of the roof. But I respect the fact that Nullifier has more experience than me and his advice is sound.

Here are a few pics of my system if you are interested. It's Yakima though...

Thanks,

Pete

 

[Nullifier]

DID you know that the Thule and Yakima tracks are the same. They get them from the same extruder LOL!

 

[asteffes]

DID you know that the Thule and Yakima tracks are the same. They get them from the same extruder LOL!

That's hilarious. The Thule tracks are on backorder from my vendor. They offered me Yakima tracks for about the same price but I'm holding out for Thule tracks since I wanted to be sure the Thule towers would fit the tracks. Oh well!

 

[asteffes]

I think the guys covered it pretty well... take your time and plan it out before drilling. Plan out what you want to do and do it once.

The only varied opinion I would have is on silicone use. I personally like to have lots - especially if you have to drill through a honeycomb section of the roof. But I respect the fact that Nullifier has more experience than me and his advice is sound.
Pete

Thank you for the great reply, Pete! It's most helpful. I'm curious how far from the edge you mounted your tracks. I'm not sure where the honeycomb core starts and ends on my SnugTop SuperSport shell.

 

[mountainpete]

asteffes,

I don't remember how far from the edge I mounted the tracks, but I know it was about as close as I felt comfortable with considering the curve of the roof. You will need to take a look at your specific canopy to decide (sorry).

For the honeycomb, if you have the shell already, go inside and look at the roof. A honeycomb re-inforced roof has a thicker section of fiberglass and resin on the inside of the roof that is added during the mold process to give extra strenght and rigidity. If you have a honeycomb roof, you you will notice a bump where it starts.

On my roof, the honeycomb is a bit off centered (which doesn't really impact strength) so I had to drill holes through the honeycomb on one side and not the other. I personally would prefer to NOT drill any holes through the honeycomb because it can compress and crack, but I have talked to many rack experts that have drilled into them thousands of times without issues. Just don't overtighten any bolts you run through the honeycomb.

Here is another pic that shows some of the bolts and where the honeycomb starts on mine:

Hope that helps.

Pete

 

[asteffes]

Yes, that's most helpful. I looked inside my SnugTop today and it looks like the reinforced section is nicely centered in the top. I have a solid four or five inches on each side of the reinforcement in which I can mount the tracks. I think this is going to work out very nicely.

 

[asteffes]

Finally!

Today, I installed my Thule roof rack kit on my '06 Taco's SnugTop SuperSport shell. It was pretty straightforward. Aligning the tracks to be parallel took a lot of measuring, as the honeycomb reinforcement is not centered on my shell. I wanted to be sure the 0.25" bolts and 1.25" fender washers cleared the bulge of the honeycomb. It's sitting in the garage, waiting for the silicone to dry. Hopefully I get to use it later this week for a skiing "expedition" to Lake Tahoe. Anyone want to come along?

Pics are attached.

 

[Nullifier]

looks good. As you can see it is really simple just tedious. I just outfitted an F-250 crew with topper. We did tracks with yakima's control tower system and a q tower unit over the cab. He also got a front class 3 reciever and we put a 4 bike yakima hitch rack on the front. He tows a trailer around to state parks etc so bikes went on front instead of on top since his truck is so high.

 

[asteffes]

I installed the lights on the rack a couple days ago. They're quite bright (55 watts each Hella 500 driving beams) and are good for lighting up far down the road and higher than the headlamps reach.

 

[asteffes]

looks good. As you can see it is really simple just tedious. I just outfitted an F-250 crew with topper. We did tracks with yakima's control tower system and a q tower unit over the cab. He also got a front class 3 reciever and we put a 4 bike yakima hitch rack on the front. He tows a trailer around to state parks etc so bikes went on front instead of on top since his truck is so high.

I forgot to mention that with all the rain we've received in northern California, the rack was put to the ultimate leak test two nights ago. I drove from San Jose to Sacramento and back that day in torrential, end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it rain and the interior shell carpet was dry when I got home!

:victory:

 

[p1michaud]

Looks good.

I installed the lights on the rack a couple days ago. They're quite bright (55 watts each Hella 500 driving beams) and are good for lighting up far down the road and higher than the headlamps reach.

I like the driving lights. I've been meaning to install a set for quite some time now. Looks great. Will you leave your roof rack on all the time?
Cheers,
P

 

[Willman]

Nice Rack my friend!!!

:hehe:

I need to do the same!!!!

I'm thinking of building a custom rack for a Rooftop tent with some lights....Thinking that i am going to have to add some supports to beefup the shell.....

:REExeSquatsHL1: