Thule Force L or XL?
- Thread starter doberman_baby
- Start date
Old thread, but kept coming up in my searches regarding Thule cargo boxes that fit, so thought I'd post my findings after a visit to Rack Attack.
Test fit on 2017 4Runner with factory rails and crossbars, crossbars and boxes adjusted as far forward as can go.
Thule Force XL - Rested on antenna and just barely touched tailgate when open. Guys at store said you can grind out the channels and allow the box to adjust slightly more forward to get clearance. It was very close to clearing both.
Thule Motion XT XL - The slope of the back and the channel in the middle allow easy clearance of antenna, about 1-1.5" of clearance to hatch open.
I offset this unit to one side all of the way, clamps loose, the antenna cleared by about a mm or two (no channels outside of the center). When offset, we mocked up a Rocky Mounts Brass Knuckles bike stand next to it and it would mount. Only issue would appear to be the bike pedal on the box side, might have to come off. Didn't try out a bike on it. I am not sure with clamps fully tightened it would fully clear antenna, but again, this could be an option.
The Force felt surprisingly flexible and thin in person. The Motion XT had stiffer plastic, felt sturdier and had a steel piece along the center length of the floor to give additional stiffness. Due to the feel of the units, I went with Motion XT XL. These XL units are bigger than I thought, can hold quite a bit. Also, the XL vs the L in the Motion XT - the XL length seemed to better fit the size of the vehicle aesthetically.
The Yakima Skybox mounting clasps are thicker and not padded, seem like more of an issue mounting on factory bars and scratching your roof. The Skybox felt a lot sturdier, stiffer, thicker, etc than the force. On build alone I would lean Skybox over Force based on what I saw in person.
Hope this helps!
Test fit on 2017 4Runner with factory rails and crossbars, crossbars and boxes adjusted as far forward as can go.
Thule Force XL - Rested on antenna and just barely touched tailgate when open. Guys at store said you can grind out the channels and allow the box to adjust slightly more forward to get clearance. It was very close to clearing both.
Thule Motion XT XL - The slope of the back and the channel in the middle allow easy clearance of antenna, about 1-1.5" of clearance to hatch open.
I offset this unit to one side all of the way, clamps loose, the antenna cleared by about a mm or two (no channels outside of the center). When offset, we mocked up a Rocky Mounts Brass Knuckles bike stand next to it and it would mount. Only issue would appear to be the bike pedal on the box side, might have to come off. Didn't try out a bike on it. I am not sure with clamps fully tightened it would fully clear antenna, but again, this could be an option.
The Force felt surprisingly flexible and thin in person. The Motion XT had stiffer plastic, felt sturdier and had a steel piece along the center length of the floor to give additional stiffness. Due to the feel of the units, I went with Motion XT XL. These XL units are bigger than I thought, can hold quite a bit. Also, the XL vs the L in the Motion XT - the XL length seemed to better fit the size of the vehicle aesthetically.
The Yakima Skybox mounting clasps are thicker and not padded, seem like more of an issue mounting on factory bars and scratching your roof. The Skybox felt a lot sturdier, stiffer, thicker, etc than the force. On build alone I would lean Skybox over Force based on what I saw in person.
Hope this helps!
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I just want to share my preliminary experience and to ask a few questions:
I have the force XL mounted on factory bars. The front bar is pushed as far forward as possible; I moved the back bar up a bit (from the normal position that the stickers on the Toyota roof rails show). In this configuration, the Force XL does not interfere with the rear hatch, but does hit the satellite antennae a tiny bit. I taped up the antennae and put a piece of cloth between it and the Force box to prevent rubbing on the paint.
I have not test driven the car yet (I will do so later in the day), but I am concerned about what a previous posted said about the bounce - there is a fair amount of overhang in the front and I can see it bouncing a bit.
Now for my questions:
- Should I push the rear rail as far back as possible for a better fit?
- I will have nothing else mounted on the top, so is it better to have the Force centered on the roof, or pushed closer to one side?
- Is there any way to get the front rail further forward that I haven't figured out yet, either with aftermarket parts or some other trick?
Thanks!
I have the force XL mounted on factory bars. The front bar is pushed as far forward as possible; I moved the back bar up a bit (from the normal position that the stickers on the Toyota roof rails show). In this configuration, the Force XL does not interfere with the rear hatch, but does hit the satellite antennae a tiny bit. I taped up the antennae and put a piece of cloth between it and the Force box to prevent rubbing on the paint.
