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Yakima Bike Rack Install

grnxnam said:
yeah, might not work.  My cover has 2 panels instead of 3.  I'm thinking that if the spacing between the front and rear cross bars is adjustable then I should be able to attach both of them to my rear panel.  Now assuming thats possible and assuming the whole set up  weighs less than 15lbs or so, then it should work.
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if it was under 15lbs. you could go with the  yakima boa mounts, they don't use a long tray that connects between towers.
http://www.yakima.com/Product.aspx?Number=8002065
 
BigBlockBirch said:
After attempting different ways of hauling our bikes when hauling the camper, I decided to bite the bullet and get a bike rack.

Installation was easy.  The thing is sturdy.  I can hang on the rear bar and it will not move.

List of Materials:

Yakima
(2) 48" round bars
(4) Q-Towers
(4) Q30 Clips
( 8 ) SRS Locksets
(3) Raptor Bike Racks

That is all it takes.  The clips are "L" shaped and slip under the bed panels.  When latched, they will not move.  The racks themselves are easy to use.  Just place the bike in the tray and slide the bar up to the bikes main bar and clamp it down.

I ended up buying mine at www.RackandRoad.com .  They seemed to have the "best" price with 10% off and free shipping. 

YakimaBikeRackMod001.jpg


YakimaBikeRackMod002.jpg


YakimaBikeRackMod003.jpg
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just curious what are the measurements between the towers where the load bars come though is, this would be the "A" measurement of the install directions???can't seem to get mine to clamp down tight enough to not move. can't have that with the $$$$$$ i have in ma bikes.  thanx.
 
I measured straight along the back of the bar as it sits on the bed...it comes to 43.5"

Mine does not budge...
 
ok, who's going to be the first to post a pic of what happens when you forget to take the bikes down before you back into the garage  :cool: not funny, i know... a friend of mine had a roof rack and his Merlin on the roof and smashed into the garage.... it was not a pretty thing to do to a $5K bike  :eek: at least with the Av you can see them back there... very nice set up (y)
 
sssMOkinAV said:
ok, who's going to be the first to post a pic of what happens when you forget to take the bikes down before you back into the garage  :cool: not funny, i know... a friend of mine had a roof rack and his Merlin on the roof and smashed into the garage.... it was not a pretty thing to do to a $5K bike  :eek: at least with the Av you can see them back there... very nice set up (y)
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I have already pulled out of the garage with a hatchback up.  By the time you realize what is happening the glass, wiper and half the paint is gone...  :E:
 
BigBlockBirch said:
I measured straight along the back of the bar as it sits on the bed...it comes to 43.5"

Mine does not budge...
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cool. for some reason mine wants to slide from front to back. it's like there's not enough down pressure on the feet or the clips aren't grabbing the covers enough. i'll go and check the measurement. i've never had this much trouble mount a bike rack.
 
well moved the towers ,remeasured and i get about 43.250 and still slides forward and backward. seems like there isn't enough pressure on the feet. don't think i can move the towers out anymore. hmmmmm not good.
 
It sounds like you need to adjust the clips.  there is an adjustment screw on the side under the plastic case that shortens the clip throw.  You need to make sure that when you pull down on the lever to lock the clip that it is almost too tight.  Mine gets to about 1/2" away from full lock and I really need to pull down

I am 235 lbs and I stood on the bumper and hung back on it.  Not even a little movement.

good luck
 
BigBlockBirch said:
It sounds like you need to adjust the clips.  there is an adjustment screw on the side under the plastic case that shortens the clip throw.  You need to make sure that when you pull down on the lever to lock the clip that it is almost too tight.  Mine gets to about 1/2" away from full lock and I really need to pull down

I am 235 lbs and I stood on the bumper and hung back on it.  Not even a little movement.

good luck
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yeah tried that, seems to put a lot of load on the bars they really start to arc. plus the pads seem to come up off the bed panel thus no down pressure. i emailed yakima, might have to use a thicker pad for the Q-towers. the Q-clips come with the A pad. they have 5 more different sizes so hopefully i can get one thats thicker. thanx for the help.
 
Let me know what you find out...

I can hear Yakima now..."we don't make a rack for that application...you know it won't be covered under warranty"
 
BigBlockBirch said:
Let me know what you find out...

I can hear Yakima now..."we don't make a rack for that application...you know it won't be covered under warranty"
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:laugh: yep!! not too worried about that.
 
