DIY Install: Thule Xsporter Pro Adjustable Height Truck Bed Ladder Rack on your 2018 Toyota Tacoma

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Speaker 1: Today on our 2018 Toyota Tacoma we're gonna be test fitting the Thule Xsporter Pro adjustable height truck bed ladder rack, part number TH500XT-XK4. This is the silver color. This also comes in black as part number TH500XTB-XK4.The Thule Xsporter Pro is a pretty unique ladder rack in that it's height can be adjusted, meaning you can adjust the height to use this with an existing roof rack if you have things that go beyond your actual ladder rack, or you can have things such as the ladder, the lumber, or your home improvement equipment above the cab like you see here. Or you can even adjust it to go below the cab to carry items such as tents.Another feature that makes this ladder rack unique is it works with vehicles with a deck rail system, like you see here, using the special clamps. It does come with load stops, which are adjustable back and forth by loosening and tightening the knobs here, so you can keep those in place while you tie them down.While it doesn't include any tie-downs for your ladders or your gear, there are several options at etrailer.com that you can find that will suit that purpose.This does have a two track up at the top, and this is how you slide your load stops back and forth. It adjusts by loosening this knob here on either side to the left at the same time.

So you may need an extra set of hands to do this. And then you adjust the height to whatever setting you may need. And there are numbers on each rung here so you know where you're at on both sides. Now, as far as adjustability is concerned, from the top of the bedrail to the top of the bar it has a range from 6 inches to 31 1/2 inches.We've gone ahead and removed our gear here to show off some additional features. First, we're gonna talk about the aerodynamic shape of the bars themselves.

You see the aerodynamic shape here, and that's gonna help cut down wind noise and drag while you drive. And it also has a rubber strip up at the top when it's not being used to also help out with that as well.Now, if you're hauling gear that's below the truck bed that's gonna help you out a lot with wind noise and drag, also, because it's not gonna be in that direct wind hit.This has a carrying capacity of 450 pounds. And the load bar dimensions are gonna be 72 inches long by 3 1/2 inches wide by 1 1/2 inches tall.When comparing the system with other ladder racks, one that comes up is gonna be the T Rack Pro 2 ladder rack from Track Rack.Now, these do have some similarities in that they're both aluminum made, they're both very sturdy. However, there are some differences that we wanna go over too. For one, it's gonna be the carrying capacity.

The Track Rack is gonna have 1,000 pounds carrying capacity compared to the 450 that the Xsporter has.Now, a lot of that comes with its adjustability, which is its second difference. The Track Rack is a solid rack, you can not adjust it up or down as needed. And with this being able to be adjusted up and down as needed, that's what gonna affect the load rate.Another advantage of the T Rack Pro 2 is that it can work with truck bed toolboxes once being installed because it has special hardware to do so. Unfortunately, with the Xsporter, since it does, again, have the adjustability, it will not work with toolboxes.One of the customers' concerns about this ladder rack is gonna be with the clamps themselves, mainly with the bolts that are used to install them because they keep on stripping out. One thing that helped us out when we installed this was before we even put them onto the truck bed itself we took the clamp by itself as well as the bolt and we ran them in and out, back and forth, and to get all the burs out of the actual threads inside the clamp.Another concern that customers have with the clamps is how often you have to tighten them down because they're afraid of them coming loose while you drive.

They do recommend in the instructions that after so many miles or so many hours of use that you do retighten or re torque these as you go.Most of the customers pretty much concurred that they really like the adjustability of the rack and how easy it is to put it together with the instructions.Now that we've gone over some of the features of the Xsporter Pro let's go ahead and show you how it installs. But first, I'd like to come up to the front here and show you how we installed our front bar. We went ahead and placed it as close to the cab