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2001 Suburban Upgrades | ARB Roof Rack | Lift Kit | Reading Light | AUX Battery | Power Distribution | Power Routing | Two Way Radio | MP3 Reading Light | MP3 Player | Switch & I/O Panel | Off Road Lights | AxleCam | Mud Guards |
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This full sized ARB basket rack takes up the entire OEM rack area of the 2001 Suburban, and fits well with the new body style. The rack can easily hold 300 to 500 lbs when evenly distributed, and is solid enough to walk on. Mounting this rack can be a bit of a trick, but if the factory runners are used, the task is made a bit simpler. When using the OEM runners, two styles of Thule rack mount systems can be used to mount the ARB rack, both with advantages and disadvantages. |
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With either system, the basket is bolted to Thule crossbars at the front and rear ARB mount points. Due to the contour of the 2001 Suburban roofline, the middle ARB mount point is not easily taken advantage of. When using the Thule 430 Tracker II Foot Pack/Quick Release mounting system, a third 430 mount and cross bar can be added just rear of the middle ARB mount plate. There may be no need to bolt the basket to this third cross bar is it is mainly used for basket support. The quick release system of this mount makes removal more convenient than the Thule 415 system. However, with the ARB rack weighing in at over 150 pounds, removing it will not be done very often. |
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The downside to this system is the 2 inch added height required by the quick release mechanism. Each mounting foot uses two oblong swivel nuts that lock into the OEM rail. However, when tightening the feet onto the rail, the nuts will bend a bit as the bolt pulls these locks up into the OEM rail. If this system is used, custom-made rail locks should be manufactured to handle the stress this rack will put on the mounting system in heavy, jolting use. |
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The Thule 415 Railing Foot Pack/Low Profile system provides, well, a lower profile than the 430 system. The 415 system will only work on the standard GM narrow Suburban type OEM runners and will not attach to the wider, taller, Z71 sport rack runners. With this system, you do not have the option of a third cross rail for basket support. On the standard OEM rack runners, the Thule 415 has a rubber coated retaining bracket that will (honesty) snap under the rail between the rail and body of the roof. With this setup, only two Thule cross bars can be used, front and back, bolted to the ARB mounts. This system results in a very low profile rack, with the top of the roof to the bottom of the rack being about 2 inches (as opposed to the 4+ inches with the 430 system). The under rail brackets that snapped in place are on the order of 1/16 inch to the roofline. This is close enough in fact that with a small to medium load in the basket this rubberized bracket will rub onto the roof. There may not be enough flex in the OEM rail to allow the roof to become damaged, but this is one reason to think about the higher profile solution. A minor, but notable, problem with the low profile system is the difficulty in washing the top of the truck. With only 2 inches of clearance, a small towel and a long broom handle are needed to swab under the ARB rack. Once either system is used, and the basket attached, the question of OEM rail-body attachment strength comes into question. With 500 pounds of gear in the basket, bounding over boulders, through rivers, twisting and torquing on generally bad roads, how much will the stock rails take before tearing out of the roof body? It makes sense to be absolutely sure of the body-rail strength before carrying too much, too far, for too long, over too nasty of terrain. |
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10/16/01 |
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