Thule Base Racks Demystified: Part 1

So, that kayak has been sitting in the corner of your apartment long enough to develop a quarter-inch patina of dust, and the only mountain your bicycle has seen is the mountainous stack of Bicycling magazines next to your armchair.

You’ve been putting it off and putting it off, but the time has come to act: you need a roof rack to get your gear down to the lake and off to the trailhead. Admitting that your vehicle has a cargo-carrying problem is the easy part, though. Figuring out what you need to overcome the shortcomings is trickier. To help demystify picking out the right roof rack for your ride, here’s a brief explanation of the differences between the Thule roof rack systems.

Thule Base Rack: The Foundation

The words “roof rack” have a lot of different definitions. Some people call their actual cargo carriers “roof racks,” and others say that the crossbars or side rails are “roof racks.” For the sake of clarity, we’re going to chuck the term “roof rack” out the window and use a more descriptive phrase instead: base racks.

So, what exactly is a base rack? That’s easy enough: a base rack is the foundation upon which all carriers mount. In other words, it’s the crossbars that span the width of your roof and the hardware that holds the crossbars in place, called “feet”.

Crossbars are pretty universal, so you just have to pick the right length for your auto (longer crossbars for Expeditions, shorter crossbars for Mini Coopers). Picking the right feet, though, is where the brain work comes in because there are different feet for different roof types. The one thing that all the feet have in common is that they all work with Thule’s One-Key Lock Cylinders, which come in packs of two (Thule 512), four (Thule 544), eight (Thule 588) or ten (Thule 510).

Before running through the different roof types and the feet that love them, here’s a quick word about crossbars. Thule makes two different types of crossbars: the oval-shaped Rapid Load Bars and the square-shaped Square Load Bars. Rapid Load Bars are the premium option, boasting a sleeker look, improved aerodynamics, and T-slots for easy mounting of select Thule carriers. Square Load Bars are the classic choice, and they cost less. You’ll need to decide which style of crossbar you want before you pick feet because feet designed to hold Square Load Bars, like Thule LB65 65″ bars, won’t work with Rapid Load Bars, and vice versa.

Bare-naked Roofs

If you’re roof is as bald as Yule Brenner, Thule still has lots of options available.

Rapid Load Bar Feet: The Rapid Traverse (Thule 480R) is the latest and greatest option, promising a stronger hold, safer fit and an easy installation. If you’re looking for a more low-profile look and your vehicle has fixed-point rack attachment location or flush mount side rails, go with the Rapid Podium (Thule 460R). And, if your roof is totally bare and you don’t have rain gutters on the side, the Rapid Aero (Thule 400XTR) is the choice for you.

Square Bar Feet: The latest and greatest square bar foot system for nude roofs is the Traverse Foot Pack (Thule 480). Like the Rapid Traverse, this system delivers a tighter fit than other feet and is easier to install. For a low-profile fit on vehicles with fixed-point rack attachment locations or flush mount side rails, pick up the Podium Foot Pack (Thule 460). Or, if your roof is completely bare and you don’t have rain gutters, the Aero Foot Pack (Thule 400XT) is the way to go.

Keep an eye out for Part 2 of this guide to learn about base rack systems for other roof types.