Installed Thule Xpedition 696 rack today
Wow, my back is sore.
I just spent three hours assembling and then installing a Thule Xpedition 696 rack. That's the larger of the two Xpeditions, and it's a perfect size for the VX's roof line. I like how it looks up there.
In retrospect this was an easy project, but when I first unpacked the huge box and saw that the instructions were written in about 20 different languages, I almost walked away. It looked like there were a million pieces. Then I saw that the instructon sheet looked just like the ones from Ikea...lots of pictograms and very few words. Once I decoded the sheet, it was just like putting together a puzzle.
I mounted the new rack to my existing VX rack. I know that others have flush-mounted it right on top of the roof rails, but I didn't want to go to all of that extra trouble to shave a couple of inches off the height. I like the stance this way, anyway.
Right now the Xpedition is the only bit of silver on an otherwise blacked-out Ebony VX. I'm STILL waiting for my front skid plate from Ron, which I ordered in Kaiser Silver. I think the silver skid plate will balance out the silver rack nicely. Hopefully we'll be able to see, soon!
Photos will be added to my gallery ASAP. The VX is looking more and more like a space ship...
OEM roof rack, Thule Xpedition 696 rack, Rancho RS9000 shocks, OME 913 coil springs, 3" lift, American Racing Teflon Chambers wheels, Yokohama Geolandar HT/S G051 tires (275/70/16), Energy Suspension greaseable bushings, steel-braided Kevlar-reinforced brake lines, WeatherTech wind deflectors, Malibu 18w driving lights, Plasma SuperWhite 100w headlights, NGK Iridium plugs, K&N drop-in air filter, Optima Red Top, Psychos2 rear-door subwoofer enclosure w/CDT Audio 10" sub, Blaupunkt subwoofer amp, iPod Video 80GB, Kenwood KVT-617 DVD head unit w/7" motorized touch-screen, Kenwood GPS HD navigation module, Kenwood iPod adapter, Kenwood back-up camera, Sirius radio, Flowmaster Extreme Off-Road muffler (black diamond-plate steel) w/ carbon fiber tip, Ford Taurus OEM cup-holder/coin tray (single-DIN/lower bay), personalized license plate "ORBITAL", 3M window tint, debadged, removed rear seat, custom 'radiation symbol' side magnetic signs, VX Concepts front skid plate
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Originally Posted by PHO2GR4
