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How to fit a Thule rack on your bed cover.

steven1955

Full Member
Joined
Aug 10, 2002
Messages
201
Well, it took a long time to figure out how to do it with currently available Thule parts, but here's how to fit a Thule rack on the bed cover of an Avalanche.

Bonedog had already done this fitment, but by dumb luck he bought a used Thule rack at a yard sale that had an obsolete fit kit, Thule's 71 fit kit, that was nearly perfect. I called Thule, but they didn't have any old stock of 71 fit kits. I called 12 on line Thule dealers, but they didn't have any old stock. So after weeks of trying I got hold of a Thule engineer who was able to find a workable non obsolete fit kit with clips that needed minimal modification. You do have to rebend the fit kit clips.

So here are the Thule parts you need:
1. 400 or 400XT foot pack. (Includes 4 feet.)
2. 157 fit kit. (Includes 4 clips, 4 rubber pads, and 4 plastic spacers. You don't need the spacers.)
3. 50 or 54 inch load bars. (I already owned 54 inch bars, which won't allow full opening on the side compartments. 50 inch bars allow the side compartments to fully open.)

First, here's what the finished installation looks like.

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Another view.

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Now what you need to modify.

Open the 157 fit kit and take out the four metal clips. As delivered the clips have about a 45 degree bend on the end of them.

Here's a pic of an unmodified clip.

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You need the angle at the end of the clip to be between 85 and 95 degrees, although 95 is best. Mine are bent to between 85 and 90 degrees because I was being overly cautious. Your can increase the bend angle, but if you go too far you will weaken the clips when you attempt to bend them back. DO NOT bend them too far. I will consider bending mine more, but even at sligthly less than 90 degrees they worked pretty well.

Here's the same clip rebent.

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Another view.

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Now just follow the instructions for assembling your 157 fit kit to 400 or 400XT feet with the following exception: Do not use the four plastic spacers that change the angle of the clip to a slightly more horizontal position. (I tried both ways and without the spacers the rack assembly seemd to fit slightly better.)

Here's a closeup picture of the foot installed on the bed covers.

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Another view.

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Here's a view of the clip as seen from underneath the bed cover. The bed cover is not installed on the Avalanche to make things easier to see.

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Very nice! Thanks for the great shots. I wasn't really clear on the whole set up until I saw the last photo. NOw, it akes sense to me. Cool.
 
VERY GOOD SETUP! Nice clear explanation, thanks!

Butch
 
Excellant job...nice photos...clear instructions...
very well done...
(y) (y) :B:


I'm sure you already thought of this...but...with a
hacksaw one could simply trim 4 inches off the end
of the cross bars to facilitate the full opening of the
storage boxes...the bar end caps are removable
and can be reinstalled for a finished appearance.
 
Here's a few final notes:

1.  With the modified 157 fit kit clip you cannot install the clip from above the bed cover.  You have to slide the clip under the bed cover from the rear of the cover.  This is a pain, but there is a plus side.  Even if the foot assembly becomes loose its almost impossible for the rack to fall off because the clip is captive under the bed cover.

2.  Some people may prefer the 71 fit kit for two reasons.  The first is that no rebending of the clips is necessary.  The second is that it looks like the clip can be fitted between the bed cover and the rails, making installation easier.  Good luck finding one, though.

3.  50 inch load bars fit better and allow the side compartments to fully open.  If you use 54 inch load bars you can still get into the side compartments, but they only open to about 75 degrees, so you have to hold the compartments opne with one have.  You may have problems getting long or large items into the side compartments if you use 54 inch load bars like I did.  If you use longer bars I doubt you'll be able to open the compartment enough to get anything into them.

That's it.  Here's on final picture showing our Av with a bed cover rack and a roof rack.  We just can't seem to travel light.

Av_fully_loaded_small_file.JPG

Avfullyloaded.jpg
 
Well maybe its sick, but it works.

We drove 320 miles from Delaware to western Pennsylvania, mostly on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, and the Av cruised 70-75 mph without breaking a sweat. Of course with the three sets of wind brakes we got 15 mpg instead of our normal 19.

The Av replaced a 97 Dodge Grand Caravan. It struggled and almost overheated with less stuff. Its nice to have a real truck again.
 
steven1955 said:
Well maybe its sick, but it works.
Perhaps clarification is needed...or not... ;)

something that is "sick" = good/great!!! :cool:
"new school oxymoron"... :cautious:


 
Clarification was needed and graciously accepted. I'm just showing my age, that's all.

Actually one of my neighbors thought it was "sick" per Webster's definition.
 
Yea, I am past my mid fiftys and only know about SICK because of the grandkids! It IS great!


Butch
 
how safe do you think this will be with Bikes on it? I know the bed rails that another member sells, bolts into areas of the truck, for a nice strong connection, where it looks like the bed covers are what hold all the stress. I see you used a Cargo carrier on it, so you did not have any wind resitance putting stress on it. Thanks.
 
I think that TXAvy makes the rack you referred to that bolts on to the Av. And you are probably right that his is stronger. But if you had a chance to yank on this Thule rack I think you'd be impressed with how strong the assembly feels.

So maybe I should have written a disclaimer saying something to the effect that this Thule conversion is to be used at your own risk, but I'd haul bikes on mine if I didn't already have a receiver mounted bike rack.

There are a few reasons why I did this Thule conversion instead of TXAvy's rack:
1. I already owned a bunch of Thule stuff, and a friend donated a set of the 400 feet.
2. When you remove the Thule rack there is nothing left. When you remove TXAvy's rack there are 4 upright rack mounts. My kids walk on the bed covers (You kids don't come down until the roof is nice and clean!!) and TXAvy's uprights are something to step on or trip over. Here's a link to a thread with pics of TXAvy's rack uprights: http://www.chevyavalanchefanclub.com/cafcna/index.php?board=16;action=display;threadid=5882;start=60
3. With the Thule rack, and also the Yakima rack, you can reposition the bars fore and aft. TXAvy's bars are fixed.

So I chose the Thule solution. Hope this helps some.
 
Steven1955, thanks for information. :B: That does help as I need something for my bikes and like more then one option (2 now, hitch and Txavy's), but I dont like the hitch one as when I get a camper, then wheres the bikes go? Anyway thanks for the information, how much $$ would that setup run?

 
You asked for prices. I just checked www.rackattack.com to get a quick price. I do not endorse them, I just used them for pricing.

1. 400XT feet $116
2. 157 fit kit $45
3. LB 50 bars $45
4. 544 (4 locks) $36
TOTAL $242

All of the rack options have their plusses and minuses. For me, starting with pre-existing Thule hardware the choice was obvious, although it took a lot of legwork to find the parts that worked right. Yakima has off the shelf parts that work. TXAvy's rack is probably the strongest, and can be used with the bed covers off.
 
i like this (y)
 
Just did this to my '13. Used Aero 400xt Footpacks and 157 Fit kit w/50" square bars. Bent the Fit Kit as instructed. Only other thing I may do is use some skateboard grip tape on the underside of the tonneau covers where the fit kit mounts; just some added confidence that it won't slide. Otherwise, this is great!

So happy I found this custom work around for the old Thule equipment I am familiar with.
 
Last edited:
Just did this to my '13. Used Aero 400xt Footpacks and 157 Fit kit w/50' square bars. Bent the Fit Kit as instructed. Only think I may do is use some skateboard grip tape on the underside of the cover where the fit kit mounts; just some added confidence that it won't slide. Otherwise, this is great!

So happy I found this custom work around for the old Thule equipment I am familiar with.
Thanks crowncitycorey, these contributions help others with similar model years!! Steven1955 had/has a killer setup!
 
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