I have not test driven the car yet (I will do so later in the day), but I am concerned about what a previous posted said about the bounce - there is a fair amount of overhang in the front and I can see it bouncing a bit.
Now for my questions:
- Should I push the rear rail as far back as possible for a better fit?
- I will have nothing else mounted on the top, so is it better to have the Force centered on the roof, or pushed closer to one side?
- Is there any way to get the front rail further forward that I haven't figured out yet, either with aftermarket parts or some other trick?
Thanks!
In case anyone comes across this thread for info, I wanted to follow up on my post above. The Motion XT XL on the factory bars bounced too much, the overhang in front of the front bar (all the way forward) rattled off the roof. I immediately stuffed some rags in the gap to complete the trip without paint damage and then bought some Malone aero bars to use with the box. Aftermarket bars are stiffer and give a little more clearance. Happy with this setup. The factory bars flex too much. The Motion XT flexes more than I thought it would loaded. I think just the flex in the factory bars will cause issue with larger overhangs up front.
4RunnerBoise
New member
Here is a link to a Thule Motion XT Alpine on a Gobi Stealth. This is a super long box.
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-g...lth-rack-thule-motion-xt-alpine-roof-box.html
Cadesun
New member
I know the XL hit the awful spoiler thing on my old 4th gen so we opted for the L to take on a 5,500 mile road trip last year. Averaged 19 MPG with it so it didn't kill the mileage as badly as I thought it would. No vibration or other issues at speeds up to 85 MPH. It was mounted on the factory crossbars but from what I have read, the 4th gen factory bars were superior to the newer ones. I bit the bullet and bought some Thule Areobars for the new rig because I like to carry heavy stuff up there and didn't want to jack up my roof/ sunroof.
How did it go? do you end up with any bouncing?
Resurrecting an old thread...
I posted 5 years ago about my challenge mounting a Thule Force XL on my 4Runner. I never followed up and sold the car a short time after that post.
Fast forward to 2022 and I purchased another 4Runner a few months ago and proceeded to try and mount my Force XL, completely forgetting about my experience 5 years ago and only remembering after I searched this forum.
Anyway, I ended up not using the stock cross rails and instead mounted Thule square bars (that I was using for another SUV). I have the front bar as far forward as possible and the rear bar just ahead of the OEM rear bar. There is enough clearance for both the rear hatch and antenna. There is a decent amount of overhang in the front, but nothing that I haven't experienced before in other cars. I suspect that this setup will be a bit noisy, but really not more noisy than in other applications.
I posted 5 years ago about my challenge mounting a Thule Force XL on my 4Runner. I never followed up and sold the car a short time after that post.
Fast forward to 2022 and I purchased another 4Runner a few months ago and proceeded to try and mount my Force XL, completely forgetting about my experience 5 years ago and only remembering after I searched this forum.
Anyway, I ended up not using the stock cross rails and instead mounted Thule square bars (that I was using for another SUV). I have the front bar as far forward as possible and the rear bar just ahead of the OEM rear bar. There is enough clearance for both the rear hatch and antenna. There is a decent amount of overhang in the front, but nothing that I haven't experienced before in other cars. I suspect that this setup will be a bit noisy, but really not more noisy than in other applications.
Toffees
Member
I think it depends on your bars, I used the Thule Aeroblades and these are great bars but I can't get them forward enough not to contact my XL box. I love the XL box, just have to lift gently and know that it will rub. I only use it 2x per year, but it also rubs on my wife's Sienna (those bars don't move). If I had to do it again I would get an L and pack less.
I just finished a 4-hour trip with the Thule XL mounted to Thule square bars - see post above for placement. There was no excessive bouncing and wind noise was acceptable (not excessive at all). This setup does not hit my antena and allows me to fully open the hatch.
It is also worth noting that the square bars are mounted high enough so that there is no touching of the roof by the claws when lifting the box onto the roof, unlike when using the factory cross bars.
While it is slightly a pain to have to mount aftermarket cross bars when using this box, it is definitely an acceptable and completely usable solution.
It is also worth noting that the square bars are mounted high enough so that there is no touching of the roof by the claws when lifting the box onto the roof, unlike when using the factory cross bars.
While it is slightly a pain to have to mount aftermarket cross bars when using this box, it is definitely an acceptable and completely usable solution.
