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SquareBar Evo crossbars attach to Thule feet to create a durable, reliable roof rack for your vehicle. Bars are constructed of galvanized steel with a polymer coating that provides grip for your cargo. Accommodate accessories that clamp around bars.
Features:
Thule SquareBar Evo Crossbars - 60" Long - Steel - Qty 2:Videos are provided as a guide only. Refer to manufacturer installation instructions and specs for complete information.
Hi everyone. Aiden here with etrailer. Today we're taking a look at our Thule Roof Rack system on our 2021 Jeep Gladiator. This system's gonna utilize our Thule Square Bar Evo Crossbars, those are gonna be 60 inches long as well as our Thule Rapid Gutter Low Feet. That's going to sit into the gutter of our hard top and clamp down around them. Let's check it out.
The first part of our system here is gonna be those square bars. It's gonna be a steel construction with a 220 pound weight capacity. With that capacity in mind, you wanna look at your feet as well as your roof weight capacity and go by the lowest rated component. More often than not, the square bars are rated a little bit higher than other components like our rapid feet, so we do want to go by the lowest rated component. It is a solid bar, so there's no T track or anything up top.
That's fine if you only plan on using clamp-around accessories, which with these bars should work really well. Because of the size, I don't think you'll run into any issues where the clamps don't fit. But if you do have accessories that you want to use a T slot up top, maybe check out some arrow bars. Thule has plenty of options for those as well and they will work with those rapid gutter feet. The rapid gutter feet are a tool-free installation using these hand knobs to loosen or tighten the clamps around the gutter and it results in a very strong hold, nothing's moving here.
You've got a padding inside to protect the gutter as well and the whole thing is going to be lockable if you choose to pick up the lock core separately. As far as measurements go, we do want to check out how high it's sitting up off the roof as well as the room we have underneath. So between the roof and the bottom of the crossbar we've got two and a half inches and from the roof to the top of the crossbar is just under three and a half inches. So it doesn't add too much height to the roof but it still maintains a good amount of room underneath for those clamp-around accessories. Crossbar spread is really up to you and whatever accessories you plan on carrying.
If your accessories do have a specific crossbar spread you need to have, that's good because these rain gutters travel the whole length of the vehicle and we can adjust these front to back to get a specific spread. With that in mind, the installation process gonna be really straightforward. Let's check out how we did that now. Install's pretty straightforward. We've got our setup here with the 60 and square bars and as far as the gutter mount foot goes that's going to have the main section here. This part will slide into the T track on the underside of our square bar over here but before we do that, we wanna get some assembly done. This rubber pad will actually slide around the base here and give the gutter some padding. So I'm gonna feed the foot in and kind of just stretch this other side over, center it up so it's all padded. Then we've got our T bolt that'll go from the inside to the out. We'll follow that up with this clamp that'll sit on the underside of the gutter, this portion will be in the gutter. Follow that up with a flat washer and the hand knob. Just spread that on a little bit. We want it to be a little bit loose still because as you tighten it down, it's going to draw everything tight and we want it to be adjustable right now. Once you've got everything assembled we can go and slide it onto the bar, making sure that the part that's gonna sit on the gutter is towards the outside and don't slide it in too far because it will need to be fairly spread out at least with our 60 inch bars here. And then we can take our end cap that's with our crossbars and attach that. With this, I found that if you get it mostly started on it's best to just give it a firm hit and you'll hear it kind of click in. Right there it's locked in nice and secure, then we can get this onto the roof. And then setting it up into place, being sure to carefully get it aligned with the gutter if you're able to. If you've got a second set of hands on the other side it certainly helps, but it's not totally necessary. I'm going to get this one over here set up in the gutter and I'll go round to the other side and get that one set up too. Once both feet are seated into the gutters properly with the clamp on the underside, we can check our crossbar spread on either end making sure that the bars are running parallel to each other and they are, and then we can just tighten these down using the hand knobs. And I can't stress how simple this is. And once this is tightened down, everything's secured you're pretty much done. The install process is really quick. Comparing this to a system I've worked with before the Exposed Racks for Jeep Hardtops, I like this a bit better just because it's so much quicker to install. It's tool free with these hand knobs and while I might like the look and the ruggedness of the Exposed Racks a bit better, I think for simple sports and rec and just getting things up on the roof quickly, this is the better way to go. Overall, I think this is a really nice system. With these, it's gonna be really quick and easy to put on and it's gonna work well for those sports and rec accessories like kayaks or bikes, maybe even a basket up on your roof. If you do plan on carrying something like a larger fishing kayak or maybe even a tent, I would maybe look into the Exposed Rack systems. Those are also going to install in the gutters of your Jeep. There are gonna require tools, but they come with everything you need and they are gonna be a bit more rugged. The slot on the Exposed Rack system also allow for different accessories, so you can install a kayak carrier or load stops. So if that's something you're interested in in building out a whole system for your roof that's maybe gonna stay on pretty much full time, I'd look into that. But if you want something that's more temporary, easy to take on and off when you need it this is definitely the way to go. And that'll do it for our look at and installation of this Thule Roof Rack System on our 2021 Jeep Gladiator. Thanks for watching..
Average Customer Rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars (481 Customer Reviews)
SquareBar Evo crossbars attach to Thule feet to create a durable, reliable roof rack for your vehicle. Bars are constructed of galvanized steel with a polymer coating that provides grip for your cargo. Accommodate accessories that clamp around bars.
I've had the roof rack for a year now and we only use it sporadically in the winter to put the ski box ontop of the car but it works great. Very easy to install and remove and very sturdy. Previously I had the kind that bolted into the roof of my SUV and had a terrible experience with that (we lost the rack and kayaks on the freeway and it tore holes in my roof). The clamp style is the only kind we'll get from now on because they are much sturdier and no risk of losing them. Definitely recommend them.
