TURTLE roof rack from Turkey

[zeilstar]

While researching aftermarket rail and rack options, I came across this company in Turkey. Looks like decent manufacturing. 3 cross bars. I literally just ordered one, so will be excited to see how it works out. What was interesting to me was the rails are basically L track, like what is used to secure airplane loads. Should be versatile enough for me to load kayaks onto.

 

The brand is TURTLE

http://turtlecancarry.com/

https://turtlecancarry.de/

 

Ebay listing: https://www.ebay.com/itm/To-Fit-2014-Ford-Transit-Tourneo-Connect-LWB-Roof-Rails-Roof-Rack-Black/323761409103?epid=20029726155&hash=item4b61af0c4f:g:7s0AAOSwB6ZcsuYL

Listed at $380 from Germany, I'm paying $275 (shipped) from Turkey to Michigan, via the email address in the Youtube comments.

 

I was originally thinking of doing a Unistrut system for rails, but wasn't confident on how many mounting points to use, and whether or not the roof curves front to back or is level, then got the price for this rack and just went for it.

 

 

 

 

[jrm223]

That looks like a pretty slick setup. You piqued my interest with L-track, but it looks like that's a proprietary hex-shaped setup, so you'll need their special connectors instead of standard L-track ones. I custom bent two L-track rails a few years ago now and really need to stop procrastinating on installing them, haha. But, I pulled my front headliner out last weekend, so now I have less excuse for procrastinating - I'll be drilling and putting in nut-serts (rivnuts, whatever) using the bolt pattern that's on the L-track I bought. One problem is that the rails I bought are a little bit shorter than the channels on the roof, so I won't be able to go full front-to-back with them like I want to, oh well. I can always pick up a couple short sections to finish it out at some point. 

[Hooty]

Let us know how it goes.  I've been looking for a sub $500 roof rack that uses the stock mounting points (no drilling and riveting) since I bought my '14 last year.  It would be nice to be able to haul the kayak without having to haul a trailer around.

[PWFX]

Was this delivered yet?  Any thoughts or first impressions?

 

[PWFX]

So, I bought this rack system from the link above.  Purchased on Friday and it was shipped from Germany and delivered on Wednesday.  Very quick shipping.

 

I checked into the better name brands... Thule, Yakima, etc... but decided the cost was too much for my needs.  A couple times a year I might want to transport something that doesn’t easily fit inside... extension ladder, lumber, pipe, etc.  Under $500 was my budget.

 

The rails and racks are decent quality.  Absolutely good enough for my needs.  If I wanted to strap a kayak or luggage carrier on top... it would work just fine.  As best I can tell there are no accessory items for this system... just the rails and racks.

 

The frustrating part was 2 of the 6 screws that connect the rails to the roof were too short... how does a manufacturer let this happen?  But a trip to Home Depot got the correct length metric screw.  And a page of instruction was clearly missing but 5 minutes of pondering figured out how this went together.

 

If a trip to HD wasn’t necessary the installation would have taken about 1-1/2 hours at an easy pace.  So far the best solution I’ve seen for this price.  I can recommend this system... in spite of the fact it wasn’t 100% complete.

[Fifty150]

Nice porthole window.

 

My only reservations about products like this, from overseas and a brand unknown - is strength & rigidity.  A big chance to take if everything is not as strong as it should be.  You don't want to be the person to find out that a mounting bolt corroded & stripped, or it just collapses because your ladder or kayak was too heavy.  

 

Looks good.  Your cargo van without a headliner must have been a lot easier to install.  Did you take any photos of your own install?

[tnoll]

I recently bought just their rails on Amazon for my 2019 LWB. I didn’t necessarily need a rack, could add crossbars to the rails later if I did,  but did need something for securing my awning on either side or the rear, or tying to my rear Napier tent that has a docking sleeve at the barn doors. Their rails were cheap/easy and looked smart, much better that the sticking-out eyebolts in strategic spots that were my only other idea. Also came very quickly. The instructions were a little sucky, especially since they specified which OEM mount points to use and the instructions didn’t match putting the actual rails on the roof to make sure they matched up to said holes. Probably written for SWB. The big glitch came when, per the instructions and youtube install video, you are supposed to use a supplied bolt-on-a-stick plastic installer to get under the cab headliner to the front OEM mount hole and stick a bolt up through it from the inside. My headliner is all sealed in by trim around the door frame and the grab handle is mounted through the headliner at that point, with airbag nearby. So, having just bought an air tool to install plusnuts for other mods, I just shot a plusnut into the roof from the outside at that hole to add threads, then went through the top of the bracket with a machine bolt. Wrote them about it; sent pix of my interior. They were responsive. Otherwise they use T bolts into the oval mount points and turn 90 degrees. The plusnuts, the kind where crimping them creates gripping legs on the other side of the material like a molley, are just as good, or better. Wish I’d used them all around. Rivnuts have no such legs, just knurled shoulders that kind of wedge them from stripping the hole and spinning out during the install—most of the time. Actually read a guy’s install on Amazon where he just put an oversize bolt into the hole and thought the threads being tight would hold it …. Ps they have a weight rating, can’t remember though, 150 or 200. Enough.

