X - Roof Rack Cross Bars

[LarryQW]

The dealer tried out the Landing Pad 4 (before Yakima withdrew it's recommendation) and found it had an issue in that the Landing Pad barely covered the slot. As such, the screw could tilt and one side of the pad could slide over and fall into the slot, allowing the pad to loosen.

He McGuyver'd up a solution using two plates, an A and C plate. The larger plate was on the bottom of the rail and clamped the pad down. The thinner plate also went through the screw, but placed higher up in the slot to prevent the landing pad from moving sideways. The slot is not uniform and has a slight V shape, so if the smaller plate is put at the right point in height, the pad is locked in solid so it can't move sideways, making a secure mount. I'll try to get pictures if I can figure out how to attach them.

Larry,
this sounds great! I want to transport my 15ft kayak and need to install cross bars (do not have a hinch) and was surprised how difficult it is to find a solution. All the dealers I contacted said foam blocks would be the solution at the moment .... (because neither the Thule 450 Crossroads nor the Yakima Low Rider solution works for me)
If you could post some pictures and could be a bit more specific on the plates you use, I would highly appreciate!

OK, I got a picture and annotated it to show how the mount works. Here's what the Yakima Landing Pad 4 looks like when inserted into the groove of the Taurus X roof rails. Two plates are installed on the screw.




1. The larger lower Clamp Plate (Yakima C plate) on the bottom is what comes standard with Yakima's Landing Pad 4. This lower clamp plate can be inserted into the slot at an angle before the screw is inserted. Then the screw is threaded into the plate and tightened while holding the plate with a finger so it doesn't rotate until it's tight. The only problem is that with this lower clamping plate alone, the screw can tilt a little, or the lower clampling plate can slide a little to the side, and then one edge of the narrow landing pad can fall into the wide slot. Then the clamp becomes loose and can eventually unscrew and fall off.

2. The above instability issue is fixed by adding a second smaller Spacer Plate (Yakima A plate) on the screw. My dealer had extras of these smaller Yakima plates lying around. This smaller Spacer Plate needs to be screwed on first and a proper spacing or protrusion of the screw applied before also threading into the lower Clamp Plate under the rail. This smaller Spacer Plate, if positioned at the right height, will wedge tight into the tapered slot of the rail, and hold the screw firmly upright, and completely prevent the Landing Pad from sliding off to the side.

We were able to pound and pull hard on the side of the landing pad after this fix until the whole car shook, and the Landing Pads held very solid.

[BenS]

Larry,
thank you very much indeed! This is very helpful.

[cesta73]

Thank you for the update and photo. Very nicely executed solution. I surmise that there is not a wider type of landing pad and leading to your solution. I wonder if Thule has a similar, but larger type of tower.

[LarryQW]

Thank you for the update and photo. Very nicely executed solution. I surmise that there is not a wider type of landing pad and leading to your solution. I wonder if Thule has a similar, but larger type of tower.

That's right. Landing Pad 4 is the widest landing pad that Yakima offers for a slot type rail.

The slot opening on the Taurus X roof rail is the widest my installer says he's ever seen. I can believe it. For instance, I tried looking at my old Sable wagon cross bar, and also saw the mounting foot was way too thin to work in the wide slot of the Taurus X roof rail.

[Truckster]

I climbed up on the back buper to check things out, and discovered that I had been looking at this the wrong way. Nice to see someone else figured it out to.

[LarryQW]

I climbed up on the back buper to check things out, and discovered that I had been looking at this the wrong way. Nice to see someone else figured it out to.

Yes, that view was looking down the rail from the rear bumper.

Did you figure out another different solution?

[Truckster]

Looks like the best solution to date has been posted.

I just have to find a dealer with spare parts to make it work.

On another note, I have a set of bars and clamps for the Freestyle that are no good to me any more, and I need to sell them, then swap over to this new set up.

Any Freestyle owner that is interested should contact me.

[christhomas]

Taurus X Cross Bars Kit
For the raised rail roof rack of the 2008 Taurus X.

http://www.bigdaddyracks.com

Big Daddy Racks offers the 2008 & 2009 Taurus X Cross Bar Complete kit (2 aluminum cross bars and stainless steel hardware) for $299.

We have not put together a brochure as of yet, but we will work on it. I have attached a picture of the cross bar kit installed on the 2008 Taurus X.

We proudly offer an unconditional 'Perfect Fit' guarantee or we will issue a no hassle 100% refund of the kit. The cross bar kit is made out of solid aluminum round bar for superior corrosion resistance, all parts in the kit are either stainless steel or aluminum. Round bar design has superior strength over Thule and all the Yakima accessories will fit this cross bar kit. Comfortably load 300 lbs evenly on this rack system. Assembly take one person with one wrench less than 5 minutes to install.

If you want to order the 2008 Taurus X Cross Bar Kit, shipping is additional TBD. We accept, check, Visa, Mastercard, and Discover. The total would be $299 plus shipping for the complete set.

Thanks,

Chris
252-289-6434 Mobile

Big Daddy Racks, a division of Eye Catchers, Inc.
Toll Free 866-222-8243

[AK47]

Taurus X Cross bars for the raised rail roof rack of the 2008 Taurus X.

Eye Catchers offers the 2008 Taurus X Cross Bar Complete kit (2 aluminum cross bars and stainless steel hardware) for $245.

