Roof Rack and Ski Carrier for a 2014 Lexus RX 350

Question:

Im looking for a roof rack system and kayak carrier for my 2014 Lexus