Installing Yakima Tracks on Camper Top

Meh, mine work fine and look good as they follow the tapering of the truck topper. 1.37" over 5 feet isn't much variation. That instructions are ambiguous and one way to read it is that they should be parallel, another way is that they are saying they should be equal distance from the end of the shell, that's all.

 

The distance between the tracks at the front is wider than the rear by 2.75"? I have no idea how your bars would ever work then. I have Thule Tracker II's with square bars, the tracks are perfectly parallel with each other. Here is an "extreme" diagram to show how it won't work unless they are parallel.

 

The tracks should be parallel. And "meh, mine work fine" doesn't mean it is right, just that yours has enough slop in the tolerances to work. Did you install them, or did they come on the shell already?

 

Where are you measuring that shows them to be 2.75" closer together at the back? Track to track, or from the edge of the shell to the edge of track?

 

I was wrong, i just remeasured from outside edge of tracks, front and rear, looks to be a little less difference that I thought, around 1.5" I self installed. Found the tracks in the spare parts dept on ORSDIRECT for 20$. They look good as they maintain an equal distance from the shell where it turns down.

 

I may have missed something, but what is the load rating of your shell? I thought most were only rated for like 150lbs of cargo on top. RTT + tracks/rack + 2 people seems like a lot of weight up there for fiberglass

 

The 150# load rating is for hwy speeds, static capability is higher.

 

But that’s still closing in on 600lbs, or more depending on the tent. Maybe I don’t trust my shell enough lol

 

My tracks were mounted from the factory by Leer. They are not parallel, the distance between my towers on the two crossbars are different front vs back.

 

I bought a set of these to self-install on my last truck's shell. I ended up returning them. They are good enough quality, but they aren't as low profile as the yakima or thule options.

 

shit, I just ordered mine 2 days ago.

I tried everywhere to find the height of the yakima/thule but it's not anywhere online!

And which of the two options you chose?

 

Yak and Thule tracks identical, cheapest place to buy is spare parts dept ORSDIRECT, sans hardware @20$
http://orsracksdirect.com

My receipt, note this is the older tried and true square bars, for a long bed shell, so around 325 self installed after buying buttonhead screws etc at store (cheaper on Amazon)

Thule 60" Track (Single) 853535903 2 22.00
Thule Track End Cap 8535361 4 1.00
(Single)
Thule Podium 3101 Half 4602, 3101, LB65 2 127.96 Select Single Cross Bar Length =
Pack Roof Rack System LB65 - 65 inches bar
4602
Subtotal 303.92
Shipping 0.00
Tax 0.00
Total 303.92

 

can't reach ORS website for some reason.

Worse case it's going to be thule @ $135 with hardware. $44 certainly sounds better though.

 

Nor can i perhaps they went out of business. I hope not. If they aren't, hidden on their site is the spare parts dept, where the tracks are 20$, without hardware (hex wrench, silicon, etc, stuff likely already own) buy the screws yourself they only include 4 per track in kit by buying myself i was able to do 7 per side. Skip the track end caps too, they are cosmetic and difficult to get to lat flat.

 

I went with Yakima on that shell. But I have the thule tracks from the factory on my current leer shell, and like everyone has said they are equals.

 

Ordered the Thule (was able to pay the difference only and my order had not shipped). Will buy more hardware if needed.

 

Onion River Sports is indeed out of business sadly. I wonder if any other retailers sell these components as "spare parts". If, say, you were to damage one load bar or "foot" system where could one buy just a single part. I guess eBay or the like may be the better source now.

https://vtdigger.org/2017/11/27/iconic-montpelier-retailer-onion-river-sports-to-close/

 

To top it off, I am in vermont I could've driven to Montpelier!

But my Thule tracks are ordered now, time to create my own rack (kinda like PrinSu but better quality)

 

I think its your preference on whether to taper the tracks or not. I installed mine parallel to the centerline of the shell. I think its best to keep everything square so not to torque the towers on the tracks when they are tightened down. Its easy to adjust the bar position on the tower to slide em.

Heres a shot of how I did it. I suggest taping them down, squaring multiple times, marking the holes on top of the tape, and then drilling through the tape. Mine were 16.25" perpendicular from the centerline to the tracks. I ran a string from the antenna? to the brake light.

If your going to swap out hardware(the supplied bolts were too short for mine), make sure the plates in the tracks can clear the new washers and bolt heads, and go with all the same metal, so they dont corrode each other. I made the mistake of mixing zinc with stainless. I think it will be ok... : P