Sherpa Equipment Company - 5th Gen

[MENTION=413201]SherpaEquipmentCo[/MENTION] does anyone have any experience using the crestone to mount a thule force or thule motion carrier?

Thule Force Large on Crestone:

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Plenty of clearance for Thule mounting claws:

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My Thule Force is about 5 yrs old, but the mounting system on the current version is essentially the same.
 

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Installed my Crestone today.
It arrived way sooner that expected. The metal cutting is very clean and looks first rate!

I was able to do it by myself since you build it on the roof instead of on the floor first like other racks.
Started off cleaning & waxing the roof since that would be easier now.

I just used moving blankets to set things up there & easily balanced the side rails to get them started. The key was to balance them on a blanket with the front starting off on the wrong side of the mount, then starting a bolt on the rear, and then lifting the front up over to the correct side of the mount to get it started. That went much easier than anticipated.

The only bit of trouble I had was getting good tension on the front pads. Even using a cloth raising the side rail, like they showed, you still have to hold downward tension on the adjustment while also using your other two hands for the two wrenches. Of course doing that before the final mount bolt tightening helped a bit.

They sure provide plenty of crossbars!
Over all it went pretty good!

And just like the above poster, there’s plenty of room under the rails for the claws of my older, large Yakima cargo carrier.

This thing certainly does look clean.
Glad I went with Sherpa!
 
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Also finally had time to see if the whole project of making the Yakima Skybox 18 fit actually works out - and it totally does:

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Hooks clear just fine:
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Fully open, the hooks can touch the roof, but you can place the box on the rack with the hooks closed, then open them just enough to slide the box back over the bars and ensure that you never actually contact the roof this way.
 
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Also finally had time to see if the whole project of making the Yakima Skybox 18 fit actually works out - and it totally does:

Fully open, the hooks can touch the roof, but you can place the box on the rack with the hooks closed, then open them just enough to slide the box back over the bars and ensure that you never actually contact the roof this way.
Just saw your post on reddit. Thanks for the additional pics!
 
Here's a shot of the Needle.

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Neither the Crestone or Needle added any noise beyond the TRD Pro rack the vehicle came with.

They are both stout, so the fairing does not move, sunroof open or not.

The only difference is the length - the mounting, side rail design, and cross rails are the same between the two.

Do you mind sharing more pics of your roof rack? I can't find pics of the Sherpa Needle anywhere other than the pics from Sherpa's website (they aren't so great and only show the silver rack), and I'm interested in buying if I like what I see. Thanks in advance!!!
 
Test fitting my old 6ft Yakima box. This thing is big (one body size).
I even got my traction boards to fit! They’re an off-brand, so I had to slightly modify the Sherpa mounts. No big deal though.
I’m really liking this rack!
 

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Just want to add to this thread, I removed my Crestone (no longer needed, selling) and my roof is still in perfect condition. The mounting rubber still looks brand new which surprised me since I've seen others where it looked compressed - so just wanted to add my .02 that this is a solid product
 
Just want to add to this thread, I removed my Crestone (no longer needed, selling) and my roof is still in perfect condition. The mounting rubber still looks brand new which surprised me since I've seen others where it looked compressed - so just wanted to add my .02 that this is a solid product

We appreciate that, glad you had a good experience with our product.
 
OK, I'm about to have a Sherpa Crestone for sale. Great rack, but when Sherpa came out with the 3/4 design ("The Needle") I ordered one of those, since that's plenty for my needs.

So if anyone wants a Crestone and is in the Seattle-ish area. I even have new rubber mounting feet, so it's basically brand new ...

Still available?
 
Wanted to let everyone know that all IN STOCK Sherpa items are 20% with FREE SHIPPING. This includes roof racks!

While supplies last, exclusions apply.

Click the photo to see the savings!
 
I recently installed a Crestone on my 2011 Limited... the fit/finish is impeccable! It has rained quite a bit lately and there are no signs of leaks. I'm glad I didn't go with another brand that requires drilling or silicone. The install vids on Sherpa's Youtube channel were extremely helpful.

I wish Sherpa made sliders :)
 
I recently installed a Crestone on my 2011 Limited... the fit/finish is impeccable! It has rained quite a bit lately and there are no signs of leaks. I'm glad I didn't go with another brand that requires drilling or silicone. The install vids on Sherpa's Youtube channel were extremely helpful.

I wish Sherpa made sliders :)

Thank you for the kind words! Glad you love your roof rack and appreciate the install video!
 
Installed 4 BD lights on the sides of the rack this weekend - 2 each side. I'm quite impressed with the amount of light they throw. Plenty for setting up camp and low enough draw they can be left on for hours at a a time.

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Design of light mounts is typical Sherpa thoughtful quality. Nice work Sherpa guys.

OK, I've had a few "how did you wire these up" private messages. So here's a dump of how I approached it.
 
I have a Switch Pro in my engine compartment. It is wonderful. It's what I used to turn the things off and on.

1) Figure out your wiring. Here's my sketch. Note, in my approach, I used two different types of wire - both runs shared a common ground but had separate power so I can turn left and right on independently. You can simplify it if you are ok with both sides coming on at the same time.

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I used the following for inspiration:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZUWh-mcv3w&feature=youtu.be --> this is where I got the wire and clips to hold the wire in the aluminum extrusion

Baja Designs 2.0 Rock Lights Install and Review on 5th Gen 4Runner --> where I got the idea for how to soldier the wires

2) Put up the Sherpa mounts.

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3) Take detailed measurements ... I did all the wire and soldier of the lights on the garage floor after I had measured how long each wire needed to be.

4) Join the BD rock lights to the wire you have chosen. I used these connectors - all you need is a heat gun - and this heat shrink tubing to waterproof the whole thing. I did it in three sections so that there was overlap everywhere to guarantee water could not get in. This is the wire I used.

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5) Once you have the harness created - leave lots of extra length for the run to wherever your power is coming from - put it all up on the roof. I used these to hold the power wire to either the extrusion cross bars or the side of the rack. I can't remember if I used 3/16 or 1/4.

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6) Run the wire down the window gutter

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7) Attach to whatever you got. In my case a switch pros.
 
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Besides tires, the Crestone was my first mod. 3 hours for a solo install doesn't seem too bad.

I was a little concerned at one point because it seemed like the from section of the rack was a little wobbly, but after a bit of fussing and tweaking it seems good.
 

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Awesome RL! thanks for taking the time to do that,

I just got a 23 ORP only 700 miles on it haha, but yeah the first exterior mod is the sherpa Crestone and gonna do what you laid out as well, Do the BD rock lights you used have a dimming feature with your switch pro box? would love to not blind me or people as I'm walking up to the truck for camp haha. Again thanks for the time writing that up for us. loved all the links to the products used and the tutorial vid.

Cheers Steve
 
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