Low Profile Roof Rack and Cargo Box to Carry Skis on a 2018 Subaru Outback Wagon

Question

Question:

I went out to our warehouse to measure a lot of the kits available to you. Since the sizing is standardized and your 2018 Subaru Outback Wagon has fixed mounting points, you can predict the size of the rack overall pretty easily. The lowest profile kit is the Yakima JetStream, standing at 4-1/2 inches tall. You will need the same mounting kit regardless of what length bar, which consists of: - Yakima SkyLine Towers, part # Y00148 - Yakima LandingPad 15, part # Y00241 What's nice is that since the bars are all identical in width and height, as well as mounting style, you can use almost any length bar you want. Yakima does not have a stopper in the center of the bars, so any length will work on any vehicle. Be aware of any local laws and regulations relating to flagging oversized loads when carrying objects on your roof. You can then choose any of the following bars. Your largest recommended bar is 50 inches, and I've included the numbers for both the black and silver variations of the 50 inch, 60 inch and 70 inch bars. 50 Inch Bars, Silver, part # Y00428 , Black, part # Y00425 60 Inch Bars, Silver, part # Y00429 , Black, part # Y00426 70 Inch Bars, Silver, part # Y00430 , Black, part # Y00427 As for the cargo box, you'll need to take a measurement first. Measure from the center of the front mounting point (Or crossbar) to the point where your rear hatch meets your roof. This will let you know what the maximum rear overhang you have available for your roof box to avoid the issues you had with your Skybox Carbonite 16. The box that best fits your needs is the Skybox Lo, part # Y07338 . It includes Yakima's quick-clamp system to mount and unmount your crossbars quickly, and also provides four internal tie-down points for the vehicle. The Skybox Lo is more intended for your application of carrying snow and winter gear above the car, and is fairly long at 92 inches. However this box sits further forward on the vehicle, and has an undercut tail to improve the chance of not impacting your hatch. This box is 11-1/2 inches tall, the lowest and sleekest of the Yakima boxes, and provides 80 inches (203 centimeters) for your skis. Your total height added will be close to 17 inches. This box requires that your hatch clearance measurement is greater than 57 inches.

asked by: DAVID H

0

Expert Reply:

I went out to our warehouse to measure a lot of the kits available to you. Since the sizing is standardized and your 2018 Subaru Outback Wagon has fixed mounting points, you can predict the size of the rack overall pretty easily.

The lowest profile kit is the Yakima JetStream, standing at 4-1/2 inches tall.

You will need the same mounting kit regardless of what length bar, which consists of:
- Yakima SkyLine Towers, part # Y53TR
- Yakima LandingPad 15, part # Y00241

What's nice is that since the bars are all identical in width and height, as well as mounting style, you can use almost any length bar you want. Yakima does not have a stopper in the center of the bars, so any length will work on any vehicle. Be aware of any local laws and regulations relating to flagging oversized loads when carrying objects on your roof.

You can then choose any of the following bars. Your largest recommended bar is 50 inches, and I've included the numbers for the black variations of the 50 inch, 60 inch and 70 inch bars.

50 Inch Bars, Black, part # Y00425
60 Inch Bars, Black, part # Y00426
70 Inch Bars, Black, part # Y00427

As for the cargo box, you'll need to take a measurement first. Measure from the center of the front mounting point (Or crossbar) to the point where your rear hatch meets your roof. This will let you know what the maximum rear overhang you have available for your roof box to avoid the issues you had with your Skybox Carbonite 16.

The box that best fits your needs is the Thule Vector Alpine, part # TH613501. It includes Thule PowerClick system to mount and unmount your crossbars quickly, and also provides internal tie-down points.

The Vector Alpine is more intended for your application of carrying snow and winter gear above the car, and is fairly long at 91 inches. This box is 12-1/2 inches tall, the lowest and sleekest of the Thule boxes, and provides 80 inches (203 centimeters) for your skis. Your total height added will be close to 18 inches.

expert reply by: Jacob W

0

David H.

9/11/2017

I went out to our warehouse to measure a lot of the kits available to you. Since the sizing is standardized and your 2018 Subaru Outback Wagon has fixed mounting points, you can predict the size of the rack overall pretty easily. The lowest profile kit is the Yakima JetStream, standing at 4-1/2 inches tall. You will need the same mounting kit regardless of what length bar, which consists of: - Yakima SkyLine Towers, part # Y00148 - Yakima LandingPad 15, part # Y00241 What's nice is that since the bars are all identical in width and height, as well as mounting style, you can use almost any length bar you want. Yakima does not have a stopper in the center of the bars, so any length will work on any vehicle. Be aware of any local laws and regulations relating to flagging oversized loads when carrying objects on your roof. You can then choose any of the following bars. Your largest recommended bar is 50 inches, and I've included the numbers for both the black and silver variations of the 50 inch, 60 inch and 70 inch bars. 50 Inch Bars, Silver, part # Y00428 , Black, part # Y00425 60 Inch Bars, Silver, part # Y00429 , Black, part # Y00426 70 Inch Bars, Silver, part # Y00430 , Black, part # Y00427 As for the cargo box, you'll need to take a measurement first. Measure from the center of the front mounting point (Or crossbar) to the point where your rear hatch meets your roof. This will let you know what the maximum rear overhang you have available for your roof box to avoid the issues you had with your Skybox Carbonite 16. The box that best fits your needs is the Skybox Lo, part # Y07338 . It includes Yakima's quick-clamp system to mount and unmount your crossbars quickly, and also provides four internal tie-down points for the vehicle. The Skybox Lo is more intended for your application of carrying snow and winter gear above the car, and is fairly long at 92 inches. However this box sits further forward on the vehicle, and has an undercut tail to improve the chance of not impacting your hatch. This box is 11-1/2 inches tall, the lowest and sleekest of the Yakima boxes, and provides 80 inches (203 centimeters) for your skis. Your total height added will be close to 17 inches. This box requires that your hatch clearance measurement is greater than 57 inches.

Reply

Jacob W.

9/11/2017

I reached out to Thule and Yakima to get some additional information on the specific size requirements for their boxes. I'd recommend against any box that provides less than 74 inches of front to back of space for your skis, as then you are loading them in sideways and this slightly defeats the purpose of having a dedicated box for them. For your front clearance, if you can adjust the roof racks forward or backwards, you can get more clearance out of them, but assuming they're fixed and can't be moved, I recommend one of the following boxes: The Thule Motion XT, part # TH629806 requires a front clearance of at least 51-1/4 inches, which is within your available clearance. It can hold up to 5 - 7 pairs of skis and only adds 17 inches to the top of the vehicle. It's also compatible with most factory crossbars and aero bars up to 3-1/2 inches thick and 1-11/16 inches tall. I also recommend that the Yakima RocketBox Pro 11, part # Y07193. This box only requires 45 inches of clearance to the rear of your vehicle, well within your available space, and carries up to 82-3/5 inch skis (210 centimeter) skis.

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