Today, we have a 2012 Toyota Highlander and we're going to be test fitting a Thule Roof Rack System. We'll be using the 53-inch AeroBlade load bars, part number THARB53 as well as the Rapid Crossroad Foot Pack, part number TH450R. So we already have our load bars assembled and now we're ready to mount them up on top of the vehicle. Since this set is designed to work with vehicles with factory raised side rails, there are no set positioning measurements. We'll set the first bar up on top of our raised side rails. We need to make sure that the front bar is running perpendicular to our raised side rails, so in order to do this, we'll measure from a fixed point on our side rails to the leading edge of the crossroad foot on both sides of the vehicle and make sure it's the same measurement.
Once we've done that, we'll fit our rubber coated steel straps around the side rails and tighten them down with the included tool. We do also want to make sure that the load bar is overhanging evenly on both the driver and passenger's side and that the Aero indicator on our crossroad foot is pointed over the center of our factory raised side rail. With our front bar tightened down, we can move on to the rear. We'll take the second bar and set it up on top of our side rails. Again, we want to make sure that it's overhanging evenly on both the driver and passenger's side and that the Aeros are pointed towards the center of side rail, but we also need to make sure that the rear bar runs parallel with the front.
To do this, we'll measure from the center of the T-slot on the front bar to the center of the T-slot on the rear bar and measure this measurement is the same on both sides. Again, we dont need to use a specific measurement for this, but you might want to check with the owner's manuals of whatever accessories you'll be using to see if they specify our crossbar spread. With the second bar positioned, we'll tighten it down just like we did the front. And with that, our roof rack is installed and we're ready to start mounting up our accessories. That's it for our test fit of the Thule AeroBlade Roof Rack System with part numbers THARB53 and TH450R on a 2012 Toyota Highlander..
