'Twas the month of Christmas
and what should appear?
A Yakima Loadwarrior
To hold more of my gear.
Back when I was a
teenager, camping was what I could get into a backpack and carry
for myself. Now that I am older, married, and have started a
family, camping and off roading has now become an ordeal
reminiscent of the gulf war buildup. Tents, air mattresses,
sleeping bags for three, ice chests, kids toys, tools, spare parts,
and all the other niceties that make life away from home a little
more comfortable. My ever reliable '88 Nissan Pathfinder has served
me well in hauling all this to and from camp sites and off road
adventures, but now that we have one more family member on the way,
there is no way everything will fit now. A trailer is out, since I
do not have a place to keep it when it is not being used, and I
don't see a need, or the finances, to go to a bigger vehicle. The
solution is to load some stuff up top without looking like the
Griswolds family truckster from National Lampoon's Family
Vacation.
With an incredible selection of
carrying options, Yakima came through with a solution that is
versatile, expandable, and easy to install. Yakima has a mind
boggling product line that will allow you to carry bikes, canoes,
kayaks, skis, snowboards, and of course, gear. Some products hang
off the back, others to the roof, and if you drive a truck, some
mount right to the bed. No matter what you want to haul, or what
you drive, Yakima will most likely have some solution for you. I
went with a LoadWarrior gear basket and the optional extension,
bringing the dimensions from 44" X 39" to 62" X 39". Even the
basket has a number of options available including light bar
brackets, stretch nets, and a spare tire carrier. In 2001, Yakima
is adding the MegaWarrior basket at 52" X 48" and expandable to and
incredible 74" X 48". Also in 2001 will be locking brackets and a
weather resistant soft side cargo bag to help keep things dry up
top.
To mount the LoadWarrior, Yakima sent
their Q towers, Q20 clips, Q stretch kit, and 48" crossbars. The
stretch kit was required to mount the rack on my two door
Pathfinder since the rear tower could not be mounted to rear doors
that don't exist. Your equipment list will vary depending on what
you are driving. To find out what you need, you can either contact
the sales department at 1-888-925-0703, or try
www.yakima.com.
Once everything arrived, I
started to pre fit everything in my living room, as the weather
outside was frightful. Each component comes in its own box and has
its own unique instructions. It took a few minutes to get the
instructions in the right order, and to visualize how everything
was to fit together. First I was to use the instructions for the
Q20 clips to get the measurements for where the Towers get clamped
to the crossbars, and where the Towers get placed on the roof. Next
came the instructions for the Stretch kit, which had me reference
the Q Towers instructions to install the front Towers as normal,
then back to the Stretch Kit instructions for the rest. I was
amazed to find that the just about all the tools that are required
for the Q Towers were included. In fact, the only tool that I
needed to supply was a Philips head screwdriver for the eight
screws on the LoadWarrior and extension.
Front Q-Tower and Q20 clip
placed about 4"back from the
top of the windshield.
Front Q-Tower and Stretch Kit
clamp. The bar is stretching
between the front Tower, and
the rear Tower. The clamp holds
the bar down in the middle.
The clamp pressure from the
middle of the bar, holds the rear
Tower in place
Of course, the details of my installation, and
parts list, may not coincide with your application, but needless to
say, the Q Towers is a very easy way to get everything to mount up.
To start, the front set of Q Towers is straight forward, and I just
had to add the Q20 clips so the bracket could mount to the internal
raingutter of the front door. Next I had to remove the clamping
mechanism from the remaining two Q Towers and install them to the Q
Stretch Kit. This allows the front and rear Q Towers to be linked
together, and the clamp sits between the Towers. This allows for
two mounting points in both the left and right doors at about 12
inches apart, but the Q Towers are actually about 36 inches apart
along the roof. The LoadWarrior then just gets clamped on to the
crossbars. The mounts for the LoadWarrior even use a nice "T" bolt
allowing for the removal of the rack from the crossbar, without
having to completely undo all of the mounts. Just loosen the bolts
enough to turn the "T" bolt, and it comes apart without the worry
of losing parts.
Q Towers and crossbars installed from the front and
side.
T-bolts allow for removing the
LoadWarrior without completely
disassembling the mounts.
The construction quality is great and the fit of
all the components was first rate with no problems getting anything
to line up. Packaging was well done and none of the parts had any
shipment damage at all.
My rack measures in
at 62" x 39" x 6.5" and is rated at carrying 140 lbs of gear. The
diameter of the metal tubing is perfect for bungee cord and tie
down hooks. I have not yet been able to try the "sheet plywood"
test to get any 4' x 8' home from Lowe's, but with a few ratcheting
tie down straps, it should not be a problem.
When trying to decide on how to get you gear from point A to
point B, be sure to put one of the fine pruducts from Yakima on
your short list. With a dizzying product line selection, you should
be able to find something to work for you.
Yakima can be contacted on the web at
www.yakima.com
, 1-888-925-0703,
or:
Yakima Products
1385 8th Street
Arcata, CA 95521
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