Re: [Paddlewise] Roof Racks

On Thu, 11 Mar 1999, Steve Cramer wrote:

> I have a minor preference for Yakima over Thule racks. I currently have
> Yakimas on my truck, but the Thules fit better on my son's truck. I also
> had to use Thules on my Volvo, as Yakima had not come out with a fit kit
> yet.

the biggest significant difference _was_ [i haven't sold them in 5 years],
was the round bars allowed a more variable adjustment, and the more arched
the roofline, the more significant this became. their catalog explains
this quite well. when i was selling them, we had a choice between carrying
yak's & thule's, and chose yak's because of this.
 
> You will find that Yakima is much more conservative in rating their
> racks than Thule. For example, Yakima says their setup with a spacer bar
> for a pickup cab should not be used for carrying a kayak. Thule says
> it's OK. I think this is CYAing rather than any significant difference
> in capability. Pay your money and take your choice. BTW, we use that
> setup for WW boats, not SKs.
> 
> I experienced slightly more wind noise with the Thules, but this could
> have been vehicle-specific. Also, I have seen bent Thule bars, but I
> have never seen a bent Yakima bar. Never bent one myself. YMMV.

i bent my long one's standing on one, lifting a boat onto the roof!!
 
> As far as additional attachments, I used to have a Yakima saddle for the
> SK. It worked fine, but took up a lot of space on the rack, so when we
> were going off for a weekend and wanted to take an open canoe and 2 WW
> boats, there wasn't room. I purchased a pair of ethafoam rack pads that
> clip onto the bars and have a v-shaped top to carry my wife's boat.
> These worked so well and were so easy to take on and off that I bought a
> second set and discontinued the saddles. I think the foam pads support
> the hull better than the saddles did.

thanks, i bought them ;-) your gain, my gain ;-)
 
> For long distance travel, I tie down the boats with NRS straps. Around
> town I frequently use rope and trucker's hitches. Bow and stern lines,
> of course, of 1/4" nylon with tautline hitches.
> 
> Steve

mark

#------canoeist[at]netbox[dot]com----http://www.diac.com/~zen/mark ----
#
mark zen                      o,    o__              o_/|   o_.
po box 474                   </     [\/              [\_|   [\_\
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http://www.diac.com/~zen/paddler  [index to club websites i administer]

Rocky Mtn Sea Kayak Club, Colorado River Flows, Poudre Paddlers
The Colorado Paddlers' Resource, Rocky Mtn Canoe Club Trip Page 
--
Fortune:
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   -- Scott McNealy

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   -- Dave Livigni


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