Has anyone here tried to mount a Thule cargo carrier to GFC beef rack?
Thank you.
I am curious if cargo box can be mounted on square cross bars like the beef rack with Thule’s Easy-Grip
Clamp styled mounting system.
Which cargo box do you have?
I was worried about that too. So I went with the yakima bars attachment for the round bars.
I think it is possible. I haven’t tried it on my beef rack bars yet but I have a friend with a van who has a similar type square crossbar mounted to a Yakima box. He got some hardware from Home Depot and had to drill some holes in the Box but it works fine. Biggest issue with beef rack bars is one of the things that I like about them. They are so low profile that is tough to get stuff underneath the bar.
According to Thule website it says it can fit on square bars but it didn’t specify the size. From the picture of the clamp online, it looks like it should be wide and long enough to grip the beef rack cross bars. Just want to make sure before I make the actual purchase.
It looks like that would probably work. I wonder if the low amount of clearance under the beef rack bar will be an issue. I was thinking about using something like this because they cost a lot less.
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Gary, just wondering if you ended up getting the Beef Bars and if they worked with the Thule carrier?
I did not get the beef bars, sorry I cannot answer your question.
My old Thule Cargo carrier works with the Beef Bars.
Don’t mean to revive an old thread but for anyone still looking into doing this, I have a few findings to share.
I just installed a set of beef bars and our Thule Force XT box. The Thule twist clamp jaws end up being a bit short for the height of the beef bar. They still allow for a secure movement-free attachment. But for added safety I think I’m going to drill a hole next to each clamp and using GFC’s t-stud, run a back-up fastener into the bar’s slot at all four clamp locations.
With the XL box installed, along with a pair of beef bars, the original struts seem to support the tent well in its opened position. I’m still questioning its ability maintain its open position in a direct high wind speed situation, time will tell there. Initiating the closure of the tent is easier due to the added weight on the roof, but this additional weight quickly works against you as you get the tent to the position where you start tucking in the excess material. You really need to put some effort in to hold the tent open just enough to finish tucking in all of the material. That is the only drawback.
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FWIW, I’ve run my Thule alpine box on beef bars for a couple winters now and haven’t had any issues…the mount is the same as yours and I’ve had high speed highway travel with it empty and loaded and it has held fine after several hundred miles of off road travel too.
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That’s great to know! Really appreciate the feedback! Knowing this, I may forgo the precautionary plan to bolt through the box base using a t-track stud.