Many vehicles today are equipped with factory
installed roof rack "fix points." These pre-installed mounting points
make it much easier for "factory racks" to be installed on a vehicle's
roofline, providing a very stable mounting base with a sleek look. But
sometimes factory crossbars aren't long enough to hold all your gear.
Sometimes they can't take the weight of two kayaks at the same time.
And sometimes the price of the "factory rack option" for your vehicle
(if there even IS one) gives
you a case of sticker shock! For times like these, Thule designed the
new Podium Foot rack. Thule's Podium Foot racks allow you take full
advantage of your factory installed fixpoints, combining your vehicle's
sleek, solid roofline with the highly versatile, durable roof racks
you've come to expect from Thule.
The Thule 460c Complete Podium Fixpoint Foot Rack is the answer to attaching a sport rack to a vehicle which has pre-installed mounting points. The 460c Complete Rack includes 4 components: 4 of the 460 Podium Foot Pack Towers, 1 Pair of Thule Crossbars, 4 Crossbar End Caps, and Thule Podium Fit Kit. The height of the Thule 460 tower when mounted on your rooftop is about 4” to the top portion of the Thule crossbar. The Thule 460c sits on a rubber pad, which rests on the roof of your vehicle and is designed exclusively for use with the Thule Square Load Bars. When Thule's Podium Fit Kit attaches the Thule Podium Foot to you roofline it tightens the Load Bars to the Podium Feet at the same time. We always ship Thule's recommended load bar length unless otherwise specified. Lock cores (sold separately) are highly recommended.
The Thule 460rc Complete Rapid Podium Rapid Aero Foot Rack is the answer to attaching a sport rack to a vehicle which has pre-installed mounting points. The 460rc Complete Rack includes 4 components: 4 of the 460r Rapid Podium Foot Pack Towers, 1 Pair of Thule Aluminum Crossbars, 4 Rapid Crossbar End Caps, and a Thule Fit Kit for Podium Foot Packs. The height of the Thule 460r tower when mounted on your rooftop is about 4” to the top portion of the Thule crossbar. The Thule 460rc sits on a rubber pad, which rests on the roof of your vehicle and is designed exclusively for use with the Thule Aluminum Load Bars. When Thule's Podium Fit Kit attaches the Thule Rapid Podium Foot to you roofline it tightens the Load Bars to the Thule Rapid Podium Feet at the same time. Thule's Rapid Bars require very precise fits, so we always ship Thule's recommended bar length unless you specify otherwise. Lock cores (sold separately) are highly recommended for use with Thule's Rapid Podium Feet.
Installation
Instructions/Tips
Installing the Thule 460 and 460R Podium racks isn't
really that difficult of
an installation. The Thule
460 Podium Fixpoint Foot Pack is used with the Thule
rectangular bars. The Thule
460R Podium Rapid Aero Foot Pack is used with
the Thule aluminum oval shaped bars. The way Thule designed these racks
to be mounted is by using preexisting drilled installation points on
your vehicles roofline. This is Thule’s new style of mounting roof
racks to “newer” vehicles. Older vehicles do not have these
“pre-drilled Fixpoints” on their rooftops, although they’re a few
exceptions. When mounting the Thule 460 / 460R base rack to your
vehicle start off by sliding the towers onto the crossbars and install
the crossbar end caps. Installing the end caps will prevent the towers
from sliding off the crossbars. Not all vehicles with pre-drilled
fixpoints have the same style roofline, so Thule has designed multiple
Podium Fit Kits to allow their
460 / 460R Foot Packs to fit a variety of different vehicles.
You'll need to check
your Podium Fit Kit for specific installation
instructions for
your vehicle, but installation generally consists of threading 1
or 2 specialized bolts to each fix point, and then attaching mounting
plates to those bolts. Your unique Thule Podium Fit Kit will connect to
the 460
/ 460R foot with two M6 x 16mm hex bolts (included with foot pack).
Attach the Thule Podium Fit Kit to your vehicle loosely and center the
load bars. (If you're using Thule's "square" bars, you can have them
off-center. Just make sure to leave at least an inch of bar on the
outside of each foot for maximum stability.) The best way to make sure
your bars are centered is to
measure how much bar sticks out from the end of the foot and to slide
the bar over until those measurements are equal. Finally, tighten
the two M6 x 16mm hex bolts connecting the fit kit to each Podium Foot.
You should alternate between the two hex bolts on each tower every turn
or so. This will tighten the Podium Fit Kit to the foot and
simultaneously lock
the crossbar in place. Take care to match the supplied rubber spacers,
mounting plates, etc. to the fix point specified in your Fit Kit
instructions, because many vehicles require different parts for the
front and rear bars (or even the left and right sides of the vehicle.)
Nearly all such parts are numbered, and those that aren't numbered are
well described (with pictures) in the instructions, so your
installation should be a breeze. The last step is to place the covers
over each foot, keeping them in place with either the included
non-locking plugs or Thule Lock Cores. We do recommend the use of Lock
Cores with Thule's Podium Feet, as we have found the non-locking plugs
hold the Podium Foot Covers in place poorly on some vehicles. Plus,
installing Thule Lock Cores in your roof rack is an easy way to
safeguard your investment. Test
The Installation
Push up on the end of bar to test the
installation. Also, grab the bar near the towers and pull back
and forth. If the tower or crossbar slides, check tower for
tightness and re-tighten.The Thule 460c Complete Podium Fixpoint Foot Rack is the answer to attaching a sport rack to a vehicle which has pre-installed mounting points. The 460c Complete Rack includes 4 components: 4 of the 460 Podium Foot Pack Towers, 1 Pair of Thule Crossbars, 4 Crossbar End Caps, and Thule Podium Fit Kit. The height of the Thule 460 tower when mounted on your rooftop is about 4” to the top portion of the Thule crossbar. The Thule 460c sits on a rubber pad, which rests on the roof of your vehicle and is designed exclusively for use with the Thule Square Load Bars. When Thule's Podium Fit Kit attaches the Thule Podium Foot to you roofline it tightens the Load Bars to the Podium Feet at the same time. We always ship Thule's recommended load bar length unless otherwise specified. Lock cores (sold separately) are highly recommended.
The Thule 460rc Complete Rapid Podium Rapid Aero Foot Rack is the answer to attaching a sport rack to a vehicle which has pre-installed mounting points. The 460rc Complete Rack includes 4 components: 4 of the 460r Rapid Podium Foot Pack Towers, 1 Pair of Thule Aluminum Crossbars, 4 Rapid Crossbar End Caps, and a Thule Fit Kit for Podium Foot Packs. The height of the Thule 460r tower when mounted on your rooftop is about 4” to the top portion of the Thule crossbar. The Thule 460rc sits on a rubber pad, which rests on the roof of your vehicle and is designed exclusively for use with the Thule Aluminum Load Bars. When Thule's Podium Fit Kit attaches the Thule Rapid Podium Foot to you roofline it tightens the Load Bars to the Thule Rapid Podium Feet at the same time. Thule's Rapid Bars require very precise fits, so we always ship Thule's recommended bar length unless you specify otherwise. Lock cores (sold separately) are highly recommended for use with Thule's Rapid Podium Feet.
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