So, I'm going to drill some holes in my roof...

[colpumpkinnuts]

I just ordered some parts so I can install a Yakima roof rack on my 2008 Yaris hatchback. I'm planning to install Yakima Control Towers via the Landing Pad 7 bases. This will require me to drill 2 holes in the roof per tower. Then I'll install the blind fasteners that come with the bases so I can bolt them into the roof. My question is: How do I ensure that I don't drill into something important? I know there are antennae wires and wires for the dome lights running above the headliner. After looking at the repair manual for the car it looks like I'll be able to avoid those wire but I'd like to be sure about this. Has anybody pulled the headliner before?

[CTScott]

These should help:

35825

35826

[dingbat]

Perfect timing!

I'm thinking about getting the Thule TP54 that attaches through holes drilled in the roof.

CTScott,
Can you tell me if there is thicker metal just to the inside (toward center) of the channel with the black strip in it that would hold fasteners better? Particularly the expanding nuts that Thule uses if you are familiar with them. I see a part with trapazoidial tabs alond the sides in your photo but can't tell where it is in relation to that channel down the sides of the roof.

Thanks,
-Mark

colpumpkinnuts,

Why not one of the rail systems? Seems to me it would spread the load better on what seems like very thin metal and allow you to adjust the position of the cross bars. Also, if you want to remove the rack, you would just have some factory looking rails left behind.

Thule TP54 (http://www.thule.com/en/US/Products/BaseRacks/LoadAccessories/6270999.aspx)

Yakima 54" tracks (http://www.yakima.com/shop/racksystems/permanent-installation/tracks54-w-plusnuts)

[CTScott]

Under the black strips there is two layers of metal. The trapezoids are directly below the black strips and they are part of that strip that adds an extra layer to the outer edge of the roof.

By the way, for those with curtain airbags, they are mighty close to that area, so drilling there could be hazardous.

[dingbat]

CTScott,

You are the man!

Thank you,
-Mark

[birdman]

I think I'll get the removable rack with the extension kit, I have curtain airbags and I don't want to mess those up. Thanks again CT Scott,

[JonS]

Just finishing up my Yakima tracks. I got a schematic of the roof from the local dealer and scaled it up to get a pretty accurate idea of where the cross braces were. Anyway, the process is really easy and the finished appearance is awesome. I'll post a couple of pics when the last track is down.

[myt]

Under the black strips there is two layers of metal. The trapezoids are directly below the black strips and they are part of that strip that adds an extra layer to the outer edge of the roof.

By the way, for those with curtain airbags, they are mighty close to that area, so drilling there could be hazardous.

I'm gonna install the Thule tracks as well... so Scott if I go inside of the black strips I should be clear of the side curtain airbags correct?

Thanks,
MYT

[CTScott]

I'm gonna install the Thule tracks as well... so Scott if I go inside of the black strips I should be clear of the side curtain airbags correct?

Thanks,
MYT

I believe so, but if I had one with curtains, I would still peek up there before drilling to be absolutely sure.

Does your 07 actually have curtain airbags?

[myt]

Yep! It does... marked on all the side pillars. Is their a DIY where I can see how to remove my roofliner? I've never done it before...

MYT

[colpumpkinnuts]

Thanks for all of the replies and especially the pics. My car doesn't have side airbags so I don't need to worry about drilling into those. The reason I'm getting a rack is because I'll be purchasing a kayak in the next month or two and will need a way to transport it.

Dingbat- I called up Yakima and they suggested just using landing pads rather than tracks. They will be cheaper and easier to install as well. I don't see myself needing to move the mounts around as I don't think I'll be putting much stuff on the roof anyways. I'll only be putting the kayak up there. The rack can be removed leaving behind just the landing pads and the covers they come with.

MYT-If you download the service manual for your car from this site, it will show you how to take down you headliner. It looked pretty daunting to me, hence my original post. Maybe CTScott can give you some tips.

[JonS]

I think that page 59 of this link shows that the side curtain airbag wiring is not located in the roof:
http://www.etimago.com/yaris/repairmanual/EWD.pdf

[myt]

Thanks for the input fellas. Colpump. I want to install a rack for the same exact reason, I already have a kayak and hate having to depend on the wife to lend me the truck to get out on the water! LOL. I might take a look at the landing pads... I'm just trying to think how I can ensure that I get them even.