I just bought and installed mine a couple of weeks ago and they work fine with no sliding.  When I first put them on, the rear most rack slid when I tried to lift the cover off holding the rack.  All I did was adjust the screws on the inside the cover on both sides where the key lock goes.  This made it very difficult to reclose the lock covers on the rack, but stopped the rack from sliding forward and back.  I used the racks to take 3 surfboards down to the beach today and they worked like a charm!  Good luck figuring out the problem.
 
well after much frustration and getting my bloodpressure up, i've come to the conclusion that the yakima Q-towers are nothing but rickity junk. the sst towers were the best thing they had goin'. too many parts to the Q's .  so i ended up using my old sst towers. had to re-bend the clips i had but, they locked down with ease  and i now have a bike rack. as for yakima, they said that they would forward my email to their engineering dept and have a nice biking season. thats the polite way of sayin' your screwed and byte us!!
 
well after much engineering and buying and selling,i now have a yakithule rack!! got rid of the pieces of  :cuss: yakima Q-towers,( sold on ebay for half of what i paid) and went old skool and dug out my SST towers , re-engineered the clips and they clamped down asap. then went and bought a thule side arm rack and she works GR8 had to go with the side arm because the front tire on the bike is too wide for the yakima cobra.i won the batttle and the war!!! :cheers: :woohoo:
 

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The material list is in the first post...

There is only one Q-Tower that I know of...the difference is the Clips...

John
 
They definitely are...they are used for certain applications.

I carry three bikes on mine and it doesn't budge.

I got mine a www.racknroad.com

They were great in helping me order the right stuff. 

Awesome customer service...
 
There is a new Q-tower coming out this year... everthing will still work with them.
pvpeacock--Do you cary longboards? And do you strap on the outside of the q-tower or the inside?

Also can you still open the saddle bags and have them stay open on there own.
 
vwsurf said:
Also can you still open the saddle bags and have them stay open on there own.
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If you make sure that the tower is in line with the handle next to the bags...you are good...
 
Yes, you can still open the saddle bags with no problem.  I do carry longboards (9'6") on my rack.  I use a long tie down strap that I run over the boards near the rear window, then under the forward rack bar going toward the rear of the truck, then under the rear rack bar and up over the top of the surfboards.  I have pads mounted on the bars and don't notice any sliding from side to side if the tie down is sinched tight.  I did learn that you need to put the rear most rack as far back as you can so the longboards will stay in place while you tie them down.  I used to just remove the #3 cover and have the longboards stick out of the truck bed.  I much prefer having the racks, because it frees up the entire truck bed for other beach stuff.  I also plan to use it next winter for skis on the long drive to Mammoth Mountain.  Good luck.
 
Used the Yakima bike rack I bought from AVid for the first time this weekend.  It worked like a charm!   :love:

Thanks AVid!
 
SilverGhost said:
Used the Yakima bike rack I bought from Avid for the first time this weekend.  It worked like a charm!   :love:

Thanks Avid!
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Glad it works for ya! Where did you go? We were at Lake Huron Camp Ground this last weekend and will be there again this upcoming one.  Only about 66 miles from you.

AVid
 
Well it?s a funny story, kind of.  A couple of years ago my parents took our kids up to the UAW campground near Onaway on Black Lake.  They had a great time using the pools, fitness rooms, showers and all the other facilities.  They went during the week.  Only later did we discover how important that was.

They had such a good time we decided to make it our first trip of the year.  It started by me pulling up to the gate with my GM Chevrolet Avalanche and the UAW security guard taking a flashlight and checking my VIN#.  He kindly and politely informed me that after setting up camp I will have to drive my AV back out of the campground and park it outside of the UAW property.  My AV, like every ones, is ?final assembled? in Mexico.  Only US UAW ?final assembled? vehicles are allowed to park on the property.  So each time we needed my AV to put the boat into the lake or move the entire family to the beach, I had to call the security shack and have them transport me to/from my AV.  It was too far to walk, over a mile one way.  Also, the facilities (Pool, fitness room, new main lodge) are closed from 4:30pm on Friday until 4:30pm on Sunday.  They only have the facilities open during the week while conferences are going on.  Luckily we had great weather on Saturday and we hung out on the beach all day.  The last kicker was they had forgotten to turn on the water heaters in the campground showers.  We had to take showers inside our camper.  If you have ever owned a small camper you know how extremely small the showers are for someone 6? 2? and 220lbs.

I do not want to make any waves with anyone.  The people were friendly and as nice as they could be.  They even mentioned they thought some of the rules were out of date.  My main complaint is their website says nothing about the facilities being closed on the weekend nor only US UAW ?final assembled? vehicles being allowed on the grounds. 

Did I mention we were the only 2 campers in the entire campground?  Now we know why!
 
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