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Yakima Racks developed Mighty Mounts adapters as the solution for connecting certain Yakima kayak racks, upright mount bike racks and the Yakima BasketCase gear carrier to virtually all factory roof rack crossbars as well as other after-market car rack bars including the elliptical Thule Rapid Aero load bars, Thule Xsporter truck rack bars and Votex rack bars (Votex racks have silver elliptical bars with a channel in them & are found on certain model Volkswagen, Audi, Saab, BMW, Volvo cars etc.).
There are three different styles of Yakima MightyMounts adapters -- Yakima Universal Mighty Mounts are the first style; Yakima Horizontal Mighty Mounts and Yakima Vertical Mighty Mounts are the second style; and Yakima 4H Horizontal Mighty Mounts and Yakima 4V Vertical Mighty Mounts are the third style.
YAKIMA UNIVERSAL MIGHTYMOUNTS
These are the latest generation Yakima MightyMounts adapters. They improve on the first generation Yakima Horizontal Mighty Mounts and Yakima Vertical Mighty Mounts because with the Universal MightyMounts it is no longer necessary to determine the specific MightyMount needed to fit a specific vehicle's factory rack bars. The Yakima Universal MightyMounts are designed to universally fit virtually all factory racks regardless of crossbar shape and size (the crossbars are the two roof bars that run across the top of the car rooftop from driver-side to passenger side).
Also, with the Universal Mighty Mounts it is no longer necessary to choose between the Horizontal model that is compatible with Yakima upright mount bike carriers (the type that does not require first removing the front bike wheel), certain Yakima kayak carriers (many current Yakima kayak racks mount directly to factory rack crossbars) and the Yakima BasketCase cargo gear carrier or the Yakima Vertical MightyMounts model that works with older model Yakima ski carriers & snowboard carriers (all current Yakima ski racks / snowboard racks mount directly to virtually all factory rack crossbars and other after-market roof rack bar styles including the elliptical Thule Rapid Aero load bars, Thule Xsporter truck rack bars and Votex rack bars (Votex racks have silver elliptical bars with a channel in them & are found on certain model Volkswagen, Audi, Saab, BMW, Volvo cars etc.).
Bottom Line:
The Yakima Universal Mighty Mount adapters are viewed as superior to the other styles because the same set of Universal MightyMounts works on all kinds of factory rack styles on the market today. And it's especially convenient to just switch the Universal MightyMounts and gear carrier over to another vehicle's factory rack crossbars if ever necessary, no hassles of purchasing new specific MightyMounts to fit the new vehicle.
YAKIMA HORIZONTAL & VERTICAL MIGHTYMOUNTS
Still available from Yakima Racks, the Horizontal Mighty Mounts and Vertical Mighty Mounts are the first generation factory rack adapters developed by Yakima. While performing the same functions as the Yakima Universal MightyMount adapters, they are available in many different specific models to fit individual factory rack shapes & sizes found on specific vehicles. Additionally, there are two different types available depending on what Yakima gear carrier you want to mount to your car roof. The Horizontal MightyMounts are compatible with Yakima upright mount bike carriers (the type that does not require first removing the front bike wheel), certain Yakima kayak carriers (many current Yakima kayak racks mount directly to factory rack crossbars) and the Yakima BasketCase cargo gear carrier. The Yakima Vertical MightyMounts are compatible with older model Yakima ski carriers & snowboard carriers (all current Yakima ski racks / snowboard racks mount directly to virtually all factory rack crossbars).
Bottom Line:
While it is usually not possible to transfer these types of Mighty Mounts to another vehicle, as there are many different models of Yakima Horizontal MightyMounts and Vertical MightyMounts, each designed to specifically match a particular vehicle's factory rack crossbars shape & size, some folks that know they will be using the same vehicle prefer these because they are not as expensive as the Yakima Universal Mighty Mounts adapters.
YAKIMA 4H HORIZONTAL & 4V VERTICAL MIGHTYMOUNTS
Also first generation models, the Yakima 4H and 4V Mighty Mounts are specifically designed to work with Thule square load bars. They enable certain discontinued Yakima ski & snowboard racks, kayak racks, Yakima upright mount bike racks and Yakima BasketCase to install on Thule square load bars. However, current Yakima roof mount ski-snowboard racks, kayak racks, bike racks, BasketCase and other Yakima gear carriers now come with Yakima Universal SnapArounds included. The Yakima Universal SnapArounds enable these gear carriers to mount directly to the Thule square load bars & the 4H and 4V Mighty Mounts are no longer needed.
Bottom Line:
The Yakima 4H and 4V MightyMounts are obsolete for everyone except those with very old / discontinued Yakima gear carriers that do not have the Yakima Universal SnapArounds included and want to install their Yakima gear carrier on Thule square load bars.
ADDITIONAL GENERAL INFORMATION
- Yakima Racks is
constantly working to make their roof mount gear carriers directly compatible with factory rack bars and competitors' base rack system crossbar styles. Many now are packaged with universal adapters included, no MightyMounts required.
We highly recommend clicking the link below to view compatibility specifications of the most popular roof mount Yakima gear carriers when used on various base rack crossbars:
» complete Yakima gear carrier compatibility chart - Using our easy Yakima Racks automated fit guide is often a convenient way to determine Mighty Mounts compatibility with your specific vehicle, as well as selecting the Yakima gear carriers that work with Mighty Mounts:
- And as always, please contact us with any additional questions you may have.