MYT

[JonS]

Finished up a couple of days ago. It's a super easy project...just be sure of your measuring. Measure the width of the roof for and aft, then center the tracks. I assembled the bars to the towers once I had the rear screws in, then used that rigid setup to keep everything true as I moved forward. I made some tie down brackets, too, to keep the bow and stern lines from rubbing against the paint. I'll post a shot with the kayak tomorrow.
Jon

[colpumpkinnuts]

JonS, those are great looking mounts. I used a piece of 1" nylon webbing I use for climbing to make a mount that attaches under the hood. When it's needed, just pull it out from under the hood and then I'll have a tie down point for the bow of the boat and I won't have to worry about scratching the paint. I just got the landing pads this weekend, got control towers off ebay and now I just need cross bars. I may end up just buying my own steel tubing and painting it. $70 for the Yakima parts is just ridiculous. Right now I'm in for $180 exactly for my rack. I ought to be able to keep the total price under $250.

myt, I'm probably going to put some masking tape on my roof so I can draw on it with a marker. Then I'm planning to carefully measure from different points on the roof. Then I'll check it again before I drill any holes.

As far as a boat goes, it looks as though I'll be picking up a Perception Essence 17 in September. A local kayak shop sells off their rental boats at the end of the year and I can get a good deal. It also leaves me plenty of time to get the roof rack sorted out. I'll try to get some pics posted when I do the install.

[JonS]

Wow, $180 so far is awesome. I couldn't wait so I got my stuff off RackAttack and think it cost me around $550 for everything. A local shop wanted $450 just to mount the tracks, so I don't feel too bad, since I saved all that money.

[colpumpkinnuts]

By just putting landing pads on the roof without a track, I'm saving about $150. I just won an ebay auction and I got some used cross bars for $57 shipped. So I'm at $237 total so far.

[JonS]

Well, I made the first trip to the bay today and didn't end up leaving the boat in the middle of an intersection, so I guess the rack works!!! Here she is loaded up. It's just a hair under 15 feet. Anyhooters, you'll be glad when yours is all set up and you're moving down the road, especially for how little it ended up costing you.

[colpumpkinnuts]

That's a nice looking boat! Did you notice any stability problems when you had it loaded on your car? Any issues with cross winds? I think I'm just going to put some foam blocks across the cross bars and add straps. Seems it would give the boat a lower profile and also reduce costs while still keeping the boat secure.

[jaimico]

That´s a good job, I´m planing on doing the same on my 2007 sedan, but in my case would be for bikes, I just do not like the way Yakima, or Thule sit on the roof with it´s towers.

I´ll be using Thule model similar to your system, but with aluminum bars, I´ll post it when I´m done.

[JonS]

I was pleasantly surprised that there were no stability problems at all. Granted, I only got up to about 40mph or so, but I don't anticipate any problems on the freeway as everything seems very stable. I think the foam blocks will work just fine, especially with bow and stern lines...they really snug things up. Do you have a plastic or fiberglass boat? If plastic (you probably already know this) it's really important to not get things too tight as the plastic will easily deform under tension. Anyway, I'm convinced that there is no reason whatsoever not to use the Yaris for kayaks.
Cheers,
Jon

[colpumpkinnuts]

I'll be buying a plastic boat and I'll be very careful to keep the tension at a reasonable level to avoid deformation.

[JonS]

Good fun. Be sure and post pics when you get the chance.

[dingbat]

I think that page 59 of this link shows that the side curtain airbag wiring is not located in the roof:
http://www.etimago.com/yaris/repairmanual/EWD.pdf

Page 60 however..... Looks to me like there are squibs in the roof toward the rear. It's on a sedan though.:iono:

Your rack looks awesome!:clap: What length tracks did you use? 54" or the shorter one? Did you drill for every hole in the track? How far from the rear of the roof where it meets the hatch did you start the track? How far in from the channel with the black strip did you place them?

[birdman]

I have side curtain air bags and would like the tracks too. Has anyone with side curtain air bags installed them?

[JonS]

Mine is an '09 and has side curtain airbags.

Dingbat: I'll get the measurements and post them this afternoon.

