thule aeroblades and fit kit

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bromhead

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Hi,
I saw the previous thread regarding the fit kit:
http://www.landroverworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=22545&highlight=thule

In my case, the anchors seem to be to large. They are 1.31inches long, which is just slightly to big to fit into the rails (and yes, i am trying in the rail areas with the "gaps"). Has anyone experienced this issue? I am about to contact Thule.

Secondly, does anyone have experience with the aeroblades? They look fine and when they were on my previous rig, were fairly quite, but last October, nothing I cared about really fit well on them. The groove their new cargo box foot print was not wide enough to fit over the blade, so you had the box resting on the very small area on the sides, this just didn't seem that stable. For the ski racks, whether you bought an adapter for your old racks or a brand new one, the fit didn't look stock and quite out of place. It just doesn't seat well with the curvature of the blade.

Does anyone also notice these issues? Eventually, I am sure they will update their products to better fit the new blades, but its disappointing that they haven't done so already.
 

FitViking

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Hi,
I saw the previous thread regarding the fit kit:
http://www.landroverworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=22545&highlight=thule

In my case, the anchors seem to be to large. They are 1.31inches long, which is just slightly to big to fit into the rails (and yes, i am trying in the rail areas with the "gaps"). Has anyone experienced this issue? I am about to contact Thule.

Secondly, does anyone have experience with the aeroblades? They look fine and when they were on my previous rig, were fairly quite, but last October, nothing I cared about really fit well on them. The groove their new cargo box foot print was not wide enough to fit over the blade, so you had the box resting on the very small area on the sides, this just didn't seem that stable. For the ski racks, whether you bought an adapter for your old racks or a brand new one, the fit didn't look stock and quite out of place. It just doesn't seat well with the curvature of the blade.

Does anyone also notice these issues? Eventually, I am sure they will update their products to better fit the new blades, but its disappointing that they haven't done so already.


Chris,
I figured I would answer you here, instead of in an email - in case other folks had the same questions:

So..
Regarding the plates: Are you using the correct ones? If they have a "B" stamped on them - throw them away and use the other ones. They fit great.

Regarding the box fit: We test fit all of our accessories on the AeroBlade - the ones that fit we - approved, and the ones that didn't fit - well we didn't approve.

All of the boxes fit without issue... The hardware sits properly on the bar and fits around it nicely. If you're having a problem with it - send me some pictures and we can figure it out. It most likely just needs to be adjusted...

And that leads me to the big thing folks: Adjustment!
Because the AeroBlade is not flat, you need to adjust the mounting hardware so that it is centered over the track on the top. If you do this, everything will fall into place nicely...

:hello:
Yours,
Viking
 

bromhead

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here is a picture
 

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kdegLR4

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I was one part of the previous thread. I slide the rectangular anchors in the narrow way and they seat themselves on two corners when you tighten their hex screws.

I admit I'm still curious why the are not sized/shaped so as to "grab" on all four corners (by making them more square and dimensionally sized for the track channel) but have had no problems with secure attachment, including with a fairly heavy box on the bars through very rugged terrain in Montana last week. The Thule rep. who commented in the previous thread sent me a replacement kit after Rack Attack had changed out the anchors. He swears the the anchors are the proper size though it does seem counter-intuitive.

I pull the whole foot off when I don't need the rack as I don't like how the "protruding" feet look without the bars. When I re-install, I touch up the loctite on the hex screws as a slightly ****, better safe than sorry approach. Just be sure to mark the spot on the track where you had the feet/bars placed so you don't have to go through the rigamarole of loosening everything up and fine-tuning each install. Takes me about 5 minutes per bar to remove or re-install these days.
 

bromhead

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Thanks. So yes, this does seem pretty silly. So you flip it 90 degrees from my picture, and accept the fact that the anchor only really comes into contact with one side of the rail...as it's barely wider than the width of the rail in the first place.... Interesting that the instructions show that you install it in the manner that my picture would suggest, greatly increasing the amount of the anchor that comes into contact with the rail...why they wouldn't either slightly decrease the length or increase the width escapes me...

Do you have the aeroblades? Did you mount a thule box on top and notice what I mean about the grooves being too narrow (they fit the old style square bars and the discontinued aerobars just fine).
 

kdegLR4

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The anchor does make contact with both sides, albeit not over a huge surface area. As the hex bolt tightens, it turns the anchor until one corner makes contact with each side of the rail. You end up with 2 of the 4 corners making contact, the forward right and rear left on the right-side track and vice versa for the left track.

I would think that a square anchor that just fit the inside dimension of the track would make more sense (wouldn't rotate and would make contact on two full edges) but my degree is in anthropology not engineering, so what do I know?

As for the roof box, I have a Thule Ascent 1100. The "hook" feet seem to make a good, secure grab around the aerobat, but you're right, the do not fully surround the bar. I tried as hard as I could to shift it once I had it in place and clamped, but it wouldn't budge. Again, no issues with it loaded on my road trip and I had the vehicle leaning as close to the limit as I'm probably willing to go.
 

bromhead

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Thanks kdeglr4, I appreciate your help. Perhaps the guys at Thule should audit Anthro 101 because you make too much sense! :)
 

bromhead

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I was one part of the previous thread. I slide the rectangular anchors in the narrow way and they seat themselves on two corners when you tighten their hex screws.

