Thule Motion XT on GX460 Factory Crossbars – Clamp Clearance & Modification (2 Viewers)

[iT4RZ4N]

I’ve been meaning to put a roof box on my GX for a while, but I was unsure if the factory crossbars would work.

I’d seen a few posts on Reddit and other forums mentioning the very tight clearance between the Thule PowerClick clamps and the GX roof. One person even mentioned trimming the clamp feet, but I could never track down that exact post.

I decided to give it a shot myself, and the solution seems to work.

Here’s what I did:

• Installed the box on the factory crossbars.

• Marked where the clamps closed and identified the excess portion that could be trimmed.

• Trimmed about 1/2" off the lower end of each clamp foot.
  • This section doesn’t contact the rails, so I don’t believe it affects safety or strength.

• Applied a small piece of PPF under each clamp location as extra protection.

It's hard to capture the exact clearance with pictures, but it's definitely more than before. In the worst case, I could trim a little more if needed.
There is a bit of flex when the box is loaded (I haven’t done a full road test with a loaded box yet), but the clamps now seem clear of the roof, and the box has an extremely tight fit to the rest of the truck.

 

[Splat]

I've also got a Thule Motion XT - XL, but in place of the stock crossbars, I went with Yakima EZ Rider towers and the Yakima round bars.
This gives me plenty of clearance. And like you, the crossbars and box are rock solid.