I finished installing the roof rack for my 1985 300TD the other day. I thought I'd post some pics of what I'm using to help others that may be looking for a roof rack setup that works on the w123 wagons.

I already had a Thule roof rack for a previous vehicle but I needed new feet to attach it to the wagon.

The Thule 450 Crossroad Foot Pack worked great and I was able to use the load bars from my old rack set up.




The visor helps with wind noise. Even with the ski rack attachment there's no noise.




The 450 foot clamps very securely to the factory rack bars.

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Chad
2006 Nissan Pathfinder LE
1998 Acura 3.0 CL
OBK#44
"Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work." - Aristotle (384-322 B.C.)

SOLD
1985 300TD - Red Dragon
1986 300SDL - Coda
1991 - 300TE
1995 - E320
1985 300CD - Gladys

NICE!
what's the setup cost?
great solution to members without crossbars!

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

Thats a more versatile setup than the cross bars. Me likey.

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http://superturbodiesel.com/images/sig.04.10.jpg
1995 E420 Schwarz
1995 E300 Weiss
#1987 300D Sturmmachine
#1991 300D Nearly Perfect
#1994 E320 Cabriolet
#1995 E320 Touring
#1985 300D Sedan
OBK #42

How much weight is that setup good for? I think the gutter mounted foots are stronger.

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85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 161K now
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked

I already had the load bars, ski rack and visor, so I only needed to buy the foot pack. I found the foot pack used on Ebay and I saw complete load bar and 450 foot pack setups with the locks on Craigslist for less than $200.

50" Load Bars $62.95

450 Crossroad foot pack $152.95

4 pack of Lock cores $48.95

Fairing/Visor $71.95

I also have two bike racks that attach to the load bars and there is no problem with the weight. I'll have to see if I can find the max weight limit somewhere.

I considered buying the factory crossbars, but there are no attachments for them like ski and snowboard racks or bike racks. Thule has tons of attachment options including cargo boxes.

__________________
Chad
2006 Nissan Pathfinder LE
1998 Acura 3.0 CL
OBK#44
"Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work." - Aristotle (384-322 B.C.)

SOLD
1985 300TD - Red Dragon
1986 300SDL - Coda
1991 - 300TE
1995 - E320
1985 300CD - Gladys

Nice work Chad! Looks great too.

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http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7271/7...144c3fc1dc.jpg

We're doing something similar with Thule on our VW Passat wagon. Looks good Chad.

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1985 300D cali 190K

http://mercedes.thatchermathias.com/mw300d.jpg

I've often wondered if those feet would work on the factory rails...now I know, thanks! The thule cross bars will prove to be much much more functional than the factory cross bars, which aren't able to carry much if any of a load.

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1982 240 D, 308,000 - 321,127 miles (sold)
1982 300 TD,166,500 - 226,000 miles
1998 E 320, 120,000 - 144,000 miles
2005 C 230 K, 26,000 - 77,000 miles (sold)

Thanks, I was wondering what you folks with wagons were doing with those two parallel "chrome grab rails", as far as hauling anything up there. Not that I have anything to put up there right now but thats good info.

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1985 Euro 240D 5 spd 140K
1979 240D 5 spd, 40K on engine rebuild
1994 Dodge/Cummins, 5 spd, 121K
1964 Allice Chalmers D15 tractor
2014 Kubota L3800 tractor
1964 VW bug

"Lifes too short to drive a boring car"

Prices has really gone up! I bought my Thule gutter mount foots with locks and cross bars many years ago on sale for under $70 total . The load on yours is on the factory bars where the weight is on the roof. Weight capacity can't be more than whatever the factory bars are.

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85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 161K now
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked

Yup, the Thule setup I just bought for the W211 (including a low profile cargo box for skis) was around $800.

For that kind of money you'd think they'd use quality hardware. They all rust after a few years.

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85 300D turbo pristine w 157k when purchased 161K now
83 300 D turbo 297K runs great. SOLD!
83 240D 4 spd manual- parted out then junked

thule's wife needs shoes too.

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77' 300D, "Cartman" SOLD @ 150K (didn't know what I had)
83' 300SD, "The Superdon" 325k+ @ 28mpg
95 E320 wagon, "Millennium Falcon" 231k+ @ 24 Mpg
95 E300D, "Sherley" 308k @ 33.69 Mpg, currently anticipating a head
99 Suzuki Intruder "Trudy" @ 45 mpg

Nice rack man! Let's see some pictures with it all loaded up now!

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1984 300D, 228k, Light Ivory, Java MB-Tex

It's just a roof rack. The most expensive part is the silly plastic box. I don't leave them on the cars.