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(More customer reviews)I scoured the internet for reviews of this product before I purchased it and feel compelled to share my impressions. I'm using the rack on a 2008 Nissan Frontier Crew Cab, and prior to installation, I had to remove the Utilitrack rails along the sides of my truckbed. Thule makes an adapter for use with Toyota's cargo management system, but there's no such product for use with Nissan's system. Removal was easy enough and I don't think I'll miss the Utilitrack rails that much, but it's something to consider if you own a Nissan with a Utilitrack system. The Utilitrack rail near the cab of the truck and the two rails in the floor of the bed do not have to be removed in order to install the Thule rack.
There are five "notches" on the vertical uprights used to secure the rack in place as you move it up and down. This means there are potentially five different height positions. I say "potentially" because in the Frontier there is a wheel well protrusion in the bed of the truck just behind the cab that only permits the portion of the rack closest to the cab to be lowered to the middle notch. At this level, the horizontal bars are a few inches below the top of the cab. The portion of the rack near the end of the truck can be lowered an additional notch, but if you try to utilize the lowest notch, the bottom of the upright will hit the bed of the truck. I don't really view this as a negative because the advantage of keeping the rack in the middle notch position on my vehicle is the horizontal bars are not in my line of sight when looking in my rearview mirror. My point is you shouldn't necessarily assume you'll be able to utilize all of the height positions, although I'm sure it's possible in some trucks.
I do a lot of cycling, but primarily sought this rack as a way to carry a 14 foot canoe, for which the rack works very well. For the front of my canoe to clear the cab of the truck, I only have to raise the rack to the second highest position. In the highest position, the canoe is way above the cab. If you still had a problem with clearance, I suppose you could place the back portion of the rack lower than the front, thus raising one end of your boat even higher above the cab of your truck.
I mounted a Thule Echelon bike carrier to the rack, which requires an Xadapter kit. The rack is still easily raised and lowered with the bike carrier in place. Thule provides four rubber strips that fit into the grooves on the top and bottom of each horizontal bar. If you don't install the strips, the rack makes an annoying whistling sound when you get above 30 mph. With the strips in place, the rack is quiet. Thule also provides four load stops that slide back and forth in the top grooves to secure loads. However, you can't slide the load stops with the rubber strips in place. I plan to "permanently" mount two of the load stops at the end of each horizontal bar and tie my canoe against them and simply trim the rubber strips to fit, which I have already done for the bike carrier. You also have to trim the rubber strips on the bottom of the horizontal bars, but once these strips are in place you shouldn't need to move them.
It took me several hours to mount this rack, but might have gone much faster if I were handier and had a 17mm socket. Keep in mind the rack depends heavily upon the horizontal bars for its structural integrity. You hand tighten the vertical uprights to the bed, then mount the horizontal bars, and then cinch everything down. One thing I would point out is that from a security perspective, Thule does not provide any mechanism to lock the rack onto your truck bed. Locks are provided to prevent the vertical uprights from being removed from the their mounts, but there is nothing preventing a thief with a socket set and enough time from removing the entire system from your truck bed. There may be a custom solution to this problem, but it hasn't occurred to me yet.
All in all, this is a sexy and functional rack that costs quite a bit of money. It's the ultimate "bling" for hippies with trucks and some extra cash. If you simply need a way to carry bicycles, it seems awful expensive, but if you're interested in carrying a long canoe or kayak, then this will serve you well. I really like the fact I can carry a canoe and a couple of bicycles on "top" while preserving the space in the truck bed for my camping gear, cooler, lawn chairs, etc. I feel like I just penned a short novel, but I hope others find this review useful.
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Thule 422XT Xporter Multiheight Aluminum Truck RackMaximize the space in your truck bed with the Thule Xsporter multi-height truck rack. In the low position, the Xsporter makes for easy loading and unloading of bikes, skis, and other gear. However, you can also raise the height of the load bars until they're even with the cab, letting you haul canoes, kayaks, and other small watercraft. Best of all, the durable aluminum frame leaves the truck bed open for storage, so you can still fit coolers, bags, and other gear in the back when driving long distances. The Xsporter--which includes a One Key lock system to secure your gear--is equipped with 71-inch crossbars and carries a lifetime warranty.
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