Edited July 4, 2021 by tnoll

[BSJBSJ]

I just installed this system on my 2021 LWB Cargo. Cross-rails too. Got it off Ebay.  Not super high quality, but it'll be good enough for a cargo carrier without a bunch of extra heavy stuff in it.

 

Mine arrived with only the Bolt on a sticks in the box. A message to the seller got the rest of the mounting hardware sent and delivered in a few days. Kinda crazy that I can get something delivered to VT from Turkey, faster than if it had originated in California!

 

I was able to access the front holes by reaching in from the cargo area. Removing the black hard foam corner fillers can make it even easier... Used lots of silicone to prevent leaks.

Edited July 6, 2021 by BSJBSJ

[RV means Rad Van]

Just installed these rails on my 2015 LWB Wagon.

 

The TC I bought had the factory rails installed but the van arrived with a crumpled rear fender, and somehow nobody noticed it until they brought it out to give me the keys and I saw it (?!).  So I took another van that was basically the same package, minus a couple small interior upgrades and NO FACTORY RAILS.  Not having these items knocked the price down a few hundred, so I said fine, I've already spent enough money today I'll just get the rails/crossbars in the future.  I've bought and installed rail systems before.  Big mistake.  The roof mounting points for the passenger version are not the same as the commercial version, so commercial oriented aftermarket rails were out of the equation.  To get the factory rails installed I was quoted $2000 USD!  They have to take apart the entire ceiling liner on the inside and remove and reinstall the air bags, etc.  Took it to a specialty towing/rack shop and their solution was to drill new holes for a mounting track just inward of the roof gutters.  The whole track/mount/bars package + installation would have come out to $750 before tax.  Better, but since I didn't really need them I put it off.  Moral of the story: get the factory rails bc they're prohibitively expensive to install after the fact.

 

After not checking around for aftermarket solutions for a few years, I decided to see if anything new had come up.  Found these "Turtle Can Carry" rails, and a seller on Amazon had them for $190 USD.  I like the look and function of a raised rail more than the TC flush rail so I decided to give these a shot. 

 

The instructions are not great.  For the LWB, you have to flip the center mounting bracket around from how it's pictured.  Getting the front bolt around the air bag assembly took 2 people and a flashlight.  There are some videos on YouTube that show this step but the head liner, foam, and air bag assembly on my American market version were different from the videos.  Installation was the same just more difficult.  Used some silicone on the washers.  Overall it took about an hour and a half.  I drove it around for a few days before finish tightening the mounting bolts and capping them off.  In hindsight, I should have put Loc-tite or something on the bolts.  The way this bolts onto a naked TC roof is kind of clever, but the interface of the roof and the bolts themselves didn't strike me as bullet proof.  It's all working great now, but we'll see.

 

As for the cross bars, I didn't like the Turtle Can Carry ones so I decided to look for used name brand bars.  After I didn't immediately strike gold I went looking at universal cross bars and found these at Harbor Freight:

 

https://www.harborfreight.com/universal-roof-cross-bars-set-of-2-64877.html

 

They were a good size for a TC and looked like they would fit my Turtle rails so I bought them.  The same model crossbars are sold rebranded in various places, from $60-$110+, but the ease of returning the Harbor Freight ones made $80 seem fine (90 day return policy).

 

This is where it all starts coming together.  These Haul Master universal cross bars fit my Turtle Can Carry rails like they were made for each other.  The 54" bar leaves about an inch hanging over the mounting feet and the aluminum bars and black plastic/rubber feet match the aesthetics of the Turtle rails.  The curvature of the cross bar mounting feet fits the curvature of the rails.  Looks and feels very secure.

 

Some aluminum tape on the bottom of the bars got rid of the whistling.  There is some additional wind noise, but I feel that's only fair when you bolt extra metal to the roof of your vehicle.

