Cheap solution to locating roof rack crossbars!!

[darryl]

Hello all,First of all, let me thank the folks who helped me seal the deal on my car (see: http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=19931). I have been driving my new Stealth Grey '06 for about a month now and love it, even though it isnt the greatest in the snow.Anyways, to the point of my post. I had been searching for crossbars for my vibe since before the car was purchased. i knew that trips to the cottage with the dog and two carseats would present issues with space for our luggage, so a roof top luggage box was a must.I could not locate a set of used crossbars anywhere and the dealer couldnt locate what I wanted on the system. So I started to get curious.My other vehicle is a '99 chevy blazer and just last week I noticed that it used the same style of t-slot roof rack set up as the Vibe. I stuck my finger in the channel of both cars and realized that the slot was virtually identical in size. So out came the torx drivers and in 5 minutes I had a cross rail of my truck. The ends of the bar that slide in the channel appeared to be identical to photos that I had seen of a Vibe crossbar so I got excited. I went over to the Vibe and placed the crossbar on top of the rails and the spacing looked to be identical.Long story short... the friggin things fit without any major mods!!! And I challenge anyone to tell the difference between these and the stock ones. The bars appear to be shaped in the same aerofoil shape (in section) and are bowed along their length to perfectly follow the roof line. I was dumbfounded when I realized that they fit perfectly.I know that there are a heck of alot of Blazers/Jimmy's out there than there are Vibes, so one could only conclude that there would be waaay more racks in the salvage yards.Anyways, I have some photos of the parts and the process, but we just got some snow so no photos of the finished mounting yet. I'll post as soon as I have them. Good luck!Darryl

[darryl]

OK here are some photos. This first one is the top view showing the business end that slides into the roof rack channel. The only modification that I had to make here is to cut the bolt a bit shorter. Basically tighten the knob right to the body of the end piece and cut off anything that extends out the end. The channel that this slides into is almost the exact same size as the part iteself so the bolt cant stick out when tightened.This next photo is just to show what the piece looks like from the visible side.This next photo show the bottom of the bar and how it attaches to the end piece. The only modification I had to do here is elongate the mounting holes on the bar by about 1mm towards the end of the bar. I guess the spacing is a couple of mm different between the Blazer and the Vibe. I will try to get the snow off the car and take a photo of the finished assembly today.Darryl

[darryl]

Here is photos of the box mounted. I havent put the back caps on the rack yet as I am going to take everything off again to powder coat everything black. The box is a thule excursion, 13 cubic feet. It took a bit of fooling with it to make it work... the rack is a bit short.Darryl

[djb383]

Outstanding, I'm going to the junkyard ASAP!

[joatmon]

nice find!

[vibe-04]

Great job!I like cross-over products!

[binary]

Wow... great find new guy!Welcome aboard!

[JohnC]

Most excellent find, you have just cut the cost of cross bars in half or more. I wonder what other GM parts will fit.

[flightwriter]

Great find. I tried it but had to open the holes quite a bit longer, about 3 mm each side. I was concerned that this would over-stress the plastic fittings. I solved this by inserting a 1/16" thick piece of aluminum stock, cut to the same planform as the rail fitting insert. I bent it to match the curvature of the inside (top) of the crossbar. It fits snug inside the crossbar and extends past the end of the crossbar to the fitting face. This makes it such that the load is now bearing on the insert/metal combination instead of being taken up by the screws in the plastic insert. Total cost - $45, including shipping. About one hour to complete. Photos this and next post.

Attached files

[flightwriter]

Second photo.

Attached files

[keithvibe]

looks like I will be in the market for some new (used) blazer cross bars

[psiu]

Are the Blazer cross bars, heavier duty than the regular Vibe roof rack bars or something? Or are they not including the roof rack bars anymore?

[ragingfish]

Quote, originally posted by psiu »Are the Blazer cross bars, heavier duty than the regular Vibe roof rack bars or something? Or are they not including the roof rack bars anymore?They aren't included anymore. They are a dealer-purchased accessory, and apparently are hard to come by too.Awesome job darryl!

[Kamikaze]

(old thread revived...)I'm leaving work early today... I think I might go to the junk yards...anyone know which year Jimmy/blazers? 98-99 any other years?

[lovemyraffe]

For cross bars, an aftermarket system from Yakima or Thule will be much stronger than any GM part. I can get them cheap. Retail is around $200, but my cost is much cheaper, plus shipping.

[Kamikaze]

I'm more for looks than anything...and at a junk yard I figure I can get em for $40 or $50...

[Kamikaze]

We'll just got back from the junk yard, picked em up for $31, I used my mad negotiating skills...

[Kamikaze]

I wanna say from 94-00, but I can't remember.

[chevelle_lover]

Great, All of my old Blazer stuff is in a box labelled garbage. I will have to go and check. There is snow in Bulington already?