New 200 roof rack option (2 Viewers)

[OldCarSmell]

Had this rack arrive to the house today. I’m hoping the quality of the product matches the quality of their packing. They definitely overprotect with their packaging so there is no possibility of damage during shipment. That was one of my concerns and I really appreciated the effort they went to in order to protect the product. I hope to get it installed in the next few days.

keep us posted, i could be pulling the trigger on one of these soon.

 

[WkndProject]

keep us posted, i could be pulling the trigger on one of these soon.

I got the Westcott rack installed and am happy with it. I haven’t loaded it for a trip yet, but quality is nice and there appears to be plenty of tie down points.

Why I picked the Westcott rack:
My 200 is a daily driver first and foremost but use for camping or road trips 3-4 times/year (not much off-road exploring available in Louisiana).

-important that I could still fit in my parking garage with 78” clearance. I still fit after install. Limited opportunities for bigger tires or lift in my future unless I change to a new garage near the office.

-since I only use the rack a handful of times/yr, I wanted something low profile with a wind fairing for noise/mpg reasons.

-I didn’t want to remove the factory rails. With my lack of rack experience, I was sure I’d screw something up and this rig is too new for that.

-I wanted something that blends in and still looks close to stock on top.

The Westcott rack met these needs.

Install:
Painful 8hrs.
I’m sure many on this board could do it in 1/3 the time, but for someone who has only installed racks a couple times in my life, there was a lot of learning.

1st attempt: I put the side rails on my factory rails, then realized I couldn’t get the cross bars installed because I was covering the bolt holes.
2nd attempt: I built the rack on the ground and decided I’d install the decking later. That doesn’t work because the slots in the cross bars get covered.
3rd attempt: finally figured this thing out and built the rack on the ground and slid the nuts into the slots for the decking before putting the rack on my car.

I removed the rear rail caps with the intent to slide the rack into the rails. I quickly figured out that wasn’t going to happen.

Install tip: I placed painters tape on the rack and marked the 6 holes where the rack attached to the factory rails. I then put the painters take on the factory rails and slid the nuts into position on the rails. Then we just lifted the rack into position and dropped it down from above with the holes aligned to the pre-installed nuts in the rails. I then secured the rack to the rails with 6 bolts on each side. Then installed the deck inserts (nuts installed before installing the two rack side rails on the ground).

I ordered from Roam Overland Outfitters and was able to use a 5% discount code and benefit from much cheaper shipping versus ordering from Westcott direct (although it ships directly from Westcott). Shipping was ~$80 instead of $200.

 

[muzzleflip]

Thanks For the details. What is the wind noise situation, Louder, less, same?

 

[WkndProject]

Thanks For the details. What is the wind noise situation, Louder, less, same?

I haven’t noticed any discernible difference in noise at speeds up to 80mph.

 

[OldCarSmell]

I haven’t noticed any discernible difference in noise at speeds up to 80mph.

Thanks for following up with detailed info on install

 

[KilaCruiser]

looks great!