Yakima Roof Rack (Isuzu Part #2-90030-930-0)

Yakima Roof Rack

2002.01.20

I thought I'd share my experiences about the install of the Yakima Roof Rack (got a couple of pointers for those who haven't mounted theirs):

I bit the bullet and bought the basic cross rails, caps and towers (the basic rack). With a 10% off coupon, it ended up costing about $310 with tax. I'm not sure if the individual pieces could be gotten by other means, and frankly I didn't think spending a bunch of time looking for them cheaper was worth the effort.

The rack came with very detailed instructions and anyone with basic skill should be able to mount them. I only found two areas that were a little tricky:

    There are 4 small stainless steel sheet metal screws that hold the end caps onto the cross bars. Trying to screw them directly through the plastic of the caps causes them to twist to the sides. Also, because the pilot holes in the cross bars are a little thicker than the thread, the screws do not go in very easily. My solution was to thread the screws into the pilot holes first, winding them in and out until the hole is properly tapped. The ends go on easy afterwards.
    The rubber stripping that is inserted into the cross rails was pretty tough to put in. After 5 minutes with very little progress, I brought the rails indoors and used a blow dryer to heat up the rubber. It was relatively easy to install after heating it up a bit. The racks had been sitting in back of the VX in 40 degree weather. Heating them may not be necessary in warmer weather.

Total install time, 1 hour being very careful not to mess anything up or scratch the paint.

So after driving around in them all day (beautiful day here in Atlanta), my biggest complaint is the wind noise. Above 40 MPH I get a whinney shriek that's pretty much unbearable. Anyone else have this problem?... and what have you done to combat it? I've planned to dynamatt the whole cabin including the ceiling... looks like I need to do it sooner rather than later. I've removed the rack and only plan to use it when I need it for a bike or something.

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