Can Thule Podium Feet be Used for Roof Rack on 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee

Published 05/26/2020

Products Featured in This Question

Rhino-Rack Universal Load Assist - Crossbar Mount - Side Loading - 132 lbs

(123)

$199.99

Fit Kit for Thule Evo Clamp and Edge Clamp Roof Rack Feet - 5079

(474)

$159.95

Evo Clamp Feet for Thule Crossbars - Naked Roofs - Qty 4

(409)

$264.95

Thule WingBar Evo Crossbars - Aluminum - Silver - 53" Long - Qty 2

(1274)

$279.95

Thule WingBar Evo Crossbars - Aluminum - Black - 53" Long - Qty 2

(1274)

$279.95

Thule Hull-A-Port Aero Kayak Roof Rack w/ Tie-Downs - J-Style - Folding - Channel Mount

(31)

$379.95

Thule Compass Kayak Roof Rack w/ Tie-Downs - J-Style - Folding - Clamp On

(60)

$349.95

Question:

Received the information, I was extremely impressed by the prompt and detailed response time. Due to the height of the Jeep and the fact that both my wife and myself are both under 6 foot tall, getting our kayaks on the racks might be a challenge. We are debating if we should rather attached racks to my wife's 2020 Mazda CX5. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

asked by: Richard

Expert Reply:

If your 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee has the black and chrome track, flush mounted rails that run front to back (see attached) then you will be able to reuse the Rapid Podium Feet # TH460R that you currently have with the Fit Kit # THKIT3142.

According to Thule though your 47" AeroBlade crossbars are too short and you'll need at least the 53" crossbars. These are now available as the WingBar Evo and we have them in Black # TH711420 as well as Silver # TH711400.

If you don't have the black and chrome track then let me know what you have and we can figure out what parts you'll need.

expert reply by: Jon G

click to enlarge

Richard

5/26/2020

Jon G.

5/26/2020

Thank you for the kind words! Making sure you have the right setup so that you enjoy your kayak trip is definitely key. We do have load assist options like the Rhino-Rack Universal Load Assist # RR-RUSL which will help make loading your kayaks on a taller vehicle easier, but if you don't like the thought of that then going kayak with your 2020 Mazda CX-5 is what I recommend going with. For that you can use one of the following Thule roof racks depending on what kind of roof you have: Naked Roof: 50" WingBar Evo - # TH711420 Evo Clamp Feet - # TH710501 Fit Kit - # TH145079 Flush Mount Rail: 53" WingBar Evo - # TH711420 Rapid Podium Feet - # TH460R Fit Kit - # THKIT3142 If you don't already have a kayak carrier then I recommend using 2 sets of the Thule Hull-A-Port # TH849000 because it installs directly into the T-Slots of the crossbars and by putting one set towards the ends of the crossbars it will make loading the kayaks much easier. The only other thing that would be easier than this is to use the Yakima Rack and Roll Trailer # Y08106 with the Thule Compass # TH890000 so that you can easily transport your kayaks with either vehicle, but this would also mean you need a towing setup on both vehicles for this to work out.