Check your car top racks

[yellowcanoe]

I guess they do get old and brittle. We had a Q tower break today on the Great Plains. Totally collapsed. Perhaps it was due to cross winds of 60 mph for three days combined with going ahead at 70mph with a light kevlar canoe and a constant flow of truck turbulence. We had bow and stern lines..

We had to abandon the canoe in Wiggins and drive to Ft Collins to get a new Q tower.. fortunately the REI did have them and then we had to drive back to Wiggins to get the canoe which we had tied to a cattle fence.

The towers were 15 years old. If you have cartop equipment that old just be safe. It can fail.

 

[rpg51]

I've been thinking of this exact issue lately. My Q Towers are really old and they sure don't owe me a dime. Might be time for new Q Towers.

 

[Robin]

Did you have to by a pair of towers? Do they sell them in pairs or did you have to by a whole new system? Any sign of weakness in the other side that we might look for. Mine are old, and have carried some heavy loads, lumber and other construction material besides heavy wood canoes.
It might be time to replace a pair and carry them as spares.

 

[yellowcanoe]

I had to buy a box of FOUR. They are the Q1 A towers. Not the hi rise.

Now I have THREE left. I think ONE as a spare is a good idea.

Might have TWO for sale for others who have old time racks.

I emailed Yakima. Turns out the original owner is covered under a Lifetime Warranty. We will see how this pans out, and how difficult it is for a frugal canoeist to get some money out of them. We did get 20 percent off at REI just out of good customer service there but eesh the set was $175.

 

[Waterdog]

For those considering purchasing spares, most major towers from Thule and Yakima come in half packs so you only need to buy two. Unfortunately for yellowcanoe, they are hard to find on shelves for immediate purchase from my experience. Rack system suppliers regularly stock them though. Of course, people in yellowcanoe's situation probably are selling parts as spares on ebay, etc. too if not on this forum. I don't carry a spare for either my Yakima or Thule system, but maybe I should look and see what parts I have around that can serve as such.

 

[Guest]

I had to buy a box of FOUR. They are the Q1 A towers. Not the hi rise.

Now I have THREE left. I think ONE as a spare is a good idea.

Might have TWO for sale for others who have old time racks.

I emailed Yakima. Turns out the original owner is covered under a Lifetime Warranty. We will see how this pans out, and how difficult it is for a frugal canoeist to get some money out of them. We did get 20 percent off at REI just out of good customer service there but eesh the set was $175.

I always get a kick out lifetime warranties that expire if the item is sold. It suggests that somehow the durability of the item - or the manufacturer's confidence in it - erodes upon sale. Is that irrational or what?

Manufacturer's rep: "Yes, this roof rack is guaranteed for the rest of your life as long as you own the car it's on."

Customer: "What if I sell the car and it's obvious the next owner hasn't tampered with it in any way?"

Mfr rep: "I could be fired from my job for this, but you look like the kind of person who doesn't tell stories out of school. The truth is that our equipment has special properties (I can't tell you just what they are because they're trade secrets) that recognize you as the owner of the car. If it senses that someone else is the new owner (again, I can't tell you how it works), its molecular structure begins to break down."

Customer: "Uh, O...K... I guess I get that."

etc.

 

[stripperguy]

I had to look up what the heck a Q tower was...
I've been a Thule guy forever, those their towers are made of zinc plated, powder coated steel. Maybe they'll corrode a bit, but collapse??

So, YC, did that tower material degrade due to UV exposure? Could you spot any specific initiation site for the fatigue failure (if that's what it was)?
Is that piece actually made of some polymer? Without any metal substrate? I wonder if this is a common, age related failure?

 

[ScottB]

Could you spot any specific initiation site for the fatigue failure (if that's what it was)?
Is that piece actually made of some polymer? Without any metal substrate? I wonder if this is a common, age related failure?

Our Resident Engineer needs to know "why"!

 

[yellowcanoe]

My resident engineer says the towers are just like bridges.. Flex em enough and they break.. doesn't matter metal or plastic.

My resident engineer specializes in bridges.. and mop up. Because of Mianus we came to Connecticut and stayed many years.

back to the Q strut.. its possible there was a microcrack and the pounding racks get travelling across the Great Plains did it in..

I don't think I will be investing in an x ray machine to find microcracks though..

It went not with a crack or a grind but sounded like a rifle shot..

 

[yellowcanoe]

Thought I would share what Yakima said after I notified them of the failure.. this is the email from them

"We're sorry to hear about your incident. Generally speaking, the towers should be inspected from time to time to see if there is any rusting or fractures in the nylon-infused plastic bits. Without have the rack back here to check out, I can only speculate.
I think it might of been due more to high winds (acts of nature) than the integrity of the tower.
I'm glad to hear that you had your canoe strapped securely and didn't have damage to your canoe.

We cannot offer a reimbursement, but I can send you fresh 1A RainGutter towers. You might be able to return the ones purchased from REI at a local REI. Any REI should take back the return, especially since I can send you fresh new towers.

Please reply with your best shipping address and we'll get this order rolling for you

Brie @ Yakima"

There still are companies with great customer service!

 

[Guest]

This is the same company that told me it was fine to carry a canoe on a car at highway speeds with the bow higher than the stern. I hope their customer service folks are smarter than their sales folks. (BTW, I have Yakima racks.)

 

[rpg51]

I thought you had Q towers? Whats that about 1A Rain Gutter towers?

 

[shiraz627]

I have purchased a single tower directly from Yakima, actually they gave it to me. I think they felt sorry for me.

 

[yellowcanoe]

I thought you had Q towers? Whats that about 1A Rain Gutter towers?

I have always had trucks with raingutters..nowaday they are fake.. They used to be called Q 1A towers back when I bought them sometime in the early 1990s. Come to think of it we did have them on our 87 Toyota SR5 pickup.. So that's how old they are.

 

[rpg51]

I still have a set of those but I have no vehicle with rain gutters. They were really nice towers.

 

[yellowcanoe]

It could have been worse. I sent the pic of the break to Yakima and they want to analyze it as it was such a sudden and severe fracture.

I say it could have been worse as today we met a hiker who had the door hinge of a car torn in half by the wind.. the door folded forward and severely damaged the front wheel well..

Don't know how Plains paddlers cope!