2006 Honda Odyssey - 7630 km - Thule Crossbars and Evolution 1800

We're planning a family vacation--road trip!!!--this summer and in preparation I bought some Thule crossbars for our 2006 Honda Odyssey. Several months ago I saw another black Odyssey with silver coloured crossbars and I really liked the look. So that's what I bought from Rack Attack. The nice thing is that dasnowman from NASIOC works there and was able to help me out and show me how to fit it on properly....

The Honda Odyssey comes with roof railings but no crossbars. On our past vehicles I've always had factory crossbars, but I found that because they were always slightly curved, after market accessories never fit the best. With the Thule crossbars I have the option of removing them and they look great. These are the parts I got:
  • No. 450R, Rapid Crossroad Foot Pack
  • No. RB47, 47" Rapid Aero Load Bars


For some reason, I had a hard time fitting one of the crossbars because the railings are a bit wider at the front. Once I was able to get them on, the Thule Evolution 1800 cargo box I bought several years ago for our Mazda MPV fit great on top. (Here's what the cargo box looked like on our Toyota Sequoia.)







These particular crossbars have a rubber non-slip pad on top and a limited lifetime warranty. Yesterday, I drove with just the rear crossbar and did not hear any additional wind noise. This morning I did a short drive with the cargo box and there's a little bit of wind whistle starting faintly at about 50 km/h and is bit more steady and noticeable at 60 km/h. At this speed, it's not very loud--the radio/stereo will mask it but I'll report back on the noise once I do some more driving.

Comments

  1. UPDATE: I had a chance to take the Odyssey out on the highway with the cargo box. At higher speeds, the whistling sound does get louder. (It sounds like someone blowing whistling through their teeth.)

    However, at higher speeds the road noise from the tires also increases, so the whistling noise just blends in. If I wasn't paying attention, then I wouldn't really notice. To me that is totally acceptable because I do have a large box mounted on the roof.

    I've removed the box for now and I'll see if the crossbars themselves make any noise.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm taking a chance that you'll read this post over a year later since your last post. I went on Rack Attack to order your set up and they are suggesting 53" cross bars. I know your post stated you had the 47" cross bars. I have an 07 Odyssey so the dimensions did not change from your 06. I just don't want to bars to extend past the van. Any input would be appreciated!!

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  3. If you don't want them to extend past the roof, go for the shorter ones. But I'm confident that the 53" cross bars won't extend past the van because the body is wider than the roof.

    When I first got mine, I thought they were a bit short but was assured that it was the proper size. I would have liked them longer because I thought it might make them easier to install on the van. With the shorter length, I had to be careful with the placement on the roof rack. Once I got it right, I marked it with black tape so I could remember for the next time.

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  4. Will this setup work on a 2000 Ody?

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  5. The body style is different between the 2000 and 2006 models, but I don't know how different the roof rail dimensions would be. There are a variety of sizes available, however, so I think you could find one to fit. The Thule website should have a fitment guide.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi,

    I wanna thank you for the posting and pictures.
    I am about to pick up a exact same set but not sure if 47" would be ok. I like it as flush as possible so this is perfect.

    I thought about the aeroblade edge but it looks to me the usable rack is less due to the design.

    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete

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