Mike 1 Posted December 6, 2017 Share hi all Recently bought a Ford Ecosport Ambiente . Went the Thule way but they said no go - must buy a Ford rack and then it still must be modified so the Thule bike mounts can go on top. Any of you have the same car but sorted the racks out? if yes , are they expensive ( price ). Based in Cape Town. and no I don't have a towbar. cheers Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Long Wheel Base Posted December 6, 2017 Share My folks got an ecosport. Bought the bars that go left/right from ford and attached them to the racks that the car came with(not sure if all models come with the racks going forward/backwards). Bought the thule proride and it works 100%. No mods needed. You use the curved mounting option as opposed to the bolt option(if that makes sense?)The ford racks basically have the same shape as the thule aero bars. Just mounts differently to the thule. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike 1 Posted December 6, 2017 Share My folks got an ecosport. Bought the bars that go laft/right from ford and attached them to the racks that the car came with(not sure if all models come with the racks going forward/backwards). Bought the thule proride and it works 100%. No mods needed. You use the curved mounting option as opposed to the bolt option(if that makes sense?)The ford racks basically have the same shape as the thule aero bars. Just mounts differently to the thule. My folks got an ecosport. Bought the bars that go laft/right from ford and attached them to the racks that the car came with(not sure if all models come with the racks going forward/backwards). Bought the thule proride and it works 100%. No mods needed. You use the curved mounting option as opposed to the bolt option(if that makes sense?)The ford racks basically have the same shape as the thule aero bars. Just mounts differently to the thule.Thanks a mil. will look into that . oke at Thule was saying I have to drill hole into the racks to hold the bike racks .....so hopefully his talking k@k Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike 1 Posted December 6, 2017 Share My folks got an ecosport. Bought the bars that go left/right from ford and attached them to the racks that the car came with(not sure if all models come with the racks going forward/backwards). Bought the thule proride and it works 100%. No mods needed. You use the curved mounting option as opposed to the bolt option(if that makes sense?)The ford racks basically have the same shape as the thule aero bars. Just mounts differently to the thule. Thanks a mil. will look into that . oke at Thule was saying I have to drill hole into the racks to hold the bike racks .....so hopefully his talking k@kby the way ...you don't perhaps have a photo of what it looks like to show me please ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Long Wheel Base Posted December 6, 2017 Share My folks got an ecosport. Bought the bars that go left/right from ford and attached them to the racks that the car came with(not sure if all models come with the racks going forward/backwards). Bought the thule proride and it works 100%. No mods needed. You use the curved mounting option as opposed to the bolt option(if that makes sense?)The ford racks basically have the same shape as the thule aero bars. Just mounts differently to the thule. Thanks a mil. will look into that . oke at Thule was saying I have to drill hole into the racks to hold the bike racks .....so hopefully his talking k@kYou use the part 50552 and not 50335 and 50336. Assuming this is the rack you want to fit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Long Wheel Base Posted December 6, 2017 Share I can take a photo later after work if the above picture doesn't help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike 1 Posted December 6, 2017 Share I can take a photo later after work if the above picture doesn't help.Perfect! I have all the relevant stuff.im more interested in seen what the actual roof rack looks like . I have the bike rack as you presented, so thank a ton for your help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Long Wheel Base Posted December 6, 2017 Share Perfect! I have all the relevant stuff.im more interested in seen what the actual roof rack looks like . I have the bike rack as you presented, so thank a ton for your help.Ok, I will make a plan to try see my folks this weekend otherwise I'll get them to send me pics of the rack they bought from ford if you need the pics sooner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alleyne Posted December 6, 2017 Share You can have an extended towbar installed so that you can still use the standard Thule bike carries at the back. We had it installed on ours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CdT85 Posted December 8, 2017 Share hi all Recently bought a Ford Ecosport Ambiente . Went the Thule way but they said no go - must buy a Ford rack and then it still must be modified so the Thule bike mounts can go on top. Any of you have the same car but sorted the racks out? if yes , are they expensive ( price ). Based in Cape Town. and no I don't have a towbar. cheers Mike I recently bough the Ecosport Trend 1.5dci and had to buy the crossbars directly from Ford. They were relatively cheap, R1050 for the set. The problem with the Ambiente is that you do not get aftermarket roof rack for it. You will have to buy the rails to mount the crossbars to from Ford. The quoted me about R10 K to fit the whole setup (rails + crossbars + fitment) at Ford Somerset West when I still did my homework to decide which one to buy. That was part of my motivation to rather buy the Trend in stead of the Ambiente. Your best and cheapest bet will either be a tow bar or a spare wheel mounted bicycle carrier.If you bought new, just check about your warranty being void when installing a tow bar. Ford Somerset West informed me that I may not install a tow bar as it will void my warranty ( I bought new from them), but Ford Paarl is more than willing to install one, and says it won`t. Bit of a contradictory response between the two. Lastly. The roof racks max weight they can carry can also not be confirmed. The South African Ecosport user manual states 20kg max, vs 40kg in the UK user manual. Hope this helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CdT85 Posted December 8, 2017 Share Thanks a mil. will look into that . oke at Thule was saying I have to drill hole into the racks to hold the bike racks .....so hopefully his talking k@k Thule at Somerset Mall installed my bikerack (Proride 598) with clamps that go around the crossbars. no holes to be drilled at all. Will take photos and post it a bit later Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CdT85 Posted December 8, 2017 Share Some photos as promised rear crossbar mount: front crossbar mount: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twaatie Posted December 8, 2017 Share I recently bough the Ecosport Trend 1.5dci and had to buy the crossbars directly from Ford. They were relatively cheap, R1050 for the set. The problem with the Ambiente is that you do not get aftermarket roof rack for it. You will have to buy the rails to mount the crossbars to from Ford. The quoted me about R10 K to fit the whole setup (rails + crossbars + fitment) at Ford Somerset West when I still did my homework to decide which one to buy. That was part of my motivation to rather buy the Trend in stead of the Ambiente. Your best and cheapest bet will either be a tow bar or a spare wheel mounted bicycle carrier.If you bought new, just check about your warranty being void when installing a tow bar. Ford Somerset West informed me that I may not install a tow bar as it will void my warranty ( I bought new from them), but Ford Paarl is more than willing to install one, and says it won`t. Bit of a contradictory response between the two. Lastly. The roof racks max weight they can carry can also not be confirmed. The South African Ecosport user manual states 20kg max, vs 40kg in the UK user manual. Hope this helpsThink that BS about the towbar voiding warranty. Just has to be installed by manufacture approved fitment centre Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CdT85 Posted December 8, 2017 Share Think that BS about the towbar voiding warranty. Just has to be installed by manufacture approved fitment centre Also have that idea about it. made more sense to have ford fit it as part of my sale, but they didn't want to play ball Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
droo Posted December 8, 2017 Share Think that BS about the towbar voiding warranty. Just has to be installed by manufacture approved fitment centre Yeah, if you fit the wrong towbar they catch fire... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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