Thule Roof Rack 751/753 Foot or VW roof prep rails

Tym

Trumpton
T6 Pro
Really new here... posted this originally in ‘wheels and tyres’

hi guys, new on here so apologies if this has been covered already. I need a roof rack system for my t6 swb Kombi. As it’s black I want a black set plus some that aren’t too big. Thule do the new wing bar evo which is both slimline and black. All the websites default to using the 751 foot kit along with the 3149 fixing kit. However they do a 753 foot kit which is about 30mm smaller. I’ve seen on here that the 753 has been successfully used on a t6 but with the older wing bar. Does anyone know if the new ‘evo’ version will fit the 753 foot? Many Thanks
 
Do you already have the roof rails?
If you do look at the VW oem ones. Brilliant and silent too . About 100 quid fitted.
 
Cheers Danny... I’ll take a look. I’m still waiting to hear back from Thule. Now I’m thinking that I really don’t want to spoil the look of the van.. Maybe I should get some full length rails, and then some quick fit/release bars (Thule 757 feet) which I can put on when required. I won’t be using the rack constantly. My only concern is that the full length rails don’t seem to have load ratings, but then I’m only really ever carrying timber... this van is already becoming too precious for work!!
 
I know what you're saying pal.
The oem bars are very discreet though. Once my roof box is off later or tomorrow I'll send you a photo of mine. See what you think.
Have a look at @Fish van.....you would not believe how much timber, glue, stain and DeWalt he gets in his van/palace.
The way I see it is the vans are too expensive a hobby if they're not working and earning.
Mine carries me and the wife for weeks at a time around the UK and Europe touring then when working is pulling a tri-axle 18ft trailer through axle deep mud and shi* collecting waste.
 
Cheers for that Danny... only got it Thursday so still precious... it’s going to have to work tho.. I looked up the VW roof rails (£135 inc), so I think I will get those to start with, I know there are cheaper copies out there, but figure the VW ones will be the better quality. I’ll wait for your pic and either go with them or opt for the Thule 757 with their 1500 pro bars which can also take their slide in 314 load stops for easy loading of timber, which I will have to do from the side as mine came with a nice shiny rear spoiler attached.
 
Found this from ‘barnstomer’ in a previous thread:

I spent ages looking into this, largely because the VW cross bars sit too low to the roof for an inverted kayak to not rub the roof. The clamp system also isn't the strongest as the bars sit between the rails rather than on top which is desirable for load clearance.

I've historically used Thule bars on other vehicles but they don't actually have any certified for use with original VW T5/6 roof rails (same part). I had a conversation with their technical department having emailed a cross section profile of the roof rails but they still weren't very helpful and indeed didn't seem to know their product or the potential market with Transporter owners.

However, both Thule 757 and 775 feet kits will fit and will accept any of their bar systems. you'll need 150cm ones, the other options are all too short. The 150cm bar will oversail the rails slightly and could be cut down but will need some filing on the underside to accept the end caps securely.

I went for second hand 757 feet (older and often available cheap with chuck away bars on Gumtree!) and 150cm wing bars

Buy Thule 757 Railing Rapid System Foot Pack For Cars With Roof Rails Roof Bars at Tredz Bikes. £74.69 with free UK delivery

Buy Thule 963 Wing Bar 150 cm Roof Bars at Tredz Bikes. £76.49 with free UK delivery

775 feet are a more recent design, and use a tensioned rubber coated thin metal strap under the body of the foot. A recipe for metal fatigue I reckon if they are going to be on and off regularly rather than a 'fit & forget' solution:-

Buy Thule 775 Crossroad Railing Rapid System Foot Pack For Cars With Roof Rails at Tredz Bikes. £95.69 with free UK delivery

Both feet kits come with locks.

Unfortunately despite some retailers suggesting otherwise 150cm wing bars are only available in silver finish in the UK. I wanted black to match the rails and could have bought them in the US when I was there but for over US$200 a pair.

Tredz seem to be cheapest in UK, wait for the £5 discount pop up code to appear before ordering and order feet and bars separately to save £10!

Cheaper aftermarket T5/T6 vaguely aerofoil bar kits are available on Flea Bay, but I made that error before with cheap bars on my Golf and discovered the top channel wasn't wide enough to accept Thule bar accessory mounting bolts that slide in the channel. Burnt my fingers on the grinding wheel paring them down (bolts not fingers).

If you are fitting your own VW roof bars make sure you use sealant, not a factory fit spec though. The receiving nuts in the roof are in oversized holes and the foam rubber gaskets that are supplied with the bars are as useful as 6 chocolate fireguards at stopping rainwater in the gutter seeping into the inside of the roof. Plenty of gen on this issue elsewhere!
 
