New Stuff from Thule: Thule Aero Blade now available at Rack Attack Coquitlam

Thule wasn’t the first kid on the Block to come out with the Thule Aeroblade style wingbar but man did they every do it right.  The fit and finish is very nice and it’s great that it will work with any of the Thule rapid bar foot packs like 450R, 460R, 480R, 430R and even the older 400XTR. Being the owner of  a Nissan Frontier and ended up installing the Thule 450R with the Aeroblade and what an improvement over the reg 450 square bars or the 450R with 47″RB bar. I was also able to go one  size bigger from a 47″ to a 53″ as the new AeroBlade has a longer grove on the bottom of the bar for the towers to slide. Yahoo! I can now carry my car topper boat or a couple of kayaks without having to go with the loud regular lb58″ square bar. I found that the Thule AeroBlade was not only a lot stronger than the factory Nissan Frontier rack it’s also less noisy.

Also the new AreoBlade has some of the best technology built into it including:

• WindDiffuser™ is a textured surface on the t-slot cover that disturbs the airflow better than a smooth surface, greatly reducing wing noise.
• BoxBeam™ – The sophisticated BoxBeam aluminum extrusion creates one of the strongest load bars in the market. Using a vertical load test, the AeroBlade can sustain over 800 lbf of force.
• SmartSlide™ – The new SmartSlide™ is a molded measurement system providing a quick, no-hassle, tapemeasure-free foot installation. SmartSlide™ also covers the underbar slot to improve aerodynamics and noise diffusion.
• SwingBlade™ – The new SwingBlade™ end cap pivots open to allow full access to the t-slot for easy accessory installs.

Also a nice piece of information even though the AeroBlade come in about $100 or so more than a regular Thule square or RB bar in about 15,000 KM of driving (average person drives that in a year) that rack save that for you  in gas.  Or even if you went with the Thule square bar with a fairing you would still be about at the same price as the AeroBlade system, so it’s a  no brainer spend the little bit now and it will be music to your ears rather that a howl or whistling scream of a Yakima round or Thule Square bar.

450R AeroBlade 53″ installed on Factory Raised Rail.

Sliding the 450r onto AeroBlade 53″ bars

Thule 450r AeroBlade installation

Thule 53″ AeroBlade on Nissan Frontier

Thule AeroBlade End cap and rubber strip

Thule AeroBlade installed sweetness

Thule 53" AeroBlade on Nissan Frontier

Toyota Venza – Thule 430R Track System

Today at Rack Attack we installed the Thule 430R track system on a new Toyota Venza, with a Thule Flat Top 6 Ski Rack. The track system for a base rack choice is the best system to go with on your vehicle. What it does is provide you with a fully adjustable track, mounted permanently to your roof with a clean, guaranteed leak free, factory looking roof rack.

In this case we chose the Thule 430R System. It is equipped with the Rapid Aluminum Bar for look as well as Aerodynamics.

As mentioned before at Rack Attack, we do have a No-Leak Guarantee, and the reason for that is the measures in which we go to protect the installation, which I will explain here.

The track installation starts with these little guys;  ‘Plus Nuts’. After Drilling into the roof of the vehicle we slide these in and use a special plus nut tool to expand the nut below the surface of the sheet metal tight to create the anchor on the roof. The rubber washer is an add on to prevent damage to the surface of the roof, to create a grip, and the first stage of preventing leaks.

The Plus Nut and Rubber Washer

All the Plus nuts in a row, ready for a track!

Once this is complete we apply a sufficient amount of silicon sealant around the base of the of the plus nut to not only provide further leak protection but to harness the hardware down as well.

Laying Down the Track!

The feet you see in the track in the picture above clip in and out and slide back and forth for the adjustment.

The track can now be secured down and end caps installed with the appropriate hardware. The track now being installed the silicon must set and cure and will create a seal for the Leak-Free Guarantee.

Now we are able to put mount the cross bars to the feet. And then its done!

All installed, with a Thule Flat Top 6

If you would like this same set up, its available for nearly every Make and Model of car.

Call or Stop by the store for Price and the specific gear you want to put on your Vehicle.

Rack Attack Coquitlam
Unit #4 75 Blue Mountain St.
Coquitlam, BC, V3K 0A7
Canada
tel : 604.526.7225
fax : 604.526.7228
email : coquitlam@rackattack.com

Grand Opening – Rack Attack Coquitlam Store – Metro Vancouvers leading Car Rack & Hitch Center

Rack Attack Coquitlam has moved into a brand new store in Coquitlam at 75 Blue Mountain St. Unit 4 Coquitlam, B.C. This new location is Rack Attacks first premier store with over 3,500 square feet of showroom,storage and installation bays. No installation is to big or small from installing Thule ski rack – to doing commercial truck and van racks we have you covered. The showroom has over 1600 square feet of show room so chances are we will have the rack for you! And have it ON DISPLAY and not just a box of product in packaging, like those other stores have.

