TourX Roof Rack

[Pacer69]

I didn't take any beauty shots, and my wife has the car today, but here's a screenshot from video I did of the sunroof opening under the front bar. There's about 1/8" clearance. View attachment 15113

The sunroof sure is reflective. Back bar is placed way behind the rail dimples, I used the back edge of the glass to align & keep it parallel. Might move it further forward, but I wanted a wide span for the 13' kayak. Front bar is just behind the front dimple.

View attachment 15114

Thanks for posting, if you don't mind posting a complete 3/4 shot when you get the car back, I'd be very interested. Thanks again.

 

[Steve F.]

Looking at these pictures, it looks like the roof is “domed” in the middle. So what looks like plenty of clearance from the side where the racks attach to the rails, is actually kind of tight by the time you get to the middle of the roof. Maybe that’s why the factory racks are as tall as they are, to ensure sufficient clearance in the middle of the roof.

 

[toga94m]

Got a couple pictures tonight before it got dark out... Yeah, the way I mounted the front one was a little scary, but it's got 1/8" clearance as the roof is opening. I don't plan to open the roof when there's a dripping kayak on top.

 

[Pacer69]

Got a couple pictures tonight before it got dark out... Yeah, the way I mounted the front one was a little scary, but it's got 1/8" clearance as the roof is opening. I don't plan to open the roof when there's a dripping kayak on top.

Thanks for posting the additional pix. Looks like a quality rack. is your TourX dark blue? Really love that color. They didn't have any locally when I bought mine, or I may well have ended up in one. Very sharp!

 

[toga94m]

Thanks for posting the additional pix. Looks like a quality rack. is your TourX dark blue? Really love that color. They didn't have any locally when I bought mine, or I may well have ended up in one. Very sharp!

None local to me either - I went about 2 hours out of state to get this one, and a good price too. I used cars.com to search for the trim & color within 150 miles, and it popped up. Otherwise I would have gotten the smoked pearl a little closer to home.

 

[Pacer69]

None local to me either - I went about 2 hours out of state to get this one, and a good price too. I used cars.com to search for the trim & color within 150 miles, and it popped up. Otherwise I would have gotten the smoked pearl a little closer to home.

Closest moon blue to me at time of purchase was one in Minneapolis, about 8-hr drive. I'm not averse to road-trip car purchases (have done it a few times the past 15 years), but I felt like I was under the gun with incentives potentially ending on the night I took the smoked pearl home on a test drive to show the wife. I still like the color and don't regret it. Also hides dirt well. Kind of ironic, though...there are even bigger discounts now than when I bought in February. Sucks not to be psychic, ha. I still got a great deal, though. All good.

 

[garbageguy]

The one I got at end of March just happened to be the dark moon metallic. Really like it - looks black at night, then shows its true beauty in the sun. Paint and its application is so good now.

My TourX also has the dealer installed roof rails. Older Thule forf-mount bike rack tray is for smaller square cross-rails, anyone know of a fix for that, perhaps an adapter?

 

[ntorch]

The OEM roof racks are high like basket handles, but they are truly like that so there is clearance for the sunroof to open along with any attachment you have installed on them. Just be careful. If no sunroof, no issues.

 

[toga94m]

I finally got time & weather to try putting the kayak up on the Nordrive roof rack. For now it's just one top-down, later I'll have the uprights installed too so I can do two at once. I slid the boat back so the rear of the cowling is up against the rear rail (so it won't slide back) and just strapped it down to each rail. Clearance to the sharkfin is really close, but it's not touching. I disabled the hands-free hatch opening thru menu settings, hope I also remember to not open it by button when the kayak is on... Haven't re-checked the sunroof, but it should clear.

As we all know, there's no place for a front towing eye, so I can't tie down the front of the boat like I've done before. I removed the over-radiator plastic cover (7 pushpins, no tools required) to take a look, and found a thick steel bar which I tied a loop of parachute cord to. Then I was able to hook my ratchet between that loop and the front of the boat, for a little insurance against sliding backwards. I lightly snugged it down, didn't want to over-stress the plastic front bumper/trim piece. It handled a few minutes of 80mph on the highway, so I guess if it ever gets above 55F outside I'm ready to go paddle.

 

[bollox74]

I have (and recommend) a set of these from past roof rack applications:
Amazon.com : Shoreline Marine Propel hood Trunk tie-Down Loops : Sports & Outdoors

Amazon.com : FishYuan Sentry Ratchet Kayak and Canoe Bow and Stern Tie Downs 1/4" Grow Light Heavy Duty Adjustable Rope Hanger (2-Pack) : Sports & Outdoors

 

[toga94m]

I've got ratchets like that already, came with the Thule uprights (not yet installed) and straps. I'm not totally convinced one way or the other on where to apply force - trying to pull the round thing out of the hood might bend the front lip of the hood, while the tieline I'm trying is going to deflect the plastic bumper a bit. Neither is ideal. On the last car I had, the ratchet rope laid across the hood before hooking to the towing eye in the front bumper, so there wasn't as much force.

