To see if this custom-fit item will work for you please tell us what vehicle you'll use it with.
This Thule roof rack lets you carry cargo and gear on your vehicle. Aerodynamic crossbars with split rubber strips in top channels work with channel-mount and clamp-on accessories. Installs on your vehicle's naked roof.
Features:
Specs:
Alternate Instructions
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Videos are provided as a guide only. Refer to manufacturer installation instructions and specs for complete information.
Today on our 2016 Honda CRV, we're going to be doing a test fit on the Thule WingBar Evo podium roof rack system. I've already got it set up just to give you a good idea of what it looks like, but this system is specifically designed to mount to your flush-mounted rails on your roof. It is a fixed mounted system. This is going to allow you to carry roof-mounted accessories, things like bike racks, kayak carriers, cargo boxes and more. It features 53"-long crossbars. You can see here how they span across the entire roof.
So I mentioned that it's going to allow us to carry accessories, but it's going to allow us to carry multiple accessories, so maybe two or three bike racks, or maybe even two kayaks. We're going to be able to do that with this bar length.Now they're made out of aluminum, so we don't need to worry about any rust or corrosion. They're also available in either black or silver. So I've got the black installed. If the silver is something of interest to you, then see etrailer.com.
Now you can see that they're aerodynamic. These are going to be a lot quieter than your traditional round or square bars. This is a premium option. Those others are an entry-level option. This is going to work with your standard clamp-on accessories as well as your T-slot accessories.
That end cap can fold to the side, and that T-bolt just slides right down to the center to your desired location. There's no need to trim or remove that rubber strip, so it's going to give you a nice clean look.Now the crossbars are held in place by four Thule podium towers. These are also what attach to the fit kit, which is then attached to a fixed location on your flush-mounted rails. Now these are going to give you that clean look on the outside, but on the inside, as we take off the cover here, it's going to protect and hide all of the access to that. That way it can't be stolen, and the elements are not going to get in contact with it.
Now if you'd like to upgrade to a metal locking core, which takes out that plastic locking core, for more security, you have that option. You could pick up a lock for each tower right here at etrailer.com.Now the fit kit is rubber coated around that podium. That way it doesn't harm or scratch those flush-mounted rails. The bracket on the inside is also coated. That way it doesn't scratch the inside. But to get a closer look, you can see it has security bolts here. It needs a special tool to get them off. This is another security feature to prevent anyone from removing it from your flush-mounted rails.Now this roof rack system has a weight capacity of 220 pounds. That's a step up compared to some of the other systems out there. This one can carry a lot more. Some of the others out there offer 165 pound weight capacity. You do, however, want to check with your CRV's owner's manual to see if the roof can support that much weight.Now I'm going to give you some measurements. This is to give you an idea of how much you've added to the roof of your CRV, and it may help you when using those accessories. I'm going to take a measurement from the top of my roof to the underside of the bar, and it's about 3". From the roof to the top of the bar is about 4 1/4".Now that we've gone over the features, I'll go and show you how to get it set up. I've already got that front crossbar in place, mounted to my flush-mounted rails on my CRV. The rear one installs the same way. I've already got that fit kit installed on this side. Let's start by doing the other side together. So we'll need the fit kit parts. We've got the pad here, the bracket, the security tool, the two spacers, and the two security bolts. So up on top of the CRV here you can see our two mounting locations, here. Now they're covered up with a rubber grommet or cover. You can use a flathead screwdriver to pop those out. Now, you're welcome to throw these away. I'm going to put mine in my glove box. That way I can put them back in if I don't want my roof rack system installed.Now our bracket is going to go on first. It lines up with this direction. That way our top portion here is going to be on top. If you put it this way, it's going to be facing out; you need it facing up. Now from here, you need to install the bracket. This is what goes on first, so it needs to be pointing up directly on top of the flush-mounted rails. It is slightly slanted inward, but that's okay. That's what we want. If you turn it this way, it's going to be pointing away from the vehicle, and that's not what you want. So turn it around this way. Before you actually put it in place, we need to install the spacer in each one of the thread holes. Then we'll line it back up, take one of our security bolts, and start threading that through.Now what you want to do is just go ahead and tighten these up, hand-tight first, and then we'll take our tool and tighten it the rest of the way down. It's going to be this tool here. Now there's no reason to overtighten. Just get it nice and snug. It'd be good to give it a shake test. And then as far as our pad, it goes right over the top, and the two tabs here are going to be on the outside. It just sets in place and lines up with the holes.We'll need to install the podium on to our WingBar. I've got one side done, we just need to repeat the same process on the other side. The easiest way to do this is to turn the bar over. That way we can see the channel that we're working with right here. So let's go ahead and remove the end cap. You can just press in the little tab there. I actually like to fold it out here. That way I can use it to prop, but you don't want to do it too hard because you could damage it. Now the podium itself can be set up two different ways. You can see the rod here. We can turn it to where it's visible with the two thread holes. That's what we need to do. Right now, it's set up with the single hole right down the center.Now the way we set it up is we can pull out on it here, simply rotate it, and then push it back down. Then that's the way it needs to be. So then we'll just slide it on to the channel. We don't need to worry about setting it up to a specific location. We'll worry about that when we get it on our roof. From here we can put our end cap back on, and we're ready to set it in place. It's that simple.Now when you install the WingBar, you want to be sure that the larger rounded portion is facing forward, because that's the front. And the podiums are going to be installed just behind the inside of the bracket, so right here. The way it works is the two holes are lined up with the two holes here on the backside, and then we can put our hardware in place. We can then take our Allen bolts and start threading those through. You need to press all of this together in order to get it started. I'm going to take my included tool and push on the backside and just start turning it. Now we don't want to tighten it down all the way just yet. Just make sure and get it started, and we'll do that for both sides.We've got it loosely installed. That way we can make sure we have the same bar overhang on each side. So that's the distance from the podium here to the outside of the bar. We don't really have a whole lot to work with anyway, but just even it up; that way cosmetically it looks good. You're welcome to use a tape measure for this, or whatever you'd like, but once it is where you want it, just tighten it down. And by tightening all of this, it's going to tighten the podium to the fit kit, and it's going to draw down that WingBar on top. So it's just two bolts per podium. Once everything's tightened down, give it a good shake. Make sure you hit all the bolts. All we got to do is put on our covers . you can either use your fingers or a flathead screwdriver . and lock it in place. Once everything is assembled and installed correctly, we're ready to load up our favorite roof-mounted accessory or accessories and hit the road.But that's going to complete our test fit of the Thule WingBar Evo podium roof rack system on our 2016 Honda CRV.
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