Yakima track installation

OK... so an alert member pointed these lovely racks out to me. Found on the toyota.co.UK site.

[Broken External Image]:http://www.darelldd.com/ev/images/prius/uk_racks.jpg

Does anybody have any info on these? Availability? Price? Dimensions? Attachment? They sure look nice, and I like how they sit on the rubber seam gasket more than the paint.

 

I can now confirm the Yakima parts that fit the 2006.

http://www.darelldd.com/ev/prius_racks.htm

The thing is... I still want to put tracks on. I just don't like clips! If anybody wants to save a few bucks on the Yakima towers and clips, these will be for sale in as-new condition shortly.

Which leads me to my current rack question:
Does anybody have any pictures of the underside of the roof, above the headliner? I need to see where the supports are before doing my drilling thing!

 

Hey Joel -

I've been fussing with this for quite some time. I've already bought an entire set of the Q towers and clips, as seen here:
http://www.darelldd.com/ev/prius_racks.htm

And not liking that solution, I went back to trying to make the tracks work. And then a helpful member suggested Saris racks, and I now have a set of those on order. While I would still like to have tracks on the car (Every car should come with built-in tracks that are universal!) I'm hoping that the Saris solution will be "good enough." Stay tuned.

 

I ordered the 902 59" ones with #20 clips (recommended size/clip for Prius) from rackbarn.com Best price with shipping that I could find. I really like the concept of tightening the whole thing on from one side.

 

Not sure which three systems you mean.

The tracks bolt onto the roof, and then special towers clip into special "landing pads" that can mount to the tracks at any point. You can see that system on my Rav page.

The regular Yakima Q towers have clips that grab the inner door ledge near the roof of the car. This can scratch the paint, and the pads sitting directly on the paint can cause problems as well. The Q towers are a booger to put on and off with one person as the clips just wiggle around and get in your way when you try to do one side and then the other. Once on, they're great, however.

The Saris system is much like the Q towers in where they mount, but the system is quite different. Tough to explain in words. Eventually I'll have pictures of it!

 

OK... after all this time and much money spend, I finally went ahead with the permanent installation.

I'll get the page up with all the pictures after a bit, but for now, here's me going through the roof. No turning back! All because Nate double-dog dared me!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(rlh @ Aug 2 2006, 02:23 AM) [snapback]296155[/snapback]</div>

Installing tracks will be little different from installing just the landing pads. Same number of holes, same precision measurements needed. The only reason I didn't go with tracks on this car was because of the serious arc of the roof. I've put them on some pretty round cars, but nothing quite like this. I think it'll probably work, but I thought just the pads would be better. We'll know after my coming 1000 mile trek with these on!

Here's the page I've started for these mounts:
http://www.darelldd.com/ev/prius_rack_pads.htm

No shot yet of the cross bars installed.... though it is sitting out in the garage all loaded with the Rocket Box!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(rlh @ Aug 2 2006, 09:48 AM) [snapback]296351[/snapback]</div>

Bob -

Yes, the tracks certainly bend, though they aren't "suposed to" according to Yakima. They want them only on flat surfaces. The Honda Civic had a curvy roof, but nothing like the Prius. You'll be putting a lot of strain on those end bolts to keep it from sproingin gback up. And the little plastic ends of the tracks will never lie flat agains the curved roof. But it *should* work if your dead-set on it. Yes, the pads will still slide just fine on it.

Adjstability and extra strength are what you get with the tracks (the track spreads the foot-print over a huge area to make it stronger). But lower profile? No. Nothing is lower-profile than just having the landing pads directly on the roof. with the tracks, you have the 1/2" thickness of the tracks on the roof first, and THEN the landing pads. So the whole system sticks up a bit more with the tracks. I also liked the sleeker covers on the landing pads for the bare roof than those for the tracks (I have both here). Why they're different I'll never know.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(rlh @ Aug 2 2006, 05:44 PM) [snapback]296675[/snapback]</div>

I sure don't want to talk you out of the tracks... just want you to have all the info. The one reason that I would still consider the tracks for this vehicle is for the extra strength. The roof is pretty soft. The rear pads especially move a bit with some pressure - the front seems much stronger. Even so, I think the pads alone provide plenty of strength for even more than the racks are rated to hold.

Word of advice: Pull down the dome lights and look in there to see where the roof stiffening ribs are. Make sure you miss them when you drill. When you get closer, I'll be happy to give you the measurements where I drilled to miss everything. Oh... and measure at least 20 times to get them on right!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(rlh @ Aug 2 2006, 08:12 PM) [snapback]296758[/snapback]</div>

After installing the front bar, I carefully measured the spread that would put the bars right in the middle of the cargo box clamps. For my situation, I think it was 33-3/4" between the bars. But I'm just going on my shaky memory here! I can measure later for sure if you're interested. The other thing I was considering was keeping the bars level to the ground (front to back). If you take your 33" spread and move it backwards from where I have it, the back bar will be lower than the front. I chose to have the front bar just a bit lower than the rear to try and reduce lift on my cargo box a bit. Looks better that way too!

A larger spread will always be more stable, of course. You just need to make sure it isn't too much spread for any of the items you'll be bolting on. I know from many years of experience that if I set the bars up for my box, that everything else fits perfectly.

 

Well, I just returned from 1500 gueling miles with the new racks and LOTS Of cargo in the box (plus a canoe along the way for good measure).

I've updated my "Yakima pads" page with some pictures from our trip (at the bottom)
http://www.darelldd.com/ev/prius_rack_pads.htm

Everything performed perfectly and I think I'm finally happy with my Prius racks after my third attempt!

My Saris stuff is now officially for sale if anybody is intersted: Saris Sale

 

Where the rear goes (and the front for that matter) will depend on what load you will carry, and if you want it level, or tilted forward a bit. There is no one ideal mounting location for everybody. Best way to find the cross braces is to take out the dome lamps (front and rear) and have a look in there with a flashlight.