add_rock Posted November 2, 2005 Share Posted November 2, 2005 I'm in the market for a rack along with the bike carrier and cargo attachments for my '05 Wagon. In your experience what are the best makes & models for utility, durability & cost? Is there a significant difference between the OEM system and Yakima or Thule? Also if anyone can share where they got the best deal on price, that would be great, too. Thankshttp://legacygt.com/forums/images/icons/icon14.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laz Posted November 2, 2005 Share Posted November 2, 2005 I have use the Thule system on my car(s) for many years. Actually the one system I have now has been through 3 cars, and all I ever had to do was just buy new feet for the particular car. If you do end up buying the Thule I have an extra bike carrier that I would be willing to sell. Ebay is your friend. X --- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c-lo Posted November 2, 2005 Share Posted November 2, 2005 love yakimas stuff. had it on my past 3 cars. not on this one because of the interferance with the sunroof. I now use a hitch to carry my bikes. 258k miles - Stock engine/minor suspension upgrades/original shocks/rear struts replaced at 222k/4 passenger side wheel bearings/3 clutches/1 radiator/3 turbos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaycee Posted November 3, 2005 Share Posted November 3, 2005 There are a few other threads on this topic already but they were a while ago - you may want to try to search as I can't rmember all the details. As to which manufacturer you use they're probably about the same in terms of quality. I had Thule on my previous car and have had great customer service from them. The real clincher for me though was that the Yakima EZ Rider crossbars didn't have a locking feature whereas the Thule 440 crossbars did. I had to do a minor mod to the rear crossbar to get it back as far as I wanted but it's all good now. That mod is covered well with pictures in one of the previous threads. You may also want to consider such things as noise increase from the crossbars and attachments. I don't have a sunroof on my wagon so I haven't noticed much of a problem. I use the rack so often I generally leave it on the car all the time with at least the bike trays on it. If you have a sunroof you may want to consider putting one of those fairings up front. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forestir Posted November 3, 2005 Share Posted November 3, 2005 So, are the stock crossbars basically useless? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaycee Posted November 3, 2005 Share Posted November 3, 2005 So, are the stock crossbars basically useless? Well, the Legacy GT Wagon (at least mine) didn't come with stock crossbars - only the rails. I thought about purchasing the Subaru badged accessory but they were made by a company I hadn't head of before so I decided to stick with what I know. Most of the modern attachments (for example from Thule and Yakima) will fit most any bar type (round - Yakima, square - Thule, wing-shaped - Subaru) so your options are still pretty wide open once you get crossbars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PGT Posted November 3, 2005 Share Posted November 3, 2005 ordered my Thule from http://www.rackattack.com/ good price. One note about the Thule - you have to mod the crossbars to allow full spread on the roof due to Subaru's non-parallel design of the rails. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
castor Posted November 3, 2005 Share Posted November 3, 2005 My dealer told me that the stock Subi roof rack system is manufactured by Thule.....???? Can anyone confirm? C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PGT Posted November 3, 2005 Share Posted November 3, 2005 no, MontBlanc. It even says so right on the rack. Don't believe your dealer. It's a square crossbar, but not Thule. I'm not even sure Thule accessories will work on the stock bars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnoDork Posted November 3, 2005 Share Posted November 3, 2005 I have the OEM racks on my wagon paired with Yakima Snowboard attachements...works great, no issues or problems, easy to take on or off and easy to adjust if need be. ~Sucka-Duck~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PGT Posted November 3, 2005 Share Posted November 3, 2005 do those Yakima accessories use a square to round adaptor (meaning that Thule works fine)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnoDork Posted November 3, 2005 Share Posted November 3, 2005 My yakimas came with both!....the bar attachments have an attached insert to accomidate the yakima round bar but those inserts can be broken off to accomidate a square bar, IE thule or the OEM Subaru bars!....The only one you have to by new attachment hardware for is the aero style bars like on a 4Runner or the OEM Subaru Aero Cross Bars. ~Sucka-Duck~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LGTL Posted November 5, 2005 Share Posted November 5, 2005 I'm looking for ski rack for my LGT sedan. Any suggestions? I saw one person complained that the Q clips strachted his paint. Anybody