[JonS]

Okay, here are the measurements. Please use these numbers as food for thought only. Perhaps I just lucked out on missing the interior light wires, airbags, eject buttons, etc. Anyway, the end of the aluminum tracks are 10 inches from the rear of the roof panel. This measurement does not include the plastic end pieces, which obviously put them closer than that to the rear when they're installed. The rear of the tracks are approx. 1/4 of an inch in from the channel that takes the black roof trim. At the front, the tracks are approx. 2 1/8 inches in from the channel and about 10 1/8 inches back from the front of the roof panel.
As for the track screw holes, working from the rear, I used the end hole, skipped the second, used the third, skipped the fourth, used the fifth, skipped the sixth, used the seventh and eighth ones. This is how it seemed to work out as I scale up the schematic I got from Toyota that showed where the roof braces and wiring were. Using these holes and measurements, I did not hit any of the braces and the interior light still does its thing. I haven't hit the car with a hammer, so I'll just have to hope the side airbags are still good to go.

Hope this helps,
Jon

[dingbat]

Thanks a billion!
Just waiting for the rain to stop to put mine on now.

[JonS]

You'll be happy you went with tracks. Oh, on those measurements I gave...Those are from the roof channel to the edge of the tracks, not the screw hole centers. If you use those measurements, you'll have to mark the proper drilling locations while you or a helper hold the tracks down.

Post pics when you get em on.

[colpumpkinnuts]

I've now got all the parts for the rack. Now I just need some time to install it. Probably this weekend. Since I'm using landing pads rather than tracks I'm probably going to have the front crossbar be a little wider than the rear to get the loads closer to the edge of the roof. I'm not worried about hitting anything up front when I drill the holes but I'm curious what kind of distance from the rear of the car I'm going to need to clear the rear roof brace.

I'm also thinking I'm going to try to get a set of Hullyrollers to make loading the boat onto the car by myself easier.

[myt]

I'm working on gathering my parts now. I am going with the Yakima Landing pad option. I figured that I won't need to shell out the extra cash for the tracks since I will be just carrying 1 kayak. Total cost = $174. For all you guys looking for a good site to buy stuff new check out backcountry.com They even offer free shipping for orders over $50! I bought the control towers used from craigslist and bought the landing pads and bars from backcountry. I will post pics once I get the rest of my parts and install it... wish me luck!! :)

MYT

[dingbat]

. I'm not worried about hitting anything up front when I drill the holes but I'm curious what kind of distance from the rear of the car I'm going to need to clear the rear roof brace.



I found that I could feel where most of the roof braces were by pushing the headliner up against them. There seems to be a brace right at the rear of the roof that covers at least 3 1/2" from the gap where the hatch starts.

I installed my rack this morning. Went well for the most part but I had a couple of surprises. I used a Thule TP54, started it 3" from the rear of the roof. When I drilled the rearmost hole I found there was another layer of metal just underneath. I had to drill through that too in order to install the flare nut. Fortunately, there was enough room inbetween the two for the flare nut to work. I got lucky. From there I drilled the next hole, skipped the third, drilled three more, skipped the seventh, drilled the last three. The front end of the track comes within 5 or 6 inches of the winshield. The hole on the front end had foam underneath it. Scared me when I first saw it. Thought I might have hit something important. If I had it to do over knowing what I know now, I'd use the longer track but cut it back one hole at the front due to the curvature at this part of the roof. The little plastic end pieces lift at the front and I need to come up with some sort of material to fill the gap so crap doesn't get jammed in there while I'm driving. Also, the front of the roof is pretty flexy so I'll probably keep the bar back a bit anyway. I'd still deal with the extra layer at the back end. I don't think the hole in that extra layer will cause any problems and I'm sure the car is faster now due to the weight savings.:biggrin: I made the front of the track 1" wider that the rear just to help counter any illusion of the front being narrower due to the roof getting wider at that end. I don't plan on moving the bars around and the angle isn't enough to cause any problem with their opperating properly. Over all I'm pretty happy with the way it came out. The extra spread of the bars is mint. I plan on carrying a 9' longboard up there and maybe a canoe if I think the front bar will bear the weight.

Lent my camera to my brother. I'll put up picks if I ever get it back.
Thanks again to all the folks who put up their info for this project.:thumbup: Don't think I would have done it otherwise.

[colpumpkinnuts]

Dingbat, thanks for the info. Good to know the front of the roof is flexy. I'll try to get the rack back a bit but also try to avoid that rear brace. Close is good, on top of it probably isn't the best solution. Myt, good luck and I'll try to get pics up of my install after I do mine this weekend.

