Roof rack setup (2003 Vibe) for a cross country trip

[UptownVibe]

Hi everyone,I'm a 2003 vibe owner with the factory roof rack and am planning a cross country trip to take place from February to November of 2010. I'm going to be doing a lot of car camping, backpacking and in-car sleeping. This has made me decide on getting my roof rack set up to handle a bike and a roof box.I already have an older Thule bike mount someone gave me ( velo vise style, looks just like this one: http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=4470598) that fits Thule square shaped bars, but it wont attach directly to my GM factory cross bars...I have spent some time on the phone with REI (http://www.rei.com), and they say that for me to use the factory bars, I need to add on Thule bars (Ride on Adapter) on top of them like this: http://www.thule.com/en/US/Pro....aspx So, they left me with the impression that the best thing to do was to buy these (Thule 450 Crossroad™ Foot Pack, $150)http://www.crutchfield.com/App...12468Note what looks like a rubber strap on the underside that wraps around the factory cross rails and then tightens down when engaged... These look so easy to cut off w a knife if they are what I think they are (rubber strip)... REI suggestion continued: And then to add regular Thule cross bars (approx $70) to the set up, attach my existing bike rack to those cross bars and then attach whatever roof box I get to the newly installed Thule cross bars... This renders the factory cross bars obsolete and unused (seems like a waste to already have them and basically need to build above and over them). Weight and load capacity were not mentioned as a reason for the suggested set up, it was simply product compatibility.The roof box I'm considering right now:http://www.amazon.com/SportRac...t_topSo who has suggestions or can verify that the way to go is what the REI guy said? Anyone seen a better set up? Paying $220 just to get to the point where I have a rack on my car that I can use to attach other things, seems really steep especially given that it already has the factory rack.Pls help!for more info on me and the trip see: http://masonsgreatadventure.blogspot.com

[lovemyraffe]

REI is correct with using that bike rack with the factory rails. You can get bike mounts that will fit on the factory rails, but the one you have isn't one of them. I do agree that to get the proper weight distribution you should put bars above the front doors. I have many different mounting options with my current setup. Sometimes I use the Yakima equivalent of the Thule Crossroad and also a bar over the front doors. Sometimes I just use the factory rails, it depends on what I am carrying. However, whenever I use my cargo box I always put the bar over the front doors. For the cargo box I have, it says the minimum bar spread is 24" and I can only get 23 3/4" without putting the bar over the front doors. By putting the bar in front it allows you to distribute the weight throughout the entire box without putting excess stress on it.

[UptownVibe]

Raffe - I'm glad you replied because I know you are one of the more knowledgeable folks about racks on the board (I did do my searching before I posted)...When you say " bar over the front doors" what brand and using what attachments equipment do you exactly mean? Cross bars or the cargo itself?Are you differentiating between the after market (Thule, etc) and the GM factory cross bars by saying "over the door" because the GM ones dont slide up far enough to be "over the door"? I just want to make sure I'm getting you exactly.Any closeup pics would be appreciated and what do you think about my security concerns on the Crossroads under-strap? Whats it made of?Thx!P.S I found this in your garage... Seems like all the bars are behind the front doors. How would I get one that straddles the sunroof (which is what I assume you mean by "bar over the front doors")

[lovemyraffe]

Quote, originally posted by UptownVibe »Raffe - I'm glad you replied because I know you are one of the more knowledgeable folks about racks on the board (I did do my searching before I posted)...Thank you.Quote, originally posted by UptownVibe »When you say " bar over the front doors" what brand and using what attachments equipment do you exactly mean? Cross bars or the cargo itself?Are you differentiating between the after market (Thule, etc) and the GM factory cross bars by saying "over the door" because the GM ones dont slide up far enough to be "over the door"? I just want to make sure I'm getting you exactly.Any closeup pics would be appreciated and what do you think about my security concerns on the Crossroads under-strap? Whats it made of?Thx!P.S I found this in your garage... Seems like all the bars are behind the front doors. How would I get one that straddles the sunroof (which is what I assume you mean by "bar over the front doors")The strap on the Crossroads is metal with a rubber coating.I don't have any pics of my car with the bars in front. You can go with either Thule or Yakima. Thule would be the 400XT towers, Yakima would be Q-Towers. You can buy either of these with 2 or 4 towers. As far as I know, GM does not have an option for this.

[UptownVibe]

Ok, so the overall package you suggest is two of these "towers" in front, (http://www.thule.com/en/US/Pro....aspx) with a cross bar connecting them, and two of these Thule 450 Crossroad on the factory rails, with a crossbar connecting it. (http://www.thule.com/en/US/Pro....aspx)Then attach the accessories (bike track/rack) and cargo box, between the two aftermarket cross bars.I think I got it!I'll still be able to tilt the sunroof, right? Will this damage my roof paint? Any install suggestions?I'm going to share this post with my friends over at REI (a few of which are following my blog) and make sure they are on board with your great suggestion.BTW, I'm showing the versions of these products that go with the square bars, because the bike mount I have already is so old, that I'm sure it was made to go the square ended bars. Is this a crazy assumption and should I bother looking into the sexier round ended bars? Thanks!And is anyone reading interested in subletting my Manhattan apt Feb 15th to Oct 31st? $1150 everything included! Let me know

[lovemyraffe]

That would be the setup I would recommend. It gives more flexibility with the bar spread. If you could take a pic of where the front of the bike tray would attach to the bar, I might be able to tell you if you could put it onto the round bars.Thule makes square bars, Yakima makes round bars. Most of the attachments are compatible with both. I have put similar setups on other cars with sunroofs with no problems. There is a possibility that it might effect the sunroof.Although the towers have gotten better, there usually is some sort of markings left on the paint from use. It depends on many different things. The markings are minimal, and usually inconspicuous.

[UptownVibe]

I will try to add some rubber feet under the mounts (I have a bike shop in my building and their garbage is always filled with useful little things like popped inner tubes).Here are two pictures of where the bike rack attaches to the roof rack crossbars. (Click to enlarge)BTW, i have found both square and round bars on Thule's websitehttp://www.thule.com/en/US/Pro....aspx... They seem to call the rounded oval ones the "aero" bars.Thanks so much for the help. I hope other genvibe members have found this thread useful. I have spent days trying to figure this out!P.S. Any install advice (do and don'ts)?

[lovemyraffe]

The towers already come with rubber feet to prevent scratching. I don't see a reason to put an extra layer on. I would just use what it comes with.The round/oval bars that Thule sells are the aero style and not all the attachments are compatible. Your bike tray would not fit on the aero bars but should fit on Yakima's round bars.

[UptownVibe]

Hey everyone! I have a full roofbox and bike and I started my cross countyr trip. Check out the video of the roof rack solution I got on my blog. I hope it inspires some of you.http://masonsgreatadventure.bl....htmlAlso, I'm traveling south down the east coast right now and am looking for places to go and people to visit

[midnighthunder89]

"has been removed because video is too long"

[UptownVibe]

Hey yall!Trip is going great! I'm now hang glider pilot I have fixed the videos here they are:Inside Vibe Tour http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Yi4h0YINmQRoof Box Tour http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MKZNpYNadQ1st Roof Rack Repair http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAeh9nmJ5Pw2nd roof rach repair http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqML2a16RxATon's of more videos on my blog: http://www.masonsgreatadventure.blogspot.comI'm looking for places to go and people to stay with. Check out my blog for my current location and status. As of 5/4/10, I am in Phoeniz and traveling north to spend some time near four corners, etc.Thanks!