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Yeah, I guess I'm pretty sure we'll go rooftop now.
Garage ceiling height is absolutely no issue for me, but I'm dealing with one of those 7' door openings so that's a concern.
So which of these combo's fit under the 7' doors?
@Dogpilot - you have the Thule crossbars and the Yakima Fat Cat and that combo works with 7' doors right? (ahhh but I see you wrote this "I ended up making different feet adaptors for the crossbar feet to lower it and custom mounting blocks for the Yakima, again to lower it." - how hard was the fabrication? Just cutting stuff not welding?)
@gschmitt - you have the OEM crossbars, with the Fat Cat and smart T-slot set-up. Do you happen to have 7' doors? I was actually leaning towards the OEM bars because I like using OEM parts, but I guess it's not particularly important. If you don't have a 7" garage could I impose on you to measure the height of the top of the Fat Cat above the top of the roof rail? We've got 8" to play with
Below is a picture of the FatCat 6 attached to the OEM Cross Bars with the SmarT-Slot Kit 2.
The top of the FatCat 6 is approximately 7 11/16" from the roof of the defender.
The distance from the top of the OEM Cross-Bars to the top of the FatCat 6 is approximately 3 3/4".
Below is a picture of the FatCat 6 attached to the OEM Cross Bars with the SmarT-Slot Kit 2.
The top of the FatCat 6 is approximately 7 11/16" from the roof of the defender.
The distance from the top of the OEM Cross-Bars to the top of the FatCat 6 is approximately 3 3/4".
WOOT WOOT - THANK YOU SO MUCH!
We measured 8" of clearance from the tops of the rails themselves - that means we have the height of the rails as cushion and the OEM crossbars with Fat Cat (w/ T-slot) will fit at normal ride height for us!!!
I really appreciate all the replies to this thread. They all helped us make a better decision than we were going to before the advice.
Cheers for an awesome Christmas, New Years etc. to all!
OEM crossbars, Yakima FatCat6 and SmarT-slot kit all ordered. All from different retailers
Tried to get the OEM crossbars at my dealer - idiots took the order then handed me an invoice for $520 (before tax). I was like "Uh, the MSRP is $399" and they were like "and?". So now I have to drive to Paramus Land Rover who sold it to me online for $377 but they won't ship it. I could have gotten it from the UK cheaper than my idiot dealer.
REI took my order for the Yakima - but then canceled the slit kit as "out of stock" - annoying but fine, at least they're shipping me the Fat Cat.
So I had to go to a third party to get the slot kit and pay $5 shipping.
Ok, coulda been worse. Will report back in a week or so when the deed is done.
OEM crossbars, Yakima FatCat6 and SmarT-slot kit all ordered. All from different retailers
Tried to get the OEM crossbars at my dealer - idiots took the order then handed me an invoice for $520 (before tax). I was like "Uh, the MSRP is $399" and they were like "and?". So now I have to drive to Paramus Land Rover who sold it to me online for $377 but they won't ship it. I could have gotten it from the UK cheaper than my idiot dealer.
REI took my order for the Yakima - but then canceled the slit kit as "out of stock" - annoying but fine, at least they're shipping me the Fat Cat.
So I had to go to a third party to get the slot kit and pay $5 shipping.
Ok, coulda been worse. Will report back in a week or so when the deed is done.
I did order new cover strips for the OEM cross bars from Thule, to replace the modified OEM ones, after I take off the FatCat for the season. The instructions from the OEM Ski Carries say to cut the strips to fit the spacing of the carrier. I wanted to have full coverage for when the FatCat is off to keep the wind noise down.
I did order new cover strips for the OEM cross bars from Thule, to replace the modified OEM ones, after I take off the FatCat for the season. The instructions from the OEM Ski Carries say to cut the strips to fit the spacing of the carrier. I wanted to have full coverage for when the FatCat is off to keep the wind noise down.
Copy that - I'll add that to the list if I keep the crossbars on - I was thinking I would pull/install them seasonally, but perhaps that's not necessary.
You probably would want to pull them at the end of the season. I find they make slightly more noise than the Expedition Rack, go figure. Of course, I should try a couple of different positions for experimental purposes. The Thule filler strips are available in longer lengths off Amazon, but without the little wedges molded in. One day, when my brain is functioning, I should use the Apple Watch's decibel meter to measure the different installations noise level. I always think of it, after I take said item off. There is also different frequencies of nose bother you more. You can turn me into a bigger gibbering idiot by playing frequency 1280. Three years with a giant 16' prop going by my head 2' away. BTW, you can put the cut filler strips back in place as well. They seem to work just fine, even in sections.
That's one of the benefits of going with the straight Thule bars/feet vs. OEM. You can get the newer bars with the split filler strips that don't need to be removed or cut. I just slide the ski rack into the slot and the filler strip stays put. Also, the Thule setup gives you bar overhangs beyond the feet, which I've found critical for fitting some gear that was too wide.
First day of the season here today.
Compared to crossbars, the rack is handy as you can carry other stuff too.
Shovel and Trax.
Both are especially useful when someone decides to (unsuccessfully) plough their own parking spot in 2+' of snow and gets high centered.
Personally, I have way too many things for the top of the car, Expedition Rack, Front Runner Slimline II Rack and the Thule Crossbar system. I, personally, dislike any of the racks on the roof in the winter. I find it challenging to get the snow off them and from under them. If we let the whistling wind as we drive do it here, we get ticketed. So I pull them off and substitute the crossbars, which were, by comparison, dirt cheap and easy to get the snow off the top of the car. Besides, I only run the racks when I need them, they waste gas.
Personally, I have way too many things for the top of the car, Expedition Rack, Front Runner Slimline II Rack and the Thule Crossbar system. I, personally, dislike any of the racks on the roof in the winter. I find it challenging to get the snow off them and from under them. If we let the whistling wind as we drive do it here, we get ticketed. So I pull them off and substitute the crossbars, which were, by comparison, dirt cheap and easy to get the snow off the top of the car. Besides, I only run the racks when I need them, they waste gas.
My garage lacks the space and hoist of your hangar so my rack stays on.
Clearing snow from it is a PITA but fortunately my scofflaw, half-assed efforts don't get ticketed here.
