Hello all, I've done a bunch of searches and viewing of the forums but have yet to find what I'm looking for. Can someone who has a roof rack with a ski rack post their thoughts and opinions along with any picture they have?

I found a bunch of posts, but they were mainly about bike racks or baskets and only a fraction had pictures.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

i have the button down 4 and 6. i have yet to put them on the e, though, and don't know if i will, since my skis will fit underneath the rear seats from the tail. but on my old car, they worked great. the only problem on the e will be getting high enough to load them (i'll probably only use them if i have four people). i suspect it will be possible to load them by standing on the door sill.

Yakima and Thule web sites (and retailers like REI) have plenty of pictures of their ski holders. Is there some Element specific issue that you are wondering about? I imagine Element owners have tried only a fraction of the possible combinations of roof rack and ski holders. Yakima accessories can be mounted on Honda and Thule bars, Thule on Yakima bars, etc. There are third party ski racks that can fit on Yakima or Thule bars. Ski's can be carried inside roof boxes for more protection, or hung on trailer hitch receivers for greater accessibility.

paulj

... Yakima accessories can be mounted on Honda and Thule bars, Thule on Yakima bars, etc. There are third party ski racks that can fit on Yakima or Thule bars. Ski's can be carried inside roof boxes for more protection, or hung on trailer hitch receivers for greater accessibility.


We will be mounting our Yakima rack and Karrite (Thule) roof box on our E as soon as we get it (2 more weeks!) I much prefer the boxes because, as paulj said, they give more protection from the weather and hide your gear from prying eyes and hands. Also if you have both skiers and snowboarders in your party it is much easier to get all the gear in a box rather than have board and ski specific racks. I have put a thin rubber mat in the bottom of ours to cut down on vibration and noise and also installed straps to tie things down inside the box for rough roads.

Our local resort is hoping to open in late November - I can hardly wait!

http://www.jessekelber.com/pics/whistler/images/Whistler%20002.jpg

If you have any specific questions...let 'em rip!

jesse

I am interested in putting a Yakima rack on my 04 E - specifically Yakima towers/landing pads/58" bars. Of the Yakima towers, which works best? :-? I've looked through some of the threads regarding racks on E's but did not see any specific names or part numbers per se. I will load a canoe and a cargo box onto this rack.

There is only one Yakima model that is designed to work on the Element - the Control Tower. You screw an Element specific 'landing pad' to the same mounting points on the roof than the Honda rack uses. The tower attaches easily to this pad. The Yakima web site can guide you to the appropriate parts.

paulj

I am interested in putting a Yakima rack on my 04 E - specifically Yakima towers/landing pads/58" bars. Of the Yakima towers, which works best? :-? I've looked through some of the threads regarding racks on E's but did not see any specific names or part numbers per se. I will load a canoe and a cargo box onto this rack.
You'll need Landing Pad 9s, Control towers, and 58" bars. If you get a fairing, get the 44" one not the 38" that yakima recommends. It looks much better.

Wow, the Yakima site was no muss, no fuss. It appears very easy to put on, etc. Went to another e site to do some price comparison - found ORS Racks Direct which sells them for a few pennies less. The roof rack makes the E have alot better "curb appeal" if not increased functionality (if that's possible).
Receiver hitch just arrived so its going on first.

Thanks for the help!

Hope this helps.

This Yakima install took all of 20 minutes.

Landing Pad #9s ($48 from Great Outdoor Provision Company) and regular Control Towers w/ cores ($77 on eBay). I opted for the 58inch poles ($44 from eBay) and now I'm looking for the 40plus inch fairing. The sexy black plastic covers come with the Landing Pads and fit perfectly over the holes for the factory rack.

I was surprised how little road noise I picked up when compared to my 4Runner.

The entire rig will support a canoe and two bikes as well as my 10'9'' Allison longboard for surfing.

Hi,

I am thinking (hard) about buying an Element. The only thing that
concerns me is the rack...or shall I say how close the rack
crossbars are to one another. Looking at an Element in a
parking lot, bars seem to be no more than 30 inches apart
(max). I like to carry long 'toys' on my vehicles like canoes,
kayaks, windsurfers. A 30 inch span is not a very stable
platform for long items like I described. What have been
the experience of others on this issue?

Thanks,

Steve

I have a yakima on mine and carry a canoe once in awhile. and will use a rocketbox next weekend to go skiing.

Wow ,...How big of a kayak do you have, I had mine up there the whole summer 12 feet long. Remember to tie down the front and rear, and you can travel with it and two bikes. Or strap on the Thule cargo box, and a kayak, or put on the Coleman Safari basket, and strap gear, bike and kayak to the roof. yakima bars are 58 inches long, and then 2foot 10 inch spread between the bars..

I too like to haul my Canoe alot. have always used Thule on my vehicles.
rackwarehouse.com has always been great btw. this new tracker II system looks neat, I'm getting one for my new E. I like keeping my load bars on the long side so I don't want to keep the rack on the vehicle when not using it. this new system looks like a snap to get it on and off now. Thule is now lifetime warranty on their stuff too. PS the canoe accessory for Thule is super, well worth the money.