Thule Mount Kit For Front Door of Odyssey
People who carry canoes and other longer items on an Ody are always concerned about the short length of the factory rack or the bar spread between the add on/"clip on" racks such as Thule or Yakima for non factory rack vans. Some folks use foam blocks to add stability towards the front of the vehicle, I was hoping to find a rack system that would work.
I have discovered that Thule does make a "fit kit" for their bars that allows one to install a bar over the front door of the Ody about 20" (505mm by their instructions) back from the top of the windshield. This uses the raingutter less clip on style bars that are the norm today. This system DOES NOT require any drilling. This kit adds several feet to the spread available for hauling a canoe or other long items on the Ody in combo the the factory racks. It should also somewhat increase the load carrying ability of the roof as it spreads the load out over a wider area
The problem is that this kit is only made only for the European market and is not generally available here in the states. Why, beats me!
However there is good news, if you are interested in this kit, I have found a place in the U.S. that can get it. That is Car Racks Direct. Believe me, I checked a number of places. They said it would only take about a week to get it in.
Here is their web address:
Car Racks Direct
Thule's fit kit number for this application is 1199. This comes with 4 adaptors. Two for over the front doors and two for over the slides. You use that fit kit in conjunction with a 750 foot pak.
You can buy just one pair of the foot paks from Car Racks Direct. You won't need the second pair of feet if you have the factory rack. You are "stuck" with the extra pair of 1199 fit kit feet.
I just ordered these items today. The fit kit was $38.00 and the half pak of the Foot Pak was $75.00. $113.00 total with free UPS shipping. I didn't order a bar as I already have a couple of extras. You can use either the square bar or Thule's cool looking Aero bar/Rapid system (another Europe only item I believe, but Car Racks Direct has them). I understand that some of Thule's Accessories won't fit the Aero bars, that is why they don't sell them here in wider distribution. I use a number of accessories with my racks (kayak stackers, velo vise bike mounts and canoe brackets, I really need a Peterbilt instead of a van!) so I will stick with the square bars.
Here is the address for info on this system. Please note that this is Thule's European site.
Click here to visit the Thule Site and see the installation info.
If you go to Thule's U.S. web site, you will not find any info on this system. They system on that site installs over the sliding doors for Ody's without factory racks.
The only problem I see is that if you install this bar on a van with factory racks, that the front bar will likely be lower than the rear. I assume that one could fit a piece of stiff foam on top of the bar to level it up, or just carry the canoe or whatever angled down a bit towards the front (as long as it does not block one's view). I don't plan on leaving this bar on my vehicle all year long, but rather only installing it when I want to carrry my canoe (or during those times that I am using it a good bit, ie: summer). As stated above, I have my other bars for carrying bikes, kayaks etc.
In any event, once I get these items in and (hopefully) installed, I will post again with info as to how they fit and work out.
Keeping my fingers crossed,
Denman