While the instructions were a bit difficult to follow the install videos from etrailer are a blessing to figure out what to expect even if not exact to the letter. Overall product is excellent, use it to haul kayaks and a 18 ft aluminum canoe to and from locations. Would recommend
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I just got my packages and had it installed within the hour very satisfied
No problems installing. The rack is doing fine.
Product was right fit for my vehicle and installed perfectly. Etrailer was knowledgeable and got the goods to me quickly. Enjoyed working with them and will again.
I've owned this roof rack for a year now, and it has served my purposes (carrying my kayak around on my truck) quite well. It was fairly easy to assemble, largely because the entire instruction guide was in pictures.
I have had to retighten the rack a couple of times since putting it on the roof, so I tie the kayak down to the front and back of the truck as well as to the roof rack. I suspect the ocean kayak puts a bit of lift on the roof rack resulting in the loosening.
Easy to install, fit and finish are top notch.
Worked perfectly on my 2020 GMC Sierra. Looks and works great.
I have almost always had roof rails on my vehicles. My F150 had no rails and I was nervous about clamp style rack holders given what I tend to carry on top. These have been great and I am positive I have overloaded them numerous times.
I went with this Rola Vortex Cargo Rack with extension for its size and multiple tie down points. I Paired it with the Thule 5 inch rapid gutter feet with square bars because:
To remove the freedom panels.
Square bars are stronger than Aero type bars.
Adjustability of fitment as the roof of the Jeep narrows toward the rear.
When loaded for camping, I want to maintain rearward vision.
Finally, the system met my load requirements. I had weighed the gear that will go onto the rack. And I am at OME specs.
I did not want to use the gutter of the freedom panels to carry weight. Since the panels are removable, it seemed to be a potential weak point structurally.
NOTES:
Because this Rola rack comes in sections, I do not recommend it for “Overlanding”.
And because it comes in sections, some weather proofing is needed. I coated the cargo rack guides with an anti seize grease. The bolts of the cargo clamps should be weather proofed as well.
Over time, the screws will need to be replaced. They will rust.
CONCLUSION
Overall I am happy with this set up. Should work well for general camping and hold up to the easier off road trails. If your plans are to Overland for weeks at a time in all weather conditions on moderate to difficult trails having off camber conditions, then this rack may be problematic over time. And may cause damage to the roof top.
Beware of purchases from Etrailer...they offer no returns on opened products. So might say well you could just use and return it...true, but in this case the wind noise is horrific on my Jeep Wrangler and made a two hour ride nearly unbearable. The Thule cross bars are way too loud. They offer no aerodynamics whatsoever.
Great quality products! Easy installation with properly guided instructions. One of the best tracking information, from ordering to delivery. Would strongly recommend etrailer to anyone looking for roof or hitch bike racks.
Seamless ordering and delivery. Video instructions very helpful
Worked Perfect & Secured a very heavy load in extreme weather & off road conditions
One of the Evo Clamps is missing the plastic plate where the rubber spacer attaches. Please send a new plate or new clamp so I can finish my install. See attached photos to see the difference.
Easy to install with the anchors and crossbars, and still holding up great a year later.
Excellent system
Great product from Thule. Fit my 2022 Ford Ranger perfectly and is very strong and secure when installed. Excellent customer service from trailer and extremely fast shipping.
delivered fri. not thurs. as you said [ not a biggy] no doorbell ring [ 59 inches [not 60] nice that they come with end caps be nice if indicated they are inside the bar bar and caps are well constructed.
I bought the Thule Evo Roof Rack to transport my kayak on my Lexus 300H. Thule will advise you on their website that his particular rack is not right for a Lexus 300H (i.e., they don't make a roof rack for a Lexus 300H); it is really for a Camry, but etrailer told me that is worked, I trusted them and they were correct. After all, a Lexus sedan is really a fancy Camry, but Thule will not acknowledge this point. It works great. Thule makes a solid product.
Superb quality. Of course, it is from Thule and they are expensive for sure. But, you really get what you pay for!
And, just consider how expensive it would be if using something more affordable (cheap generic brand) and the racks/bars take off from the roof with the box on the highway!
These will not take off, super sturdy and fits the car perfectly.
Just be sure to get the right kit.
And follow the paper instructions coming along the parts.
Can recommend these, were for Nissan Leaf 2021.
And not to forget the etrailer company, they did their part as well with flying colors. All parts arrived in time and were correct!
Customer Service at etrailer is par none, both before the sale and after. I had an unpleasant experience elsewhere buying and installing a roof rack for my old Prius. After a few days of frustrations, I sent it back to that old online store.
This time, I contacted etrailer to see what ALL I needed to install a rack on my new 2018 Honda CRV. They sent me the part numbers and a link to purchase. Viola! After they arrived, I had difficulty with one of the parts (at 69 yo my hands are not too strong or flexible) and contacted etrailer. They sent pictures and more thorough instructions on installing the rubber strip. Another VIOLA!
I'm so very happy with my total experience at etrailer. Customer Service, truly, is not better any where else I have made online or brick-n-mortar purchases.
The Thule Eco clamps and roof rack performed excellently. We traveled over 12,000 miles last summer out west and it carried a inflatable canoe and other gear and was flawless. Securing straps adequately reduces wind noise significantly. There was no motion or shifting during the entire trip. Total poundage secured during our adventures was approximately 100 lbs.
Not too difficult to put together (1.5 hrs approx. from scratch start to installed). The first time of measurements is a hassle as expected but not too bad. Looks cool and good as expected from a Thule product.
Installed on a pickup truck. Hauls canoe very well. We love our rack. Easy to mount and very strong. No issues in thousands of miles of hauling. Great rack.
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