I admit I'm still curious why the are not sized/shaped so as to "grab" on all four corners (by making them more square and dimensionally sized for the track channel) but have had no problems with secure attachment, including with a fairly heavy box on the bars through very rugged terrain in Montana last week. The Thule rep. who commented in the previous thread sent me a replacement kit after Rack Attack had changed out the anchors. He swears the the anchors are the proper size though it does seem counter-intuitive.

I pull the whole foot off when I don't need the rack as I don't like how the "protruding" feet look without the bars. When I re-install, I touch up the loctite on the hex screws as a slightly ****, better safe than sorry approach. Just be sure to mark the spot on the track where you had the feet/bars placed so you don't have to go through the rigamarole of loosening everything up and fine-tuning each install. Takes me about 5 minutes per bar to remove or re-install these days.

First, thanks to everyone for answering my questions. Especially Fit Viking, Thule customer service is very helpful, and quick. Fit Viking responded to my personal emails repeatedly after work hours. I really appreciate it. Thule has a well deserved reputation for great service. Sadly though, in my instant case, I am amazed at some of their equipment compromises/solutions.

1. As Kdeg, and Fit Viking have indicated, you do not install the anchors in the manner that the instructions describe. you rotate them 90 degrees. The width of the anchors is so small, you can slide in the anchor anywhere, you do not need to use the wider parts of the rail. By torqueing the screws, the anchor rotates and the two corners of the anchor lock onto the top of the rail. Yes, a very small portion of the anchor is locking to the rail. Apparently this solution is so that they can use the same anchor for another vehicle that shares this kit. While Thule advises me that this solution is adequate, I find it completely unacceptable that this jerry rigged solution is sold to us. Charge me a few dollars more and include an anchor that is optimized for my rails, rather than a jerry rigged solution. Just using the tips of the anchor to secure the bars? Thats funny, especially in light of previous threads pointing out the value of the Thule's vs Yakima due to the thule's having more metal in your base....this is a big compromise on thule's part, and one that could be solved by adding a simple extra set of anchors that actually fit our rails and can be installed as their directions illustrated.

2. The box (and ski mounts). The grooves on the footprint of your boxes are shorter than the width of your aeroblades. As a consequence, the box only rests of the tips of the footprint, instead of sliding into the grooves like your aerobars or square bars do. Again, as you stated, it works...i am sure it does, but again, its a compromise. Why not just make your grooves wider...like Yakima does...btw, their box fits better on your racks than yours does. The ski mounts have similar challenges...be it the adapter for older racks or your brand new racks. They really don't fit, and while they might eventually do the job, I expect better from thule.

When I buy a complete solution from a brand like Thule, I expect more than a jerry rigged solution that can do the job. Anchors that don't fit, but that can be torqued to "work", grooves that do not fit your boxes, etc. are not the way to continue to defend your well deserved brand reputation...

I will be going to REI today to check out the their solutions and if the rack kits are actually designed for our rails, I might make the switch.
 

BznLR4

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Thule 460R+3112 fit kit

+1 for "Thule should make a better plate".

Here's a pic showing the Thule plate as it properly sits (obviously without the Thule foot - as the foot would block the picture).

Nick at Thule is very responsive (both on this forum and by email), so Thule definitely gets kudos for customer service. However, I sure would like to see this design improved.

Meanwhile, it seems to fit securely. Nick tells that "several thousand" are in use and I haven't found any actual reports of them coming loose or failing. Thule is a pretty conservative company - if there was a real threat they would act quickly.

As a side note: I'm using Yakima Skybox. After several years of using the Skybox I would definitely recommend the Thule box for their better lock mechanism and better overall design.
 

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FitViking

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Trust me... It's as good as it gets..

+1 for "Thule should make a better plate".

Here's a pic showing the Thule plate as it properly sits (obviously without the Thule foot - as the foot would block the picture).

Nick at Thule is very responsive (both on this forum and by email), so Thule definitely gets kudos for customer service. However, I sure would like to see this design improved.

Meanwhile, it seems to fit securely. Nick tells that "several thousand" are in use and I haven't found any actual reports of them coming loose or failing. Thule is a pretty conservative company - if there was a real threat they would act quickly.

As a side note: I'm using Yakima Skybox. After several years of using the Skybox I would definitely recommend the Thule box for their better lock mechanism and better overall design.

I just want to take a minute to suppress your worries here - the plate in KIT 3112 to more than adequate in material and dimension, for the Land Rover (and Hummer) track.

Being a worldwide company, Thule's testing criteria is more demanding than any of our competitors' (some of whom can't even pass our bottom line of testing). This kit exceeds our test standards and the design of this plate can be found in other kits in the Thule line (using the proper dimensions for that particular application).

So, with that being said - I can see where perception is playing a role in your worry, but I assure you - once you actually install the whole rack on the vehicle, as instructed, you're going to be more than happy with the outcome.

I've yet to hear of anyone having an issue with this rack after it's been installed and is being used. But, as always - if you do have a problem - please let me know. Being that I am the one who designs these kits in North America - if anything ever comes up, I would be the person you wanted to get a hold of!! Hahaha.

Happy New Year everyone!

Nick LeFort
Product Fit Engineer
Thule North America

[email protected]
 

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