Eye Catchers Toll Free 866-222-8243

Call Chris Thomas 252-289-6434

Thats the best news so far me! I was honestly thinking about changing TX to other crossover only because of the cross bars. It is summer I needed them badly for fishing, camping , traveling with family so if there is no cross bars it defines the purpose of the family vehicle. Called Ford customer service about that and they said sorry, nothing is available
Thanks Chris a lot!

[tadpole]

Here's a variation - with a tip 'o the hat to Larry for the inspiration - I used some faucet washers instead of the "A" nut plate. A 3/8 L just about fills the slot, but the 3/8 M (or 3/8 R) would do. In fact, they might be better. I really need to be able to cock the landing pad a little more to make the towers drop right in. The hole through the washer is smaller than the 6 mm screw. You have to force it through or thread it on. I also needed longer screws. The Landing Pad #4 comes with 20 mm screws. I could have gotten by with 25 mm, but I opted for the 30 mm while at the store. I didn't want to go back, and I knew I could tolerate the extra length.

There are two more pictures on a subsequent post. You'll see a landing pad with the centering washers installed, ready to assemble to the rack. You'll also see a modification I made to the nut plate. I turned up a short lip to help keep the nut plate from rotating as I tightened it. Photo 4 shows the nut plates in place ready to receive the landing pad. They are sitting on some small pieces of foam cut from water pipe insulation tubes. Lastly, you'll see the assembly.

I wish Ace had some black washers instead of purple ones, but then they would show up in the photo.

[tadpole]

Here are the other two photos.

[LarryQW]

Here's a variation - with a tip 'o the hat to Larry for the inspiration - I used some faucet washers instead of the "A" nut plate. A 3/8 L just about fills the slot, but the 3/8 M (or 3/8 R) would do. In fact, they might be better. I really need to be able to cock the landing pad a little more to make the towers drop right in. The hole through the washer is smaller than the 6 mm screw. You have to force it through or thread it on. I also needed longer screws. The Landing Pad #4 comes with 20 mm screws. I could have gotten by with 25 mm, but I opted for the 30 mm while at the store. I didn't want to go back, and I knew I could tolerate the extra length.

There are two more pictures on a subsequent post. You'll see a landing pad with the centering washers installed, ready to assemble to the rack. You'll also see a modification I made to the nut plate. I turned up a short lip to help keep the nut plate from rotating as I tightened it. Photo 4 shows the nut plates in place ready to receive the landing pad. They are sitting on some small pieces of foam cut from water pipe insulation tubes. Lastly, you'll see the assembly.

I wish Ace had some black washers instead of purple ones, but then they would show up in the photo.

Nice fix!

This is a good technique if you don't have access to the Yakima A plates. I also like the way you bent the C plate. How'd you do that - Vise and Pliers?

The only thing that bothers me is the washers look to have a little bit of clearance still, rather than fit tight. Does the foot move when you press on it sideways, until the washer hits the edge? I'd think a slightly larger washer would work better if you could find one.

[tadpole]

First - I put the nut plate in a vise with about 1/8" exposed, and used a cold chisel and a 2-lb hammer, putting the edge of the chisel near the edge of the nut plate. It moved fairly easily. Then I just turned it over and, as the saying goes "hit it again!".

The washer is a little loose in the slot, but it doesn't seem to present a problem. The Landing Pad actually has deformed slightly into the slot, and I'm tempted to take it apart again and add a stainless fender washer the same width as the landing pad. But there is another issue I need to address. The rails on the T-X are not parallel - they are closer together at the back. The "knuckle" part of the control towers are parallel to each other, so I cannot get a really good fit. The Control tower will not drop easily into the landing pad. I latch one side, and the other is slightly "canted". It's probably fine - it is not too hard to latch and is secure when it is latched. But I like things to fit properly. So I'm considering changing to a slightly smaller washer, allowing me to "cock" the landing pad on the track, so the two front pads are parallel, and the two rear pads are parallel, even though they are not in line. My intent with the washer was to keep the landing pad from moving so far to one side or the other that the nut plate lost it's engagement. That would still be effective even with a slightly smaller washer.

[TBessuille]

We recently purchased a Taurus X and we were also looking for a solution for the X Bars. We have a Thule box and needed something. Thule recommended the Thule 450 Crossroad which is the base rack solution for cars with factory rack side rails. We installed this on the portion of the roof rack that is open. Although we were very skeptical at first, this solution from Thule is awesome! It is super easy to install and worked like a dream. Feet, Crossbars and locks was $340 plus tax.

[LarryQW]

We recently purchased a Taurus X and we were also looking for a solution for the X Bars. We have a Thule box and needed something. Thule recommended the Thule 450 Crossroad which is the base rack solution for cars with factory rack side rails. We installed this on the portion of the roof rack that is open. Although we were very skeptical at first, this solution from Thule is awesome! It is super easy to install and worked like a dream. Feet, Crossbars and locks was $340 plus tax.

Yakima also has a similar "Low Rider" solution for use on the front raised section of the rack for a similar price.

However, this solution only allows a maximum of 24" of cross bar spread, limited by the ~27" raised length of the rail in front. For some applications, this is not enough. Also, the cargo box sits far forward, whereas for mileage you want the cargo box back as much as possible.