Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
 


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 05-12-2009, 10:26 AM   #11
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Lake Tahoe, NV
Posts: 296
Re: Thule TB60 roof track placement

I think butyl can get thin and runny in heat. If the roof got hot enough could the buty ooze out?? oclv

oclv is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-12-2009, 10:49 AM   #12
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 351
Re: Thule TB60 roof track placement

I called SMB Austin about replacing the roof bolt seals as semi-routine maintenance (1995 model). They said the seals should be "lifetime." They were in pretty good shape and no leaks, so I just painted top with high reflectivity, high emissivity, energy-star rated, white elastomeric paint. Between the two, I expect it to last for another 15 years.

In my experience, butyl firms up after application and never gets runny. It really seems to be bullet proof.

Tom
__________________
Tom
Austin, Texas
1995 SMB E250
bluedog225 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-26-2009, 07:28 AM   #13
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 351
Re: Thule TB60 roof track placement

I've been up on the roof all day working out the holes for two sets of five foot tracks per side. they will run from front all the way to the back.

Interestingly, not only is the penthouse top wider in the middle, it is a couple of inches wider in the front (Although I can't see it when eyeballing it, I've measured several times and there is no way around this). Is the van top wider in the front? It doesn't look like it.

This translates into more area between the canvas side and the side of the penthouse in the front and almost none in the back.

So if I want to run the tracks parallel so you can slide them back and forth, I will need to get awfully close to the edge when I get to the back. So close that the track no longer sits entirely flat but hangs over for a fraction of its width.

I see no way to avoid this without having the penetration go inside the canvas.

Put another way, there is only about a thumbs width of flat fiberglass between the side of the canvas and the side of the penthouse top at the rear. The bolt has to go in the center of that thumbswidth space and the track has to go on top of that. This measurement (54 inches) is as wide as I can go in the rear and as narrow as I can go while still staying outside the canvas.

I'm pretty confident I can make a leakproof seal but I hate to cut 8-9 (each side) holes in my penthouse ceiling to give me access inside the tent.

I am rethinking the 10 foot track strategy and may go with 5 feet of track in the front and fixed feet that mount to the side of the fiberglass for the back but I was really looking forward to trying out different configurations and a full 10 foot slider would have made that much easier.

Did anyone else run into this? Or is mine not (1995) not similar to others?

Tom

PS-to get two tracks on top of one side of the penthouse, you have to cut one down by several inches.
__________________
Tom
Austin, Texas
1995 SMB E250
bluedog225 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-26-2009, 08:57 AM   #14
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 351
Re: Thule TB60 roof track placement

Update-I got lucky and drilled a hole that just misses the canvas. I wanted to get as close as possible. I plan to use small stainless washers (perhaps cut on one side and smoothed) with the flat side towards the canvas to give me a larger backing plate. (update-large flat fender washers slide up under the canvas and allow the hole to be right next to the canvas). Alternatively, I may get a thin strip of aluminum or stainless and run it the length of the penthouse along the side of the canvas and drill holes for the bolts (update-this still may be needed at the point where the two tracks meet, the holes are so close together that they prevent using two washers).

I think I will be able to get the track inboard just enough so it will lie flat and not overhang the edge.

Note-the supplied bolts are not long enough to penetrate the bottom of the shell. I had to go get longer. There is a wooden panel near the edge of my penthouse (sandwiched between the fiberglass).

Also, while I am installing a Thule system, I am using the Yakima tracks. I have been told (and verified (?) on the net) that they are the same extrusion.

When lining up the two 5 foot sections of track, I noticed that the holes at the end of each track did not line up. I got out the trusty micrometer and they are almost 4 millimeters offset (2 each?). As I'm writing this it just occurred to me that I should have turned the track around and checked if I would get better alignment...

Anyway, bottom line, the holes are not in the center of the tracks. Poor quality control for a company that sells itself as a high end roof rack manufacturer. Performance should be fine.

Also, I discovered that both of the T moldings holding up my interior ceiling panels had migrated (both to the drivers side). One poked a hole in the canvas.

I removed them and will either leave out (looks fine) or install shorter ones and tack them in place with glue.

For those interested, the construction of the penthouse is fiberglass, some wood sandwiched in), 2 layers of reflectix, and wall panel for the ceiling. That's it.

Any crinkling noises people hear when walking around is the reflectix. I wouldn't worry about it. Popping noises would be fiberglass cracking (unlikely) but I would walk on the areas with wood under them just to be safe.

More coffee.......
__________________
Tom
Austin, Texas
1995 SMB E250
bluedog225 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-15-2009, 10:13 PM   #15
Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 38
Re: Thule TB60 roof track placement

I think the screws aren't in the center for a reason, that way it staggers the load. Kinda like when you stagger screws in wood that way the wood doesn't split.
scoobasteeve is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-16-2009, 06:59 AM   #16
Senior Member
 
LenS's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 1,220
Re: Thule TB60 roof track placement

How about a few pics of the finished job. A picture IS worth a 1000 words.

Thanks
__________________
Len & Joanne

The Green TARDIS
LenS is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-22-2013, 06:24 AM   #17
Senior Member
 
86Scotty's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: TN
Posts: 10,222
Re: Thule TB60 roof track placement

Reviving a VERY old thread here, but can someone post a pic of this job done? I guess the only thing I'm not completely clear on is whether the screws are outside the PH canvas, inside it or right along it? I have read the whole post and see some conflicting info there.

Thanks

86Scotty is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-22-2013, 08:03 AM   #18
Junior Member
 
canoe4me's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Posts: 20
Re: Thule TB60 roof track placement



I can't get an interior photo without taking out the cardboard looking ceiling.

Hope this helps.

Keith
Attached Thumbnails
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1377180133.684961.jpg  
canoe4me is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-22-2013, 10:17 AM   #19
Senior Member
 
Scalf77's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Beaverton, OR
Posts: 2,490
Re: Thule TB60 roof track placement

Ok, Mine are outside of the penthouse fabric. This was a SMB west install, and I have it full length. (well almost, it does not go all the back). Note Originally sealed with silicon, I redid with butyl, I also added larger vendor washers underneath, original was standard size. They also did about every other hole. Hope these pictures help. Oh, and they are not parallel to each other, which is kind of a pain. So I would start in the back and move forward.

















Greg
__________________
-greg
__________________________________________________ ______________
"Goldilocks" 2020 Ford Transit High Roof Extended 3.5 EcoBoost AWD Homebuilt
Scalf77 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-22-2013, 03:05 PM   #20
Senior Member
 
86Scotty's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: TN
Posts: 10,222
Re: Thule TB60 roof track placement

Thanks guys, the pics are very helpful. I'm going to attempt the outside the canvas idea. I don't want any more holes on the inside.

Can someone verify that the Thule and Yakima tracks are the same? I've read this a few places and just want to be sure. I have Yakima towers on Yakima Tracks on my other van, but want to be able to shop for the cheapest ones shipped if they are the same.

Thanks again

86Scotty is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off

» Sportsmobile Registry

#G0nz0

rumrunner73

PigPen

velo47
Add your Sportsmobile
» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3
Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Sportsmobile SIP or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 03:23 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.