[colpumpkinnuts]

I found some extra time today and was able to install the roof rack. Everything went pretty smoothly. When drilling the last hole for the front right pad I barely missed part of the headliner that sticks up. Most of the rest of the headliner is about 1.5 inches away from the roof so there isn't much chance of accidentally hitting it. I missed all of the braces and I didn't drill into any wires.

Most of my time was spent very carefully measuring things. I studied the pictures of the bare roof from earlier in this thread and decided to use the interior grab handles as landmarks for the holes.

The plus nuts that were included with each landing pad kit were different. One set had a nice neoprene washer on them. The other had cheap looking flimsy foam. I used plenty of sealant on both of them as per the instructions.

The front pads are located 10 inches from the windshield and the rear pads are 6 inches from the hatch. I put both pads 1/4 inch from the edge of the roof to make the installation as strong as possible. Because the roof tapers back, the rear cross bar is a couple inches shorter than the front.

I need to trim the front cross bar a little and install the end caps on the bars. Then the rack will be completely done.

The landing pads with the towers removed and covers on aren't as ugly looking as I expected. I'll post pics of the completed rack and the bare pads after I get it completely done.

[colpumpkinnuts]

Forgot the pics.

[Red Horse]

please some1 make a DIY

[myt]

Are the rain gutters parallel? I haven't measure yet, but I swore they weren't...

MYT

[dingbat]

Are the rain gutters parallel? I haven't measure yet, but I swore they weren't...

MYT

Not even close.

[myt]

Then I am very perplexed at colpumpkinnuts...it looks like the landing pads were installed parallel to the rain gutters. Maybe its just the way the pic was taken. I am still waiting for slow UPS to deliver my bars... :( Such beautiful weather this weekend too!

MYT

[JonS]

myt...check the measurements I posted. If you want the towers to sit at the same distance on the front and rear bars, you can't install the setup at the same distance for and aft from the gutters. Install the rear mounts, set up the towers and bars, remove them and move forward to keep the proper spacing, then measure in from the gutters and drill away.

[myt]

Gotcha thanks JonS!

MYT

[colpumpkinnuts]

The landing pads are parallel to each other but not to the rain gutter. It's more noticeable on the front set than the rear set. Hmmm, I haven't put any pics up yet, I'll do that today when I get my hullyrollers set up.

[myt]

Thanks for the clarification colpumpkinnuts! I was just going by the pic of course! Made me wonder. How level are the bars in the location you chose?

MYT

[colpumpkinnuts]

Thanks for the clarification colpumpkinnuts! I was just going by the pic of course! Made me wonder. How level are the bars in the location you chose?

MYT

How do you mean "level?" Are you asking if the front bar is higher than the back bar or vice versa? If that's the case, I'm really not sure. I think they're pretty close to being even.

[JonS]

Just had to show off my brand new boat. Just got her home.:thumbup:

[myt]

How do you mean "level?" Are you asking if the front bar is higher than the back bar or vice versa? If that's the case, I'm really not sure. I think they're pretty close to being even.

Yeah thats what I meant! Thanks! Mine should come in tomorrow with an install date of Thursday!

Nice boat JonS! ;)

MYT

[myt]

Well I got everything in and attempted to install my rack today...everything went fine til my Dad somehow snapped the fastner that goes to the roof and it fell into the hole. Well I banged it and then it fell down to where my speaker goes, so I removed the trim pieces...see it and almost grab it, then it fell all the way down to the point of no return! ugghh...

Needless to say NO ONE around here carries just the replacement part. So I used the other from the front ones until I can order a replacement part come Monday. I am glad that I didn't drill all the holes first otherwise I would be SOL! LOL. The job isn't hard, just one snafu which I will charge to it being the first landing pad... ;) The longest part was taping and measuring. I wish that someone would sell a template, it would cut the install time wayyy down!

MYT

[colpumpkinnuts]

That sucks, man. Good luck with the rest of your install.

[myt]

Thanks man... just got off the phone with Yakima... the d@mn replacement part(which they give you 4 of) came to just about $17!!! Thats half of what I paid for the landing pads themselves! UGGGHHH...