know if this design flaw was fixed? Any input is much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChruiSSer Posted November 6, 2005 Share Posted November 6, 2005 I have the Yakima rack with the round bars. I'm using the THULE 6ski or 4snowboard attachment. It works great. What really cool is the Thule is made for square bars but it also worked on the round bars. When I'm not using it I just fold the attachments flat and it reduced the wind noice. there's NO scratches, and it worked great. I couldn't be happier. I purchased mine used on the forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LGTL Posted November 6, 2005 Share Posted November 6, 2005 I have the Yakima rack with the round bars. I'm using the THULE 6ski or 4snowboard attachment. It works great. What really cool is the Thule is made for square bars but it also worked on the round bars. When I'm not using it I just fold the attachments flat and it reduced the wind noice. there's NO scratches, and it worked great. I couldn't be happier. I purchased mine used on the forum. thanks for the advice. I had no idea you could mix Yakima and Thule pieces. Maybe I'll just go with all Yakima (thats the piece on yours that is conected to the car?). Is there any benefit to the thul ski rack over the yakima? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brad21 Posted November 6, 2005 Share Posted November 6, 2005 My dealer told me that the stock Subi roof rack system is manufactured by Thule.....???? Can anyone confirm?C Totally Thule compatible, I have one, it's great although it's a little short if you want to carry more than 3 bikes on the top. Got the feet and rails from Subey for $125. I had rails already so it was a no-brainer even though I prefer hitch mount racks (of which I own 4) but the receiver for the car is over $400! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted November 6, 2005 Share Posted November 6, 2005 Back before 2000, both Thule and Yakima started making their products compaitable with ANY cross bar types. Subaru roof rack is made by Mont Blanc. Subaru roof rack accessories are made by Yakima. I used to work at places that sold both Yakima and Thule. I prefer Yakima's round bars over Thules rectangular bars. Round bars are much more versatile. Plus since sedans have rounded roof lines, accessories fit much better on round bars than non-colinear rectangular bars. For LGT sedans, you can go either one and not worry about compaitablity if you switch to a different car, provided they use the same towers with different fit kits. On the wagon, Yakima does use an unique tower $120, but you can use any of their cross bar lengths. Thule on the other hand uses a proprietary tower/cross bar unit that is designed only for Subaru Legacy. I think it's stupid to have the cross bars and towers integrated together because you can't switch to a longer cross bar. With the wagons, the spoiler does cause some problems with bike racks and other accessories. Many people have chosen to go with a slightly wider cross bar so that the rack is sitting outboard of the towers so back of the tray will clear the spoiler. Downside is you bike is now easier to steal, but you can get a locknut collar and fix that problem. If you ski/snowboard, I would highly suggest getting a cargo box for the roof rack over the ski racks. Cargo box allows you to throw all your crap in there. Plus, your skis won't get sand blasted from all the road debris that gets kicked up. You all know how your windshield looks after going into the mountains. The p-tex on the bottom of the skis is much softer than glass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChruiSSer Posted November 6, 2005 Share Posted November 6, 2005 I'm not sure everything is compatible, but I was able to make it work. It was a flexible molded rubber/plastic that fit to the round contour even though it was molded for a square bar. I'm not sure other acessories will work. Another thing I noticed was with more than 2 snowboards, when you have the ones upside down the binding clear the roof by less than 2". Depending on the binding they might now work. All you would need are those towers that raise the bar a few inches and you would be set. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted November 6, 2005 Share Posted November 6, 2005 If you want to carry multiple snowboards, you have to use the Thule snowboard carrier that holds the boards at a 45 degree angle. Yakima's has a ski/snowboard carrier that has a bracket so you can tilt one side up to clear the roof. One of the reason why I never like Thule is in the hardware used to attach the accessories. Yakima's designs are cleaner and use far fewer parts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nine9time Posted November 6, 2005 Share Posted November 6, 2005 I got the OEM cross bars for my GT Wagon (no sun roof). I drove on the highway for 20 minutes before the really low rumble made me crazy. I pulled off and removed the bars. The plastic end caps are not attached well, and just pop off. Junk in my book. I may just sell them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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