TracRac Installation on TC Wagon

[AXN-RXN]

Hi All,

I purchased a TracRac https://amzn.com/B01FZBJOQE  for my 2014 Trans Connect Wagon. First off, I'm a little pissed that the rack is quite a bit smaller than shown in the amazon picture. They don't give a width spec on Amazon, but it is 53" wide. Wide enough for a sheet of plywood, until you put the load supports on the rack. With the load supports, the useable width is 43.5". It would be helpful for a utility rack to be design to fit a standard sheet size and they only had to cut the extrusion a few inches longer. Oh well...more modifications I can make! The feet are made by Thule. I think that TracRac is owned by Thule. When I emailed customer support, Thule was on the return email.

I had a few issues with the installation, so I thought that I'd post pics as I go along. I've read many places that the OEM roof mounting points are not accessible on a wagon. That may still be true, but I was able to access the second position mounts in the sliding door area. In the instructions for the rack they say not to use the forward-most mounting point. I think this is due to air bag or headliner location. I've watched videos of people driling out the roof and installing RivNuts. I'm willing to try this if I need to, but I'd rather not drill holes in the roof.

Attached is some pictures of my front rack installation. No headliner removal, you just have to get a little creative:

 

First get under the caps with a pocket knife to get them started. Then uses a panel fastener tool. I got this one at NAPA for $6.00.

Second: Fashion a fishing line for your mounting screw. Route it from the top out the side of the recess in the track / headliner covering in the sliding door. I just used stranded wire. I think it is easier to mount the racks with the screw coming up from the bottom. This makes it easier to get the thick fender washer in the mix. You want a thick washer on the inside because it needs to resist the bolt tension and support the surrounding sheet metal. Twist or tape the screw to your fishing line and guide the fastener up through the hole.

Here is a pic of the fastener up through the second OEM roof mount hole. They supply the rack with 6mm bolts. Kinda scrawny if you ask me, but we'll see how it goes. Anything bigger would require drilling. You could sub out the provided fasteners with 1/4-20 hardware. It fits. I ended up using the stuff they sent. But, my guardian angled was telling my to install 1/4-20 x 2" stainless hex head screws and lock nuts. You can get up in that area with a 1/4" ratchet set. That gray paint there is Cold galvanizing compound. I hit a few scratches that I made when I was prying off the cap. This is also what you would use if you drill.

As per the instructions, goober a bit of silicone around the screw to keep water out. It should be pretty well sealed by the rubber foot, but this should help. I used clear because I usually end up getting that shit all over myself and would have silicone fingerprints all over my van if I didn't. Oh, remember to but a nut on your screw so that it doesn't fall into the interior of the van. That would blow.

This is the tricky part. You have to find the hex head up at the roof rack in order to hold the screw as you turn the nut. It takes some practice, but once you do it 500 times you start to get the feel for it. Just get the nut started at this point. You'll want to leave all the fasteners loose. I started by just mounting the rubber feet and brackets...no cross-bar yet. Then add the cross bar and start all the screws. Once you have all the screws started, you can begin to torque them down.

Here is a pic of the crass bar mounted. You can see that the roof mounting fastener has the nut on top. I added some threadlocker on the nut before install. I tried torquing all the fasteners per the instructions, but some seemed to keep on turning before I hit the spec. They all seemed more than snug, so I called it good. You can also see how long the load supports are. I like the twist knobs and the eyelet for holding down a load. But, it kills me that the space between them is not 48". I have a few ideas on how to solve this issue.

 

The rear mounting points are under the headliner. It wasn't too bad getting to them, but if you think you have to take your racks on/off frequently, you wouldn't want to go this route. First, you pull off the rubber seal all the way around other than on the bottom. Use your Trim Panel Tool to pop out the white plastic pop fasteners holding the rear of the lower trim panel to the sheet metal.

Use the T-50 bit to remove the seat belt mount.

After you hunt down all the pop fasteners, you can remove the upper trim panel. It's not easy, but with a little patience you can get to all the fasteners with your tool.

There are four pop fasteners on the panel. You can reach three from underneath, but you have to nab the top one from between the headliner and the trim panel.

Pull the three little grey X-mas tree fasteners to loosen up the headliner a bit. They come up looking like turd, but they do install again just fine.

