Date: Thu, 2 Sep 1999 10:29:02 -0700
Reply-To: Davidson <wdavidson@THEGRID.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Davidson <wdavidson@THEGRID.NET>
Subject: Re: Pop Top Sports Rack
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Alan,
I've been looking at the various rack options. What I found was not only are
the Yakima extended (with about 3 1/2 inch extension blocks sold by Yakima)
rain gutter towers too low for the Westy pop top, they don't seem to clear
the sides either... unless you can alter their mounting angle somehow. Thule
makes three sizes of rain gutter towers... the tallest will clear the
fiberglass top both for height and at the side. Roy claims it is possible to
mount these at the very back of the rain gutter and above the luggage rack
such that the top can be popped without removing them. But the problem for
my need is that spacing is too wide for my sea kayaks... they are ideally
supported at the internal bulkheads which add support to the hull. That
spacing may work for a canoe or a double sea kayak since they are longer.
My choice is to go with the Thule fake rain gutters. I'm a big Yakima fan,
but the angle of the Thule mounts allow the fake rain gutters and thus the
bars and thus the kayak to be mounted lower... (about 2 inches compared to
the standard Yakima fake rain gutter and 1 inch compared to the Yakima wide
mount rain gutter). I'm a short guy and the van is tall.... two inches can
mean a lot when lifting a heavy kayak that far up. Also need the clearance
for my garage door.
Bill
90 Westy Syncro
-----Original Message-----
From: Alan J. Flint <ajflint@ITSA.UCSF.EDU>
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Date: Thursday, September 02, 1999 9:13 AM
Subject: Re: Pop Top Sports Rack
>Stuart:
> I have been thinking about the Yakima rack for my Westfalia as
>well. They have a extra high base that clamps to the rain gutter and
>holds the cross pipe. Unfortunately I don't think it is nearly high
>enough to clear even the very back of the poptop when open. Is it your
>experience that one would need to remove 1) boat, and 2) rear cross pipe,
>in order to pop the top? That is, can you leave the rear bases and whole
>front rack (installed just in fromnt of poptop) intact? That wouldn't be
>too incovenient for a strong rack setup which required no modificaiton
>(i.e. drilling) to the vehicle.
>
>Alan.
>
>On Thu, 2 Sep 1999, Stuart MacMillan wrote:
>
>> I have a better solution, but it only works with the Yakima line of
>> racks.
>>
>> You can add another extension to the rain rail type mount and use a
>> longer bolt from the hardware store to extend the rack height and mount
>> the rack directly to the rain rail. Much stronger, and no drilling.
>> Only downside is having to remove the racks to pop the top, worth it to
>> be safe IMHO.
>>
>> I have carried plywood, two canoes, steel pipe, etc. etc. with no
>> worries in the last ten years, and I will soon be carrying three sea
>> kayaks weighing about 160 pounds (I've given up canoeing!). You could
>> even add a third rack this way, which I might do for the kayaks.
>>
>> When you mount onto the pop top you are not only stressing the plastic,
>> but you are also relying on the top's attachment points to hold
>> everything on. Light weight items such as bicycles, skis, and
>> surfboards that offer little wind resistance are probably fine, but the
>> wind forces on boats can be high, especially when tipped on their
>> sides.
>>
>> If you go the Thule/top mount route be sure to tie the bow and stern to
>> the bumpers, and you might even consider a strap over the boat that is
>> hooked to the rain rails for absolute security. And definitely use a
>> metal plate as a back-up on the inside.
>>
>> Davidson wrote:
>> >
>> > Having some trepidation in the face of drilling holes into my pop top!
Gulp!
>> > Looking for advice and encouragement.
>> >
>> > The story is I have chosen the Thule Rack system for carrying my sea
kayak
>> > on top of my 90 Westy Syncro. And I plan to attach that rack by
drilling
>> > holes to mount the Thule fake rain gutters to the fiberglass pop top.
>> >
>> > My questions are:
>> > 1. Any advice, do's or don'ts regarding the placement of the fake
rain
>> > gutters or the drilling of the holes
>> > 2. Has anyone bothered to reinforce the mounting spots by adding a
layer
>> > of fiberglass?
>> > 3. Anyone have good or bad experiences they can share regarding
racks
>> > mounted to the pop top with fake rain gutters? Thule fake rain gutters?
>> >
>> > Thanks,
>> > Bill Davidson
>> > Lake Tahoe, CA
>>
>> --
>> Stuart MacMillan
>> Manager, Case Program
>> 800-909-8244 ext 208
>>
>> Getting your share of the Net yet?
>> http://www.cobaltgroup.com
>> http://www.casedealer.com/demo
>> http://www.caseihdealer.com/demo
>>
>
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