 

Haven't had these for very long, maybe 450 miles.  So far they are sturdy and I much prefer the look over the factory rail/Thule cross bars.  Including shipping, taxes, a tube of silicone, and a roll of aluminum tape, I went from "naked roof" to full rack system for $330 USD.  Coming from an initial quote of $2000 for just the rails, I am very pleased so far.  Will update this thread if anything fails.

[BSJBSJ]

I'll have to look at those crossbars. The ones that came with my Turtle Can Carry rails appear to be bowed slightly after trip of less than 100 miles with my rooftop cargo carrier mounted to them. It just had light weight stuff in it like sleeping bags and tents in it.

 

I considered getting a third Turtle Can Carry crossbar, but I was quoted $110 for it. Not worth that, for sure...

 

Got some pics of them mounted?

[TinkerPhil]

On 10/22/2021 at 9:27 PM, RV means Rad Van said:

Just installed these rails on my 2015 LWB Wagon.

 

The TC I bought had the factory rails installed but the van arrived with a crumpled rear fender, and somehow nobody noticed it until they brought it out to give me the keys and I saw it (?!).  So I took another van that was basically the same package, minus a couple small interior upgrades and NO FACTORY RAILS.  Not having these items knocked the price down a few hundred, so I said fine, I've already spent enough money today I'll just get the rails/crossbars in the future.  I've bought and installed rail systems before.  Big mistake.  The roof mounting points for the passenger version are not the same as the commercial version, so commercial oriented aftermarket rails were out of the equation.  To get the factory rails installed I was quoted $2000 USD!  They have to take apart the entire ceiling liner on the inside and remove and reinstall the air bags, etc.  Took it to a specialty towing/rack shop and their solution was to drill new holes for a mounting track just inward of the roof gutters.  The whole track/mount/bars package + installation would have come out to $750 before tax.  Better, but since I didn't really need them I put it off.  Moral of the story: get the factory rails bc they're prohibitively expensive to install after the fact.

 

After not checking around for aftermarket solutions for a few years, I decided to see if anything new had come up.  Found these "Turtle Can Carry" rails, and a seller on Amazon had them for $190 USD.  I like the look and function of a raised rail more than the TC flush rail so I decided to give these a shot. 

 

The instructions are not great.  For the LWB, you have to flip the center mounting bracket around from how it's pictured.  Getting the front bolt around the air bag assembly took 2 people and a flashlight.  There are some videos on YouTube that show this step but the head liner, foam, and air bag assembly on my American market version were different from the videos.  Installation was the same just more difficult.  Used some silicone on the washers.  Overall it took about an hour and a half.  I drove it around for a few days before finish tightening the mounting bolts and capping them off.  In hindsight, I should have put Loc-tite or something on the bolts.  The way this bolts onto a naked TC roof is kind of clever, but the interface of the roof and the bolts themselves didn't strike me as bullet proof.  It's all working great now, but we'll see.

 

As for the cross bars, I didn't like the Turtle Can Carry ones so I decided to look for used name brand bars.  After I didn't immediately strike gold I went looking at universal cross bars and found these at Harbor Freight:

 

https://www.harborfreight.com/universal-roof-cross-bars-set-of-2-64877.html

 

They were a good size for a TC and looked like they would fit my Turtle rails so I bought them.  The same model crossbars are sold rebranded in various places, from $60-$110+, but the ease of returning the Harbor Freight ones made $80 seem fine (90 day return policy).

 

This is where it all starts coming together.  These Haul Master universal cross bars fit my Turtle Can Carry rails like they were made for each other.  The 54" bar leaves about an inch hanging over the mounting feet and the aluminum bars and black plastic/rubber feet match the aesthetics of the Turtle rails.  The curvature of the cross bar mounting feet fits the curvature of the rails.  Looks and feels very secure.

 

Some aluminum tape on the bottom of the bars got rid of the whistling.  There is some additional wind noise, but I feel that's only fair when you bolt extra metal to the roof of your vehicle.

 

Haven't had these for very long, maybe 450 miles.  So far they are sturdy and I much prefer the look over the factory rail/Thule cross bars.  Including shipping, taxes, a tube of silicone, and a roll of aluminum tape, I went from "naked roof" to full rack system for $330 USD.  Coming from an initial quote of $2000 for just the rails, I am very pleased so far.  Will update this thread if anything fails.

 

Hey! 

I just installed these as well and have a question. The front plastic part is not long enough to cover the whole footing in my case, so it kind of hangs in the air a little. Was this the same for you? It seems like they drilled the wholes in slightly the wrong positions as the rear footing has plenty of plastic cover left. (see attached pics)
Just wondering if I should try to get this fixed or if this is normal.

 

Thanks!