As with the front rack, I used a little length of wire to come down from the roof mounting point. These mounting points are visible up in between the headliner and the sheet metal, but you need a pretty long extension to get in there. 

Fasten both sides loosely until you get the X-bar on. Then, torque everything down. Install all the panels and replace any of the fasteners that you busted. I bought some new ones at NAPA. An entire pack costs about $5.

Woohoo! Yer Done! I'm still a little suspicious of only an M6 screw on both sides holding this on. But, no drilling or Rivet Nutting which I would be afraid would lead to rusting or loosening over time.

Space between the mounts is about 60".

Edited October 10, 2016 by AXN-RXN
added pics

[Fifty150]

2 hours ago, AXN-RXN said:

 

 

First get under the caps with a pocket knife to get them started. Then uses a panel fastener tool. I got this one at NAPA for $6.00.

 

For anyone interested, amazon.com has this one with a rubber cushion at the leverage point which prevents scratching your paint.

Lisle 35260 Plastic Fastener Remover

by Lisle

4.6 out of 5 stars    1,023 customer reviews

 

| 12 answered questions

 

 

---

Price:

$7.19 Free shipping for Prime members when buying this Add-on Item.  Details

 

 

 

In Stock.

 

 

Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.

 

 

Eligible for  donation.

[Fifty150]

2 hours ago, AXN-RXN said:

 

I purchased a TracRac https://amzn.com/B01FZBJOQE  for my 2014 Trans Connect Wagon. First off, I'm a little pissed that the rack is quite a bit smaller than shown in the amazon picture. They don't give a width spec on Amazon, but it is 53" wide. Wide enough for a sheet of plywood, until you put the load supports on the rack. With the load supports, the useable width is 43.5". It would be helpful for a utility rack to be design to fit a standard sheet size and they only had to cut the extrusion a few inches longer. Oh well...more modifications I can make!

 

 

As an FYI, at my place of employment, our Econoline fleet all came with Adrian Steel products.  If anyone is interested in industrial use (ladders, pipe, plywood, et cetera), an industrial product may be a better choice.  Thule & TracRac appear to be geared towards the recreational market (bikes, kayaks, skis, snowboards, et cetera).  

Ford Transit Connect: Products by Adrian Steel

 

Adrian Steel has the van upfit products you need to make your Ford Transit Connect efficient and organized. Our flexible interiors maximize  the space inside your Ford Transit Connect, whether you have a regular or extended wheelbase. Create the work space you need with our shelving, ladder racks, and more designed specifically for the Transit Connect!

Transit Connect Van Products by Adrian Steel

Partitions

Grip-Lock Ladder Rack

Van Shelving

Trade Packages

Window Screens

 

Contact Us

To purchase Adrian Steel products, find a distributor in your area. You may also email Adrian Steel at info@AdrianSteel.com, call us toll-free at (800) 677-2726, or contact us online.

[103west43rd]

Hello AXN-RXN. Nice tutorial on how to add a roof rack to the second generation Transit Connect. It is amazing how Ford went from a small commercial van with roof rack mounting positions including threaded metal inserts, to the second generation mini-van with plugs in the roof. What was the thinking? In order to interest "soccer mom's" in the new mini-van they seem to have forgotten how the Transit Connect started out as a commercial van. It seems to have worked for Ford. The second generation is a big seller, out selling the first generation by a large margin. Must be because of the "soccer mom's".

[AXN-RXN]

1 hour ago, 103west43rd said:

Yeah, I don't know what they were thinking, either. I watched a bunch of roof rack installation videos and the previous gen just has threaded mount up there. I'm not really sure what happened to them. It would be great to have five threaded inserts down each side built in. Ah well, go forward and conquer....

 

[Fifty150]

4 hours ago, 103west43rd said:

 It is amazing how Ford went from a small commercial van with roof rack mounting positions including threaded metal inserts, to the second generation mini-van with plugs in the roof. What was the thinking? 

 

The only way those plugs and oval holes can make any sense at all, is if they were designed for some OEM oval shaped mounting system.  And they're not.  You can't even get an OEM rubber cap to use as a grommet to run wiring through.  The only thing that those oval cutouts are good for.....well, at least they line up.

