[danmarycap]

Hey, anyone know if the Yakima or Thule gear boxes (eg. the Thule MOAB) will fit on the Toyota factory roof rack? Checking both companies' offerings online, using their online wizards, they try to set me up with an entire base rack system first. Can't I use the Toyota rack as the base? Thanks!

Dan

 

[Grav]

I seen a Thule with split cargo entrances but they all seem like inconvenient wind drags.

I do find myself curiously attracted to that Euro-rack. While it would depend on good weather or good weather gear and no be so aerodynamic loaded, it looks good and I don't think it would cause any drag when its empty. Most of the time that Thule is empty and people leave them on because theres no room to store it.

 

[danmarycap]

Update

I checked with Yakima, and they said the crossbars on the Toyota factory rack don't fit their racks...so any Yakima gear box, bike rack (anything that'll be mounted on the roof) can use the main rails but otherwise requires new crossbars as a base.

Dan

 

[JimT]

Yakima Rack

I bought a yakima load warrior. It came with the appropriate mounting hardware that works perfectly with the Rav's cross bars. the only limitation is the 102lb weight limit of the Rav's rack.

 

[John E Davies]

I strongly suggest that you invest in the aftermarket crossbars for a large load like a cargo box. The wind loads can be enormous on a gusty day at 75 mph. Factory racks really aren't stout enough to be safe long term.

I won't even trust a factory crossbar with an expensive bike, and I sure wouldn't trust it with a cargo box or a canoe. Factory racks are usually held to the roof sheet metal with a few TINY screws. They can rip right out under the wrong circumstances. I think the factory load limits are fantasy.

Yakima makes great stuff - very stout and well engineered. The main drawback is the round bars create a lot of wind rumble and a fairing is pretty much required. It's hard to find Yakima on sale though. I usually buy my Yak gear at REI when they have one of their many 20% off sales.

John Davies
Spokane WA

 

[RAV4Master]

Thule Frontier box

I just put the box on my Rav4 and it fixed great. I did'nt tight it yet but it seem to fix on fine. See my Album.