Backcountry Racks coupon

Let's start the holiday season off right.  Here is a little gravy for your turkey. 

20% off Thule 

20% off Yakima

20% off Rhino Rack 

Use this coupon for an additional 10% off Kuat bike racks:    kuat10 

As always, all orders over $99 ship for free.

Thank you Mr. Box!

We recently came across a new website that quickly grabbed out attention.  The site is call Mr.Box and it is nothing more than an image of a car/truck/SUV with a cargo box on the roof.  You can configure endless combinations from 100s of cars and dozens of cargo boxes.  The possibilities are endless.

Below is an image of our family rig:

We love this kind of stuff and spent a little too long on the site.  Anyone interested in purchasing a cargo box should visit this site and geek out just like we did.

Custom roof rack for a 2006 Toyota Prius

This is my personal vehicle, a 2006 Toyota Prius.  I originally installed a Yakima Q Towers roof rack.  It worked as it should and was not permanent.  The Thule Side Arm upright bike rack and the Thule Spirit cargo box both fit easily on 58" crossbars.  The Spirit has been discontinued, which is unfortunate.  It was my favorite cargo box.

Then I installed a Thule Aero Foot roof rack just to be able to compare Thule vs. Yakima.  The required Yakima bars were 58" long, but only 50" for Thule.  The Thule rack has a shorter distance from the front bar to the rear bar (24" vs 32"), but supported more weight.  The Yakima rack is easier and quicker to remove but the Thule rack is slightly easier to install.  The clips for all Thule racks are coated as to not scratch the paint.  The Yakima clips are not.

We do tons of custom installations every year and it was time for me to put my skills to the test.  I planned on permanently mounting the Yakima Control Tower roof rack.  I would be able to take the rack off and on super easy and set the bar spread distance to my liking.  I liked the round bar because it is much easier to work with on a rounded roof like the Prius.  I chose to mount the front bar within a few inches of where the Q Towers and Aero Foot racks were mounted on the Prius.  I put the rear bar 30" back from the front bar.  This is more than adequate.

This is theYakima Landing Pad #7 mounting hardware for the Control Tower roof rack.  Relatively basic except for the parts on the bottom left.  The silicon is all that is needed to properly seal the holes and prevent any leaks.

Here is a closeup of the hardware and how it works.  It is not an easy task to thread the bolt.

The whole process can be a little nerve racking.  Getting precise measurements to match up on both sides is tricky.  I chose not to remove the headliner which meant I was drilling blind.  This is always a big risk.  Its hard to tell if you are going to drill into a frame support. 

The finished product.

It was well worth the effort.  Its now 5 years later and the roof racks works perfect.  Super strong and no leaks.  I regularly carry and cargo box and/or a bike rack.  I check it periodically and I have a box of spare parts.  I haven't had to make any adjustments.  

Thule racks are Made in 'Merica

Most people think that Thule racks are made in Europe, and rightly so. Thule is a Swedish company. But while some products are indeed made in Europe, 75% of the Thule products sold in North America are actually made the USA. Thule has factories in Seymour, CT and Chicago, IL.


As an added bonus, Thule recently installed a 318-kilowatt solar array on the roof of its CT facility. The array, which consists of over 1,800 solar panels, will offset about 26 percent of the energy used at Thule’s Seymour manufacturing and office facility.




You can read more about their US factories in the Adventure Journal article Made in America: Thule Racks

General care and maintenance for your roof rack

Roof racks are built to last and withstand the elements.  But you  still need to take care of them.  Here are some tips to ensure that your roof rack remains in good working order for years to come:

Take the rack accessories off seasonally.  Its not a big deal to leave your rack on year round.  I do.  But I never leave my ski rack on during the summer or leave my bike rack on during the winter.  If you are not going to use it for an extended period or time, take it off.

Take the rack off at least once.  When/if you do take your rack, or any accessory (ski rack, bike rack) off, clean it up.  Use a wet rag to clean off all of the dirt, grim, and spiderwebs.

Replace parts as needed.  Nuts and bolts can rust, but are easily replaceable.

Make sure that you have all four end caps properly installed so that no water is getting inside.  Thule, Yakima, and Inno crossbars are made of steel and can rust from the inside out.  Yakima bars are round, so when water gets inside, the bars swell.  This make it near impossible to remove the towers from the bars.

If you get any nicks or scrapes in your crossbars where you can see the metal, patch it up with electrical tape.  Again, we don't want water to get in between the coating and the metal.

Clean out your cargo box.  Vacuum out all of the dirt, sand, etc.  Dirt can get into the mechanism and make it very difficult to securely close the cargo box.

Remove and clean all lock cores.  Use the installation key to remove the locks.  DON'T USE WD40!  Use something silicone based like TriFlow or Finish Line.

Follow these simple steps and you will have the roof rack as long as you have the vehicle.