 

 

[DonShockley]

The oval holes make more sense if you think about the difference between the aftermarket rack designs and the factory roof rails. Most aftermarked designs are a pair of side to side cross bars, one fore and one aft. But the factory rails which are permanently installed are longer rails running front to back, one on each side. The oval holes make sense for these long rails if you take into account differential heating and cooling. The roof panels and the rails will expand and contract at different rates if they are different materials.So the rails will effectively be getting longer or shorter in relation to the roof panel they are mounted to. If you don't allow for that slight movement with oval mounting holes, the metal roof will buckle or stretch, or the rails will. You see the oval hole fix used a lot in woodworking where moisture and grain differences produce relative movement that would split the wood.

It's less of a risk with the side to side aftermarket rails since the bow of the roof provides plenty of room to flex. It's the extra length and stiffness where the factory rails mount just above the strong door frames that would likely cause a problem. Of course, this is all just a guess on my part.

[Beta Don]

"First off, I'm a little pissed that the rack is quite a bit smaller than shown in the amazon picture. They don't give a width spec on Amazon, but it is 53" wide. Wide enough for a sheet of plywood, until you put the load supports on the rack. With the load supports, the useable width is 43.5". It would be helpful for a utility rack to be design to fit a standard sheet size and they only had to cut the extrusion a few inches longer"

It looks like the load supports are quick and easy to remove from the rails?  If so, take them off, lay your 4 x 8 sheets on the rails and tie them off with a pair of ratchet straps going around the ends of the bars  -  You'll have 2 to 3 inches of bar sticking out beyond the plywood.  Easy to do and very secure!

Don

[AXN-RXN]

44 minutes ago, Beta Don said:

"First off, I'm a little pissed that the rack is quite a bit smaller than shown in the amazon picture. They don't give a width spec on Amazon, but it is 53" wide. Wide enough for a sheet of plywood, until you put the load supports on the rack. With the load supports, the useable width is 43.5". It would be helpful for a utility rack to be design to fit a standard sheet size and they only had to cut the extrusion a few inches longer"

It looks like the load supports are quick and easy to remove from the rails?  If so, take them off, lay your 4 x 8 sheets on the rails and tie them off with a pair of ratchet straps going around the ends of the bars  -  You'll have 2 to 3 inches of bar sticking out beyond the plywood.  Easy to do and very secure!

Don

Yeah, of course that works. But why not design the damn rack so a 4 x 8 sheet fits WITH the load supports?!?! What I'm going to do is design a shorter version of the load support, or copy what VanTech does. They have a flat endcap plate that extends upa few inches with an eyelet. It won't move, but you can push the sheets up against that and then have enough room for one side of load supports.

[Fifty150]

2 hours ago, Beta Don said:

"First off, I'm a little pissed that the rack is quite a bit smaller than shown in the amazon picture. They don't give a width spec on Amazon, but it is 53" wide. Wide enough for a sheet of plywood, until you put the load supports on the rack. With the load supports, the useable width is 43.5". It would be helpful for a utility rack to be design to fit a standard sheet size and they only had to cut the extrusion a few inches longer"

It looks like the load supports are quick and easy to remove from the rails?  If so, take them off, lay your 4 x 8 sheets on the rails and tie them off with a pair of ratchet straps going around the ends of the bars  -  You'll have 2 to 3 inches of bar sticking out beyond the plywood.  Easy to do and very secure!

Don

 

I am afraid that carrying lumber happens to be the shortcoming of a little "city van".  I almost think that the engineers designed it that way to prevent overloading.  If they made the an able to accommodate a piece of plywood, which they easily could have, then it would almost be about the size of an Econoline.   Sure, the vehicle will only be a few inches wider and longer. And I guess in Europe, where these were first sold, there just isn't the same desire to carry American building materials.  Is plywood & sheetrock even the same 4' X 8' size in Europe or Asia?  I don't know, because I've never bought building materials in Europe or Asia.  How do all the Japanese go to their version of Home Depot in those little Tacoma trucks?  The idea was to make the van smaller, for people who did not want such a large vehicle.  And as we all know, if it could fit, people will fill it.  Can you imagine that many pieces of stacked plywood or sheetrock and what it would weigh?  I can see it now.  Somebody will try to stack 40 pieces inside the van, and 10 more on the roof rack.