I recently purchased a set of Cross bars for a 2004 Cayenne Turbo. My car comes with the factory roof rail system. I have a few questions about install.

Considering my car has the factory roof rail? Do they have to be removed to install the Crossbars?
How involved is this mod?

Attached are some photos for reference.

Notice the silver truck has the factory roof rails and the Black one has the crossbars without the rail system.

Thanks

Sam

 

Did you find out about this? I was wondering the same.

 

To answer this.. I have both systems. It's not that involved to go from one to the other. Maybe 45 minutes. On the roof rails you will see small plugs that you need to pop out to get access to the bolts. Unbolt them and left the roof rail up. Then you have to remove the black mounts for the rail itself. Once you do that you can slide the roof racks into the tracks of the roof and go from there. Personally I switched from the roof racks to the rails because I am using Thule roof racks now. Much more user friendly and allows for more accessories. In the summer time I switch back to the factory roof racks because I like the fact that I can unlock them and slide them to the back of the roof so I don't hear and wind buffeting.

 

Thanks for the reply!

So, if I understand your post correctly, you can use the factory roof rails with Thule roof racks/cross bars?

I prefer the look of the roof rails but they seem like a useless design to me since they lack cross bars.

 

This is with the load bars out in but placed all the way at the back of the car.
These are withcthe load bars and Thule roof racks in place

 

That clears it up, thanks! Nice pics!

 

We are going to upgrade from Thulee & Yakimaa roof racks as they are more appropriate for taking the bicycles to the park and skis to the slope. We need something more robust for what we do. Looking into something like a Gobi Stealth Rack or the Rhino Rack Backbone.


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To see more 'Otis' and what we do, copy link location below & paste
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http://rennlist.com/forums/porsche-cayenne-forum/968788-meet-otis.html

 

Otis rocks. I see you have the Thule bar on the factory rails. I don't know how you'd tie in a Gobi. The advantage to the Rhino seems to be the multiple points of attachment, spreading the load. You might accomplish the same with using 4 of the Thule racks. That's what I did when carrying three kayaks and a canoe. Interested in seeing your final solution.

 

 

 

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Are these a Porsche OEM part? - if so recommend going to a dealer to get the part number, then try online folks like Suncoast to purchase.
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Our Yakima rack is left over from a previous vehicle. The reason we do not like the Yakima is that they shift, even with a load below its rating. Folks with Thule are not satisfied as it too is a consumer grade product.
It is not comforting when you are on the road and your load shifts. This is why we are now going with Frontrunner - you can order direct from them.

Note we have not yet purchased the Frontrunner rack yet - they will mount to our Porsche rails.

"Same day shipping On all orders placed before 12pm pst - FREE SHIPPING on all ROOF RACK KITS *to the lower 48 states, UPS ground." -- -- www frontrunneroutfitters com
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https://rennlist.com/forums/cayenne-...meet-otis.html

 

UOTE=911rcr;4727622][/QUOTE]
I bought these from a dealership in the ca Bay​ area. I forget the part number, but they are readily available. I like these because they slide easily to multiple locations in the roof track. They have built-in locks and remove easily. I mounted a cargo carrier easily, but you can't use the standard ubolts because of the width of the bars.
I made my own.