 

[bollox74]

I've got ratchets like that already, came with the Thule uprights (not yet installed) and straps. I'm not totally convinced one way or the other on where to apply force - trying to pull the round thing out of the hood might bend the front lip of the hood, while the tieline I'm trying is going to deflect the plastic bumper a bit. Neither is ideal. On the last car I had, the ratchet rope laid across the hood before hooking to the towing eye in the front bumper, so there wasn't as much force.

I used the tie down loops last summer using the trunk lid and the hood - in addition to strapping the kayak down to the carrier. They kept a 10' kayak on J style hooks nice and secure over the 10 hours each way from Minnesota to the family cabin outside of Bruce Mines, Ontario.
I was amazed that my Camry maintained excellent gas mileage too, a kayak is a heck of a lot more aerodynamic up there than a storage box.

Amazon.com: TMS J-Bar Rack HD Kayak Carrier Canoe Boat Surf Ski Roof Top Mounted on Car SUV Crossbar: Automotive

 

[Red_X]

Stupid question: Why are they 6" tall?!

Why can't they make/sell a set of cross bars that merely cross straight from one roof rail to the opposite one?

I came from a Hyundai Tucson and I had a choice: they have a tall set of bars for a pano roof, and a normal-size set for a regular roof. Should have been an easy move to put the same rails on a smaller base for those of us without sunroofs.

 

[Steve F.]

I finally got time & weather to try putting the kayak up on the Nordrive roof rack. For now it's just one top-down, later I'll have the uprights installed too so I can do two at once. I slid the boat back so the rear of the cowling is up against the rear rail (so it won't slide back) and just strapped it down to each rail. Clearance to the sharkfin is really close, but it's not touching. I disabled the hands-free hatch opening thru menu settings, hope I also remember to not open it by button when the kayak is on... Haven't re-checked the sunroof, but it should clear.

As we all know, there's no place for a front towing eye, so I can't tie down the front of the boat like I've done before. I removed the over-radiator plastic cover (7 pushpins, no tools required) to take a look, and found a thick steel bar which I tied a loop of parachute cord to. Then I was able to hook my ratchet between that loop and the front of the boat, for a little insurance against sliding backwards. I lightly snugged it down, didn't want to over-stress the plastic front bumper/trim piece. It handled a few minutes of 80mph on the highway, so I guess if it ever gets above 55F outside I'm ready to go paddle.

Wow, you have the crossbars spread apart so far, it looks like a very stable base to mount the kayak. Is the front tie-down even necessary? If the distance isn’t too far and you keep it under 60mph, I’m guessing it would be fine with just the straps around the crossbars.

 

[bollox74]

Has anyone here pointed out the "dots" on the inside of the roof rails that show exactly where the roof rack is supposed to go?

Spacing your cross bars too far apart can really change the stability.
I know when I put Sportrack brand cross bars on my last car it gave very specific measurements that were tailored to each vehicle it fit.

 

[toga94m]

Wow, you have the crossbars spread apart so far, it looks like a very stable base to mount the kayak. Is the front tie-down even necessary? If the distance isn’t too far and you keep it under 60mph, I’m guessing it would be fine with just the straps around the crossbars.

I'm guessing so as well, but would rather not be on the side of the road explaining my guess to the Jaguar-driving lawyer who's now wearing my kayak as a hood ornament. 🙂 Probably will go commando sometime though. This rig worked fine for a few minutes at 80mph. Also, having a kayak on the bars quiets down the bar wind noise.

 

[toga94m]

Has anyone here pointed out the "dots" on the inside of the roof rails that show exactly where the roof rack is supposed to go?

Spacing your cross bars too far apart can really change the stability.

Yup, I looked at the dots as suggestions. Same for the generic bar installation guide. It said 70cm (0.7 meters = 27.5") separation between bars, and that moving the pattern further backward would quiet noise. 70cm is probably a standard for a roofbox or bike rack or something... my kayak is 12 feet long, having it mounted on a 2-foot gap is way too wobbly for my likes. I widened the stance for *more* stability than was suggested.

 

[garbageguy]

I just got a new/different bike rack to go on the Buick-supplied roof rails. The Buick rails are off for fitting the new bike rack (seems like it'll work fine). One of the Buick rails has little tabs underneath, and is labeled to be the front one - why is that?

 

[toga94m]

My BMW rails had three stick-on wind deflectors under the front bar, helps cut down the noise.

 

[justiz00]

I just got a new/different bike rack to go on the Buick-supplied roof rails. The Buick rails are off for fitting the new bike rack (seems like it'll work fine). One of the Buick rails has little tabs underneath, and is labeled to be the front one - why is that?

I bet it has to do with the width or available width range as the front one would need to be wider than the rear. If the rear was used in the front, the rail may not have enough “bite” on the uprights to be considered safe.