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Old 05-11-2015, 05:51 PM   #1
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Yakima tracks on a SMB penthouse top

Greetings,

I would like to install some Yakima tracks/rails on my SMB top. It seems the easiest place to put them is towards the outside edges of the top that way it there would be easy access to the bolts under the top (between edge and canvas sides).

I am wondering if I place them at the edges, will this cause undo stress on the top? Would it help to place a support on the underside of the top and bolt it all together? Also, what type of nuts/fasteners have people used to avoid rubbing holes in the canvas?

Hopefully I am not repeating a previous thread, but I could not find anything about mounting tracks/rails. Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

Greg

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Old 05-11-2015, 06:24 PM   #2
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Re: Yakima tracks on a SMB penthouse top

See answer from John Kalmbach a couple of post down on this thread, The Thule and Yakima tracks should be the pretty much the same. I replaced original flat washer with a slightly larger fender washer.

http://www.sportsmobileforum.com/vie...1&hilit=tracks


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Old 05-11-2015, 10:55 PM   #3
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Re: Yakima tracks on a SMB penthouse top

Acorn nuts, or I just hit any bit of bolt sticking past the nut with a grinder on my old SMB top, I also used washers which seemed sufficient. No undo stress placed that I know of.
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Old 05-11-2015, 11:05 PM   #4
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Re: Yakima tracks on a SMB penthouse top

I wanted Yakima tracks as well. Took my SMB to the local Rack and Road. They studied it for quite a while then finally decided they couldn't put the tracks outside the canvas. There was a wide enough space outside the canvas in the front, but not in the back. They could have moved the tracks forward, but I wanted to be able to put a Yakima bar across the very back in order to slide my 22' tandem sea kayak up without hitting the PH top. We ended up with gutter mounts. They work just fine but aren't adjustable.

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Old 05-12-2015, 07:54 AM   #5
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Re: Yakima tracks on a SMB penthouse top

This is true, you can't go all the way back (about 18" to 20" ) short of the back.

A couple of feet from the front


18 to 20 inches from rear of the EB Poptop


Fender washer and lock nut on bottom side
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Old 05-12-2015, 08:22 AM   #6
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Re: Yakima tracks on a SMB penthouse top

You could use the bolt-on gutter-mount brackets (e.g., Yakima Sideloader or Toploader) on the side of the PH all the way at the rear and put a fixed bar there, then do tracks on top of the PH toward the front so you'd have flexible spacing for the front bar(s). That would allow you to get a bar almost at the back of the PH for loading your boat.

There are a lot of other options out there for making it easier to load a boat from the rear. Have a look at this page: http://www.prolineracks.com/kayak-canoe ... racks.html

In the past I've used something like the Yakima "BoatLoader" (http://www.prolineracks.com/yakima-4018-boatloader.html), which extends out the front rack allowing for easy loading, assuming your vehicle isn't super-tall (might not work too well on a lifted SMB, for example).
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Old 05-17-2015, 09:05 AM   #7
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Re: Yakima tracks on a SMB penthouse top

I installed 60" Yakima tracks to my RB PH, and as already mentioned, I mounted them inboard of the canvas due to the rear of the PH being skinny. I used rubber sealing washers on the bottom side and butyl rubber around the fasteners before installing. They have been up there for over a year with no leaks.

You need to remove the headliner for inboard mounting, which also makes the canvas fall down.....a real PITA....
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