2009 Honda Ridgeline – Thule Professional Roof Rack

The 2009 Honda Ridgeline is a light-duty utility truck with car-like handling, room to seat five, and a half truck bed. Although not built for heavy-duty applications the Honda Ridgeline has become quite popular in the city as a fuel-minded work vehicle. What makes this vehicle even more functional? The addition of a half canopy and a custom Thule roof rack running the length of the vehicle. This still leaves you with bed access, as well gives you the option of safely carrying longer loads. The option we are going to take a look at here is a hybrid of the standard Thule Rapid Aero system used in combination with specially ordered Thule Professional Europe bars, which are different from the Thule Professional bars available here in North America.

2009 Honda Ridgeline - Thule 430R Custom Track Installation

The installation pictured here is separated in to two sections, this allows you to relocate the towers depending on what it is you were looking to carry. The first component, two pairs of Thule 54 inch Tracks with Flare Nuts are drilled and mounted in to the roof of the vehicle as well as in to the canopy. This gives you a flexible point on which to attach your towers. The Thule 430R Rapid Tracker Towers attaches to the tracks in combination with the Thule TK1 Tracker Kit 1, you can also add security to the rack by adding the Thule 544 4-Pack Lock Cylinders which allow you to lock the 430R Towers to the vehicle. The last component, the Thule Euro Professional Bars, are a special order item and come is a variety of lengths ranging from 1500mm to 2200mm.

2009 Honda Ridgeline - Thule 430R Forward Position

The Thule Euro Pro Bars support an array of industrial accessories for securing ladders, conduit, and lumber. A set of standard Thule 345 Tilting Load Stops, pictured below, are a great multipurpose solution for securing a variety of gear. The same rack can convert in to a multi-sport solution as with the right adapters, it also supports the standard Thule carriers for bikes, kayaks, cargo, skis, and snowboards.

2009 Honda Ridgeline - Thule Industrial Rack

This installation is by no means limited to the Honda Ridgeline; the same solution can be applied to any truck with a canopy. If you are interested in obtaining more details contact our Rack Attack Portland Store location directly. They will also be able to provide you with information on obtaining the Thule Euro Professional Load Bars, which are not currently available through our website. Otherwise you can always contact one of our Rack Attack Expert Technicians.

Thule 422XT Xsporter Multi-Height Aluminum Truck Rack

The ever popular Thule Xsporter truck rack just got even better with the new Thule 422XT Xsporter multi-height truck rack. It provides maximum loading flexibility, superior carrying capability and sleek, stylish appearance through its patented adjustable height (HeightAdjust) load bars, 6000 grade aluminum design and dual-slot reinforced bars.

Thule 422XT Xsporter Multi-Height Aluminum Truck Rack

The Xsporter load bars can be raised or lowered to five different heights for convenient loading, carrying, and unloading. Each of the vertical masts are notched out, making for quick and easy transitions also helping to ensure your bars are level. The 6000 grade aluminum design provides the strength to carry up to 450 pounds and resists rusting for a lifetime of reliable operation and great looks. Note that you load capacity SHOULD NEVER exceed the vehicle manufacturer’s cargo and vehicle weight rating.

Thule 422XT Xsporter - Down Position

The Thule 422XT Xsporter includes for lock cylinders, providing you with complete security all controlled with a single key. The Xsporter truck rack comes with four adjustable load stops that provide lateral support for equipment and materials. Most Thule accessory carriers are compatible, but some require an Xadapt adapter which is sold separately. If you happen to drive a 2005 Toyota Tacoma, the Thule XK1 Adapter is required to mount the rack to your vehicle, as well the Thule XK2 Adapter is required for the 2007 Toyota Tundra if the vehicle is equipped with the bed track system.

For this and other rack options for your pick-up truck , try the Thule Rack Finder.

2009 Audi Q7 – Thule Roof Rack Installation

The 2009 Audi Q7 is another beautiful addition to the crossover SUV family and a solid choice for a five or seven passenger luxury vehicle. The Q7 features athletic handling on air-suspension-equipped models, high-tech luxury and safety features, and superior interior design and craftsmanship. From the factory, the Audi Q7 has factory installed mounting points that allow you to integrate a sleek looking rack system that gives a nice natural look. Thule has two available options however here we will look at the Thule 460R Rapid Podium which is the higher end selection that features the oval brushed aluminum bars. This rack will a load capacity of up to 165lbs and will allow you to mount any of the Thule sport carrier options.

2009 Audi Q7 - Thule 460R Rapid Podium Roof Rack

The Thule 460R Rapid Podium Rack for the 2009 Audi Q7 is made up of the Thule 460R Rapid Podium Foot Pack, Thule Podium Fit Kit 4002, Thule RB47 Rapid Load Bars, and a Thule 544 4-Pack of Lock Cores.

2009 Audi Q7 - Thule 460R Rapid Podium Installation

Attached to the Thule Podium Roof Rack is the new Thule 611 Boxter roof mounted cargo box, which we featured in a previous post. The image above shows the how the Boxter wraps around the Rapid Aero Bars, as well the clean lines the Rapid Aero Foot provides in combination with the pre-installed factory mounting points. You can also see that this installation does not interfere with the sun roof, leaving it fully operational even with a cargo carrier installed.

To see a complete list of fits available for this or any other vehicle, try our Thule Automated Rack Fit Guide or contact one of our Rack Attack Expert Technicians.

Yakima CopperHead – Roof Bike Rack

New to 2009, Yakima has overhauled the original Yakima CopperHead making use of the very reliable Yakima Viper skewer. The Yakima CopperHead 09 is a no-frills bicycle carrier that attaches to the front fork, having removed the front tire. This means a rock solid grip, and with the new skewer full locking functionality with the simple addition of a Yakima SKS Lock Cylinder.

Yakima CopperHead - Roof Bike Rack

An aerodynamic fork block for extra stability helps the Yakima CopperHead offer strength, beauty, functionality, and affordability in equal measure. Out of the box the CopperHead fits both Yakima round crossbars as well Thule square load bars. The Copperhead carries just about any bike with a quick release wheel skewer. However, there are a few exceptions where one of our other mounts should be used instead. These exceptions include, but are not limited to, bikes with nutted front wheels, triple clamp forks, forks with dropout spacing (the distance between the forks at the tips) other than 100mm, or disc brakes. In general, you will need about 12 inches of crossbar per bike when mounting them alternately front and rear facing. Barring any other restriction the practical limit is usually 4 bikes.

To find out what is required to mount the Yakima CopperHead to your vehicle, try the Yakima Automated Rack Finder.