Well one of the bike parks around me opens this weekend so I guess I am going to try the factory rack and hope it works.

 

Go for it, and let me know if you have any questions.

 

MY GOD; will MINI ever get this solved?

My clubman arrives this month and I want to add the rack.

 

So add the rack.

 

So....bend the gutter; chip the paint, make your door leak...and have no recourse with MINI.

 

Those are just fiction...my husband got it on no problem. Nothing is bent or broken and it looks better then the dealer install....

 

Now why would you want to do that? Just have a friend who's good at following directions do it for you. I have no chipped paint, bent gutters, or leaky doors.

 

+1

 

Ok, let's not say that any negatives that someone mentions are "just fiction" because some people have had negative repercussions with this rack on their Clubmans, while we know others have not.

Right now MINI has put out a bulletin saying that they are not installing this rack on the Clubman - click on this link to read it as it exists: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...4&postcount=40. A number of people are finding ways to buy it and install it - and if that's what they choose to do, good for them. If some choose to wait - good for them, too.

Eventually MINI will come out with their "fix", it's an individual's choice to go whichever route they choose while being aware of the various realities.

 

LOL - Tim, where in the directions does it say to disassemble both ends of the rack to install it like you did? While I admire your resourcefulness of getting the rack on there, it sounds like you had the same issue I ran into where the only way to get it on was to pull it apart - and it sure doesn't make it very easy for folks to pull the rack off in a pinch if they need to.

Also, just as a follow-up. From speaking to a couple of dealers in Northern California, they stated they had good luck with installs on some Clubmans, and terrible luck on others (where it was almost impossible to install). They SA's seemed to think something either changed with the rack ends or the gutter lip on the Clubman may have changed at some point. So, this may be the reason for the inconsistencies in rack installs.

 

James; your install looks perfect.

Exactly the basket I had been looking at. Think I can get a fishing float tube in there ? Approximately 40" dia.

Nice job.

 

Okay, so I didn't completely follow the directions. Actually, I didn't even try to put it on without taking it apart first. I knew it would be difficult, so that was the first thing I did.

 

Very cool. Where did you get that?

 

I looked at the rack on an R56 today, and it looked good. What makes it harder on the Clubbie? Are there slots for the feet? I'll keep watching, but I have a question: Will regular Thule bike trays fit on the MINI load bars?

 

That looks like the Yakima Load Warrior. Most of the newer trays by Yakima and Thule will fit the Mini bars.

 

Well the dealer talked me out of the rack today. I still have time now that the bike park isn't opening this weekend so I'll give it more time. Even better if the hitch makes it out by the time I need it! getting 45lb. bikes on top of even the Mini would be a pain.

 

Downhiller?

I feel your pain. Not so much the weight on ours as it is the legnth. (tandem)

 

Yep downhill. Been thinking of getting a tandem for the wife and I.

 

Will not have Clubman until mid-summer, but ordered the rack, guess I have 2 months to figure whether the dealer should install it or not.

Would someone that has the rack installed provide the distance between the two crossbars and the width going across? We have a Thule tandem bike carrier, curious whether the spacing would allow us to throw it on the mini (that and our Yakima rocket box - maybe a dream...).

Tandem rig is a Cannondale MTN Bike (and yes we have done single track w/it ).

 

My SA installed the rack when I bought the Clubman a couple of months ago (before the issue was widely know). Upon inspection (after reading here), the club door window had a gap. I went so far as to remove the rack myself, and meticulously re-installed it, still had a gap, so it definitely seems to be a design issue. As a workaround I simply applied a small bead of soft weather stripping around the window edges and now it no longer leaks. Until a permanent fix has made it to my SA, this works for me, of course, your mileage may vary.

 

bob, thanks for adding your experiences and insights to this thread. I hope you've read this one the whole way through because of holdenontoits' experience at his dealer. He's away now so I know he can't give us an update.**I'd forgotten that he has not posted on this thread, so you can read more here: http://www.mini2.com/forum/mini-club...ml#post3416927 - his first post is #128.

Many thanks and I'm glad that you've been able to fix your own rack to keep it working. Please do let us know when you get the "official fix"....

So you have two MINIs, now - that's wonderful!

 

Mini01770-
The Thule tandem attachment (made by ATOC) is adjustable for the space between the crossbars. The front plate is fixed, but the rear plate can move fore or aft. I'd have to go find the instuctions to see what spread they recommend.

 

So, has anyone actually tried mounting the Thule #2145 fit kit and rack yet?

My Thule dealer friend just handed me the fit kit to see how it looks compared to the roofline of the Clubbie, but I still can't imagine it working out. It looks as though the rubber pads would be on the outside of the roof "dune line", and almost vertical. So, when you pull down on the mount with the gutter clamp, it seems to me that it would just pull down the side of the roof.

If she can get me a set of feet and a crossbar to play with, I'll do a trial fit and see how it actually looks and works.

 

Not I.

 

For what it's worth, I spoke to my SA this morning on the rack issues and he said he had spoke to the MINI NA Accessories Manager (either this morning or yesterday) in regards to the Clubman rack. MINI has told him that a retrofit kit will be available sometime in July that will fix the design issues with the racks. It sounds like the original manufactorer deviated from spec at some point when building the racks and there is a risk that the bad ones could come off of the vehicles. So, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that July will bring good news.