MYT

[Nebarnix]

Ok -- so I am going to drill a couple of holes in my '07 liftback for some NMO antenna mounts. It has side and curtain airbags. I want to run the coax down the B or C column but I am worried about

A.) getting access as I want to use a chassis punch and not a drill bit. This means I will need pretty good access under the roof liner. The airbags are the bit that worries me here. It might be possible to go under the back end only and do a "long reach" to get under there without disturbing anything up front.

B.) Running the coax down the columns. Again, airbag concerns. Are there ever any airbags on the B column? I only see the "srs airbag" label on the A column. The C column would mean stringing extra coax and the losses that accompany that (I am running some QRP digital stuff at 10mW so it counts).

C.) oh yeah.. how the hell do you remove the damn head liner??!?! =D

Any help would be great, I'm new to this whole car hacking thing!

Thanks!
KE7PHI

[dingbat]

When I looked into it for my lift-back, Toyota's instructions for removing the headliner properly requires removing almost all of the interior trim, starting with the seats.

Good luck.

[Nebarnix]

When I looked into it for my lift-back, Toyota's instructions for removing the headliner properly requires removing almost all of the interior trim, starting with the seats.

Good luck.

Did the other's in the forum have to remove the seats? That sounds.. really terrible... sigh.

[colpumpkinnuts]

I looked at the same thing as dingbat and decided it wasn't worth it. If you look at the interior of your car you'll notice that it looks like it was assembled from the roof down. Meaning you'll have to disassemble from the floor up. I'm not sure you'll have to take out the seats but it will definitely require the removal of a lot of trim pieces.

[colpumpkinnuts]

So, I finally got a boat and snapped some pics. I took it out for a spin yesterday. The car handles the load pretty well doesn't complain too much until I get above 60mph. Loading the boat onto the low roof is surprisingly easy.

In this photo I've got the boat a bit farther back than I normally would so it doesn't overhang quite so much.

[JonS]

Sweet!!!

[dingbat]

Did the other's in the forum have to remove the seats? That sounds.. really terrible... sigh.

Blind faith :wink:

I just studied CTScott's pics, gently pushed up on the headliner with my hands to feel for the location of the cross braces, and drilled away.:headbang:

Please be aware, I almost screwed the pooch on the rear-most hole though.:eek:

You can read all about it in this post. (http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/showpost.php?p=506583&postcount=32)

Good luck.

[myt]

I know it has been a while, but after breaking 3 more of the nuts I finally finished my install! I will post pics next time I go out with the yak... All in all it wasn't too bad. But anyone going with the Yakima landing pads...beware not to tighten the bolts too tight! Otherwise the nuts will break on you...

MYT

[myt]

I know its been a while...but here is my install! Finally...lol!

http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff154/bowlingmytmouse/IMAG0013.jpg

MYT

[birdman]

Why doesn't Toyota offer this as a dealer installed option? Go figure. Nice install.

[why?]

okay so I first looked at that picture and wondered,"what install?" Man am I blind. Only thing I would be afraid of is that kayak acting like a sail.

[myt]

Birdman, I wish they would too! I would have jumped on it for sure! I guess they figure that economist minded drivers wouldn't put anything on the roof :(

Why, I haven't felt any more wind influence on the car than without it. And I push it too... 70MPH or so... But then again, I don't really take the yak out if its too windy so in high winds it won't be strapped down! Sorry the pic doesn't really show the install I guess, just the end result. I will try to get some good pics of just the bases.

MYT

[why?]

Birdman, I wish they would too! I would have jumped on it for sure! I guess they figure that economist minded drivers wouldn't put anything on the roof :(

Why, I haven't felt any more wind influence on the car than without it. And I push it too... 70MPH or so... But then again, I don't really take the yak out if its too windy so in high winds it won't be strapped down! Sorry the pic doesn't really show the install I guess, just the end result. I will try to get some good pics of just the bases.

MYT

lol no i mean at first glance i did not even see the kayak.

[myt]

LMAO thats the first I've heard that one! ;)

MYT

[why?]

yup, I'm practically blind.

[cabinfevrr]

those racks look great. next spring i'm going to upgrade my rack. Like a stooge, I bought the OEM rack. what a piece of crap. with our two Necky Manitou 14 kayaks we're overloading the rack by about 2 pounds. also the rack has tons of wind noise, and are quite flimsy.

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j159/cabinfevrr/manitoured.jpg
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j159/cabinfevrr/manitoublue.jpg
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j159/cabinfevrr/manitoufront.jpg