Rack Attack Coquitlam

2009 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited 4 door with Thule tracks, 430 Towers and 690 MOAB basket

Jeep Wrangler Unlimited with 42" Tracks, Thule 430 w/TK1, and Thule Moab basket.

Close up of Track, Foot pack and 690 Basket on Jeep Wrangler 4dr.

Inside look of track installed on Jeep Wrangler 4DR 2009

Rack Attack had a customer that came in and was looking at the most possibilities and the highest weight ratings. Going with the 42″ track and Thule 430 towers with the TK1 kit gave the customer the most versatility. Doesn’t matter if it’s carrying gear, canoes, bike racks,  ski/snowboard racks, you  can do it all! The Thule 690 M.O.A.B. = mother of all baskets, can carry a hole whack of gear. Heck even if you have too much stuff on your bars and basket the basket even comes with Thule bars to mount more stuff onto it! So that means you can mount stuff, onto your stuff, then that stuff mounts to that stuff, which then mounts to your Jeep. Which is good stuff, because the Jeeps don’t carry much stuff! And if you still have more stuff then you can get a hitch on the Jeep then mount a Terrapin to carry even more of your stuff.

The Thule TP42 tracks can be order with hardwear to fit Jeep roofs.

Yakima Landing Pad Installation guide and questions Answered!

Dilling for Landing Pads

Tightening LP 7's to roof

Plus Nut hardwear install

Yakima Landing pad installation: We get quite a few inquiries about how this process is done. We take the Yakima load bars and loosely install the control towers onto the bar. Then you can attach the Landing pad 6 or 7 base’s depending if it’s a metal or fiberglass roof. With the roof clean we then do a mock up where we would like the rack to sit. At Rack Attack we usually mount the front bar about 5-7” from the edge of the front windshield and the bar spread (distance between bars) anywhere from 24”-36”. Ideally it should be between 30-34” as it will fit the most accessories at this spread. Then ideally you want to mount the towers out wards as much as possible about a 1/8-1/4” in from the two rain gutter strips on the roof. Once the rack is all set up where you would like it to be you can use a punch to mark where it is going to be drilled. Use a pilot bit first about 1/8” is good size then use the bit it recommends in the instructions Landing Pad 6/7. We use a Rota bit, which drills a perfectly round hole, but you can also use a normal drill bit. Blow away any metal shavings then use some touch up paint on the bare metal. Proceed to put the Landing Pad 7 insert into the roof. And put a nice bead of silicon around the fastener and into the mounting hard wear. Last step is just tightening the LP6/LP7 bases to the roof then the control towers to the bases. And if you did purchase the locks just pop the plug out and line up the pin with the hole and turn to lock

Frequently asked Questions!

Q) How do I know what base’s to order?

A) If you are drilling into a metal roof use Landing Pad 7’s.

Found Here: http://www.rackattack.com/product-pages/yakima-landing-pad-7.asp

If it is a canopy or camper top (fiberglass) you will want to use Landing Pad 6’s.

Found Here: http://www.rackattack.com/product-pages/yakima-landing-pad-6.asp

Q) What if I hit another layer of metal or a brace?

A) You will want to drill through that as well. (But not the headliner so use tape or a drill stop) If the second layer obstructs the fastener use a punch to push it out of the way of the fastener

Q) Do I have to remove the headliner to install landing pads?

A) No, that’s one advantage of using the LP7’s they use what is called a blind fastener.

Q) Is there anything else I should know before I start?

A) Make sure you read the instructions fully before starting and give Rack Attack a call if you are uncertain about installation. It’s better to do that then be in over your head half way through and we a closed by then.

Q) Any last minute tips before I start?

A) Always measure 3 times and drill once.

2009 Subaru Forester with Thule 450 Crossroads, Atlantis 1800 and hitch.

Here is a look at the new Subaru 2009 Forester that has been all racked out. First at Rack Attack Coquitlam we started out with the base rack, the Thule 450 Crossroad towers that grab the factory raised rail like a glove. As an upgrade you can also go with the Thule 450r aero bar system, but this customer decided not to, to keep everything on the car black. This customer was using it to carry the Atlantis 1800 cargo box. But Thule 450  base rack is a good start to carry anything from bike, skis, canoes, kayaks, ladders, wood, etc.  The Atlantis 1800 was a good fit as it cleared the rear hatch and antenna and also didn’t stick past the front wind screen. At Rack Attack Coquitlam we also installed Hitches. For this vehicle there is was a Curt hitch for it, and the customer is going to use it for their Thule hitch mounted bike rack. The hitch was a simple installation you just need to remove the 5 rubber hangers to allow roomthe the hitch to fit, enlarge the  two holes with a step up drill bit, feed the hitch wire feeders into the frame rail, torque everything down and then reinstall  the 5 hangers to put the exhaust back into place.  I found using silicon spray on the rubber exhaust hangers made them easier to un install and reinstall… Also be care-full when you remove the 5th exhaust hanger in front of rear axle as the dual exhaust is heavy, especially if it hits you in the head.

http://www.rackattack.com/product-pages/thule-450-crossroad.asp

http://www.rackattack.com/product-pages/thule-450r-rapid-crossroad.asp

http://www.rackattack.com/product-pages/thule-rb47-47-inch-rapid-load-bars.asp

http://www.rackattack.com/product-pages/thule-687b-atlantis-1800-black.asp

Thule Ascent 1100

The Thule Ascent 1100 is a 11 cubic foot box at a good value. The customer came into Rack Attack Coquitlam looking for a cargo box that was lowprofile and narrow enough to put a canoe beside it. The customer origanilly was looking at the Yakima Space Booster 11 but it was two high and didn’t have the dual-side opening or wind tunnel testing that the Thule Ascent had.  So being both affordable and the size and dimensions she was looking for it was done, especially because her some loved the box. The Thule Ascent 1100 can carry anything from small children, 5-6 pairs of skis, or some camping gear etc…… Warning!!!! Rack Attack does not recommend putting children into cargo box at any time!!! http://www.rackattack.com/product-pages/thule-602-ascent.asp

Custom Thule Track on a Honda Fit 2007-2008

With today’s vehicles to make them more affordable and light weight they sometimes cut corners and that is true with the paint on the the Honda Fit. For this reason Rack Attack Coquitlam recommends going with the track system rather then  the Thule or Yakima towers that clip into the doors. For there has been issues of the paint flaking where the clips attach. But with this track system there is a huge bonus going with it, over the other systems anyway. The weight limit goes from 125lbs up to 165lbs, and if you are carrying long loads like Kayaks or canoes you can go with a bigger bar spread. Increasing the bar spread is going to stabilize long or heavy loads, which makes it stronger and safer.  Also you don’t get any interference with the door seals which over time can compress them causing leakage or wind noise.  Rack Attack Coquitlam has a step by step proved way of installing tracks only using the best quality Yakima and Thule products available. Which include the Thule 42″ tracks plus nuts, Thule 430 towers with TK1, 50″ load bars, and 4 pack locks.

http://www.rackattack.com/product-pages/thule-tp54-54-inch-top-track-with-flare-nuts.asp

http://www.rackattack.com/product-pages/thule-430-tracker-ii-foot-pack.asp

http://www.rackattack.com/product-pages/thule-tk1-tracker-kit-1.asp

Thule Hullavator 897XT on Ford Expedition

A lot of SUV’s, CUV’s, and Minivans are quite high and for the average height person makes loading and unloading kayaks a slow and difficult task. But not with the new Thule 897XT Hullavator it drops down to the side of the vehicle about 40″ and takes about 90% of the weight or up to 75lbs. Making loading a kayak a one person job even with vehicles that are high. At Rack Attack in Coquitlam we recently had a customer that was vertically challenged like myself and she had a Ford Expedition which made matters worse. So after seeing our video on www.rackattack.com she had to have the Thule Hullavotor. Because a lot of factory racks are not that strong or will not work with the Hullavator, we also recommended going with the Thule 430 system, Tk1′s, 6 pack locks (4 for the base rack and 2 for the Hullavator’s),  and 58″ Thule bars to finish it off.

http://www.rackattack.com/product-pages/thule-897xt-hullavator.asp

http://www.rackattack.com/product-pages/thule-430-tracker-ii-foot-pack.asp

http://www.rackattack.com/product-pages/thule-tk1-tracker-kit-1.asp

http://www.rackattack.com/product-pages/thule-596-6-pack-lock-cores.asp

http://www.rackattack.com/product-pages/thule-lb58-58-inch-load-bars.asp

http://www.rackattack.com/product-pages/thule-897xt-hullavator.asp