LockNLoad SL Adapter for Yakima SkyLine, TimberLine and TrackTower Towers - Qty 2

Video Transcript for Review of the LockNLoad SL Adapter for Yakima SkyLine, TimberLine and TrackTower Towers

Hey there, it's Evangeline here at etrailer. Today we have the Yakima SL Adapters. These are gonna be adapters for your SkyLine Track Tower and TimberLine Towers. They allow you to carry (Evangeline taps) the LockNLoad platform on these towers. So we'll take a look at the pieces, but the most important thing is later in this video, I'll show you how I use them to get this whole setup installed. The SL adapters are very simple.

They consist of two plastic brackets (brackets clatter) to be used with your SkyLine and TimberLine towers. They also have these nut inserts and they have these brackets with the cutout. While they look pretty simple right over here, (brackets clatter) the way this works is this uses the other hardware that is included with your different towers, as well as with the LockNLoad platform, to get everything put together. These are available in different quantities, two, four, or even six. So depending on how many towers you have, that will determine how many of these adapter kits you are going to need.

If you are using this kit with a SkyLine or TimberLine tower, then you can go ahead and use the tools included with those towers. However, if you are using this with a track tower, you are gonna need to bring your own tools. You're going to need a 14 millimeter wrench, a crescent wrench like this, not a socket, and this is gonna hold that lock, or that nut, as you tighten down the bolts included with that kit. So just something to keep in mind if you don't have the tools already with you. If you use our fit guide here at etrailer.com, we're at the top of the page, you put in your year, make and model, then we offer full kits for you.

For example, our Jeep Wrangler here has a lot of parts involved. It has the LockNLoad platform, it has the different adapters, it has the different towers, it has the different rib cage struts. That can get pretty confusing, especially when you have to figure out for yourself how many of the, just small adapters do you need. So we try to make that a lot easier for you. So I highly recommend using our full fit guide page.

However, if you just need the adapter kit, that's what this video is for. So if you really need some help imagining how it all works together, I'll show you how I got this all installed on our Jeep. This is going to be the installation of the track towers with the SL adapters to the LockNLoad platform. The track towers are relatively new compared to the rest of the Yakima LockNLoad's items and accessories. So there wasn't that much information when I was putting everything together, especially since it gets confusing with different types of crossbar styles. So follow along with me. Your setup might look a little bit different, but the general idea will stay the same. Some of the parts are not gonna be included with your different kits. So what I brought to the table was a 14 millimeter wrench, a flathead screwdriver, (screwdriver clatters) and a four millimeter Allen key. If you have a Yakima roof rack Allen key, (Allen key taps) you can use that one too. First, set up your tower. What I use is a flathead screwdriver, but you can use anything flat like the side of a coin to turn that plastic lock and remove that end cap. You are then going to set up the channel bolt that will allow you to slide this tower through the track. So the first step is a channel bolt, which goes into the plastic plate, which will go up into the tower. And then you're gonna put this block on top and loosely secure everything with a nut. (tower taps) To attach the LockNLoad platform to the track towers, we're gonna use a combination of brackets and plates. So most of this comes from the SL adapter, although this bracket here comes from the LockNLoad kit. So the first thing we're gonna do is get our bolt and flat washer. This came with the SL adapter kit. We're gonna put this up underneath our track tower. Then we are going to put this bracket and then this block with a cutout, have the cutout facing the inside of the vehicle, and to secure it all, we have this nut insert. So this is gonna secure to the bolt that we had come up from underneath. Now in order to fully tighten this whole system down, you are going to need to use the tool included with your kit and then your 14 millimeter wrench, not included with your kit. So tighten this down (tool clatters) to four Newton-meters. And we have these slat clamps included with the LockNLoad, and they're gonna secure with two M6 x 16 bolts, also included with your LockNLoad. Now in order to tighten down those bolts, that's where that four millimeter Allen key comes in handy. (tool knocks) (tool cracks) When you have all four towers set up like that, you can now install them into your tracks. So the track's included with the rib cage system, it makes this a lot easier 'cause I just slide those channel bolts into the track and with all four towers in the track, the next thing I have to worry about is where to secure them. Depending on your vehicle, depending on your track system, depending on your platform your measurements are going to be different. So a good rule of thumb is you want your towers further out to support the platform. If they're all on the inside, you don't have enough distribution of weight. Another thing is are you installing a set of four towers or a set of six towers Then you'll be able to fit this around. So the slats are pretty forgiving when it comes to measurement. (tower scrapes) What I like to do is make sure I'm farther apart than 27 and a half inches. I'm currently setting mine to 36 inches. So I measure for the front towers, make sure they're in the same spot, and then when, after I tighten that down, I measure for the rear towers. (retracting tape clicks) So we're at 36 inches right here. (retracting tape clicks) I'm gonna check that the other side is the same and then we'll tighten down. Here we have our LockNLoad on our roof and the easiest way to get it on there is to have other people do it for you. So I had two of my friends here in the shop lift it onto our Jeep. Very simple process, especially since the towers were already mounted in place there. They just needed to lift it up and over and onto the slats. Now it's time to secure the LockNLoad platform to our pivot slats. You have our brackets and then we have our hardware. So you have three different options for installing this onto your pivot slats. You can either put the brackets both in front of the slats, you can put them in the middle, you can put them on the outside. The most important thing is that the brackets touch two slats and not just one. So place that channel nut into the channel. You're then gonna put the bracket on top and fit it into your LockNLoad platform slat (bracket clicks) like that, then you're gonna put your flat washer, and then a nut on top, and then you're going to secure it with a 13 millimeter wrench. (wrench winds) What I like to do is I like to go back and forth, just so I know it's all evenly distributed and I'm not pulling the platform to one side. With all the brackets tightened down, you're then going to just do some tidying up. If you forgot to put back your towers, now's the time to do so. If you are utilizing the Yakima Same Key System Lock Cores, which are a large pack of metal cores, now is also got time to switch them out so that everything is keyed alike. (Evangeline taps) With all that being said, that's gonna be it for your install of your LockNLoad platform with your SL adapters on your track towers.