Thule load bar length

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The Bumble

The Bumble

10 Year 15 Year
Joined
Mar 9, 2009
Threads
6
Messages
133
Location
NE PA
Hi All,

I picked up an old Thule ski rack set up from my aunt. It came with the four feet (300's I think), 50" load bars, and the ski holders. My plan is mount a MOAB rack on bars and use it for beach trips. It would be the rack only, no bike or kayak mounts with it. I searched and found that some use the 65" bars, 58", and some cut the 58" down to around 52". Is there any reason that the 50" wouldn't work on my 80 (they seem to just fit)? Thanks for the help!

Jody
 
When I use to run a rack mine were 52 IIRC

test fit them but 50 should be fine, you just have very little sticking out the ends
 
Thanks for the help kidglove13. There isn't a lot of load bar on the outside of the foot at all. I wasn't sure if you needed a certain amount of bar sticking out past the foot or not. Looks like dogs will have some more room in the back of the 80
now! Thanks again.
 
You do not need any amount of bar sticking out past the towers. Having enough to retain at least the bar end-cap would look nicer. Some guys trim the bars to make them as tight as possible to the towers. When you tighten the tower knob, the tower clamps down on the bar and can effectively "tighten" the overall bar-tower-drip rail fit. As such, make sure you retain complete bar and tower contact after the towers knobs are tight (IOW, make sure the bar did not slip in the tower as you tightened the knob).

BTW, I used to sell Thule and Yakima racks and have installed many dozens of them, and still own a Thule set. Cheers, J
 
So 50 inch Thule bars will fit on an 80? This is great news as I have an old pair in the basement, which I though I could not use since the Thule website recommends 58 inch bars.
 
Thanks J! I plan to put the bars on the 80 today. There isn't much of the bar sticking out past the foot (test fit), but I think that it should be enough so that everything works the way it should. If I am able to get them on today, I'll try and take some pics. I know that this isn't rocket science, but it's stuff that I have no experience with. Thanks again for the help.

Jody
 
Finally got to take some pictures today. The 50" bars just fit - a little bit of bar and the end cap on the outside of the tower. Thanks again for the help. :beer:
DSCN2886.webp
DSCN2885.webp
 
What a sweet setup that unlike the factory roof rack can be put on or taken down in a matter of minutes. The Thule website recommends 58 inch bars, but I think these look better - 58 inch bars would have a much larger overhang. I guess the only advantage of the factory roof rack is that it can't be stolen, but frankly if someone could steal mine without damaging the vehicle I would be very grateful!
 
That looks good. It should work just fine.

It appears you have the locks to keep them from being stolen (per the one comment). I have almost the same set-up, but with 58 inch bars. The only advantage to a wider bar is you can potentially mount something (like a bike) outside the tower (when really pressed for room, like when carrying a canoe and a bike or two), or you can use the protruding bar to help strap on something wide. No big deal.

I throw my Thules on only when I need them. Takes about 3 minutes to put them on. Much quieter without them. Cool...

Edit Aug 11: I threw my Thule rack on today to pick up some oak boards...it timed it and it took me 2 minutes to put it on.
 
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Thanks for posting up the pics, I just got reintroduced to another 80 and I'm looking at the roof rack options too! Happy to have found this thread :-)
 
R.O.B.,

Thule and Yakima are both good rack options with decent quality and lots of available attachments. I even combine one Thule bar/towers in front with an older Confer 6.5 ft roof rack when I need to carry bikes and a lot of gear.

Cheers, J
 
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Thanks and glad to help out! It's great to have another storage/carrying option for the 80 now. I'll take the rack off for the winter and put it back on if I need it for something. I'm really happy with the Thule system so far.
 
Nice set up and the ends won't catch on trees.

Do you know the height of the gutter mount and also the distance from the bottom of the load bar to the top of the roof?

Thanks

John
 
Pics and length look great. Now try the short mounts and you are looking better!
 
I'll get some measurements later today.
 
Here's the measurements - about 2 1/4" from the roof to the bottom of the bar
- the tower is about 5 1/2" from the gutter to the bottom
of the bar
Hope those help. I'm not exactly sure what towers they are (300's?), but they were free. Can't beat that!
DSCN2887.webp
DSCN2888.webp
 
Thanks for tHIS!

I'm building my own deck and was wondering what the thule mounts would give for clearance.

I'd like to get my hands under a load to reach straps some times
 
Jody,

Wow, awesome, I just revisited this thread so I could ask the specs and BAM, it's already done!

Thanks for posting and from what I gathered, you do have the 300 and it's the 5".

I have a factory roof rack but will be doubling the LC for carrying a work ladder and 2x4's when needed, wanted something more sturdy than the factory rack. Thanks again for the info, very very helpful!

J,

Thanks for the reply, I feel this is the best cost effective option for what I need to accomplish.
 
Bumble your set up should be good to go from the looks of it. I work at a bike shop as lead service tech and have installed quite a few roof racks. But to be on the safe side the next time I see my Thule rep I will ask him to check your photos out to see what he thinks.
 
Thanks Badger! I'm just guessing that the towers are 300's. I rescued the set from about 20 years of just sitting in my aunt's garage. The rack was originally on her Subaru that she would take us skiing in as kids. I think it looks great for its age. Thanks again.
 
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