Hi guys, for future knowledge here is the answer back from Thule:

Thule Support (Thule)

Jan 21, 16:24 CET

Hello Tym

Good afternoon

I have received information from the Thule testing group, I can confirm it is safe to swop the Thule 751 for the Thule 753, however please be aware of the height difference, as the Thule 753 will bring the roof rails closer to the roof of your vehicle.

If we can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.


Kind regards


Craig
 
I use these from Van guard, ulti bars, Real easy put on and taken off, only four bolts. Comes with rubber foot pads and have never had and problems with water leaks. Bars sit nice and low to the roof and not much wind noise.
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I use these from Van guard, ulti bars, Real easy put on and taken off, only four bolts. Comes with rubber foot pads and have never had and problems with water leaks. Bars sit nice and low to the roof and not much wind noise.
View attachment 35680 View attachment 35681 View attachment 35682
Have you just the two bars with roller fitted? I put some on mine and i suspect ww kayak cockpit will rub on roof. Till now i have been throwing boat in back of van, but soon having seats fitted so must use rack.

Maybe moving one bar may solve issue.

From your picture it looks like rocker and profile of boat means you are OK.
 
That SOT fits on OK if you adjust the roof bars and let the rocker curve over the front window,, I would imagine you'd have no trouble fitting a ww kayak, again just move the bars to suit, there's a choice of four mounting points along the roof.
The roller bar is a bit useless as it can't come out over the edge of the tailgate because of the way it opens upward, so you still have a bit of lifting to do.
 
Hi guys, for future knowledge here is the answer back from Thule:

Thule Support (Thule)

Jan 21, 16:24 CET

Hello Tym

Good afternoon

I have received information from the Thule testing group, I can confirm it is safe to swop the Thule 751 for the Thule 753, however please be aware of the height difference, as the Thule 753 will bring the roof rails closer to the roof of your vehicle.

If we can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.


Kind regards


Craig
Thanks for the info as I have 753 foot pack already , so I ordered thule evo wing bars 135cm & adaptor kit 3149 ,
 
I use this exact set up for mine and have driven all over Europe with this and had no issues .
 
Hi, just about to install the same roof bars on mine after reading your posts (thanks!). The Thule fitting diagram indicates you need to squirt some silicone into the thread before screwing in the bolt. Did you do this? I'm concerned it will gunge up the thread and cause problems removing / reinstalling as I'd planned to only use them when heading to the beach?
 
It's just for water sealing, most people just keep the bars on, so its needed. If you plan on removing them constantly then I guess dont bother ?
 
I didn’t go down the route of using their fittings. I made my own from 6mm rod which you can get at screwfix.
I cut the rod to length, wound it into the van then used the rubber you get on the screws with a small washer the same size and a nut to seal.
You will definitely need to seal the hole up.

pictures added. That’s from when I had the long rails.. but same concept. Hasn’t leaked at all.

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80BBB945-BBA5-4B08-BD0C-7DC3FFECC3B9.jpeg
 
Excuse me hijacking this thread, but was looking for a Thule forum, and this seems both current, relevant to my need, and obviously clued up. But mine's not a T6, is a 1996 Honda Stepwagon - what? - Jap import, not sold in UK Honda Stepwgn - Wikipedia First Gen, white, nice black wheels and glass, good in my eyes, LPG and three big solar panels on the roof (as recently bought).

I have been trying to contact Thule, to Customer Services 01440 760000 which gives Covid excuse for not answering currently, send email instead i.e. Contact Form on Thule website, but no answer. This is what I wrote, and attached pic - wd be great if anyone here knows the answers:
"Just bought a 1998 Honda Stepwagon (Jap import, not sold in UK) with two rectangular section roof bars, not like your current range, pic attached.
Q1 The cylinders have 27 stamped on them. Is it poss to get replacement keys?
Q2 Is it poss to buy just one more roof bar, pref same type or equiv? Is it poss to get same key as the existing bars?"

Plus I have tech questions, because I want to put a supplementary LPG tank on the roof, which seems possible, with stringent safety measures, incl that the whole roof installation has to withstand 20g crash load fore and aft and 6g crosswise. Would be distributed over three roof bars, and by my calcs that doesn't sound too hard, but wd need engineering data from Thule.

Does anyone have any better ideas to contact Thule, perhaps direct to Sweden, which AFAIK has more relaxed Covid regs?P1000507.JPG
 
I contacted Thule and it took about 2 weeks for a reply.. at that point I’d already sorted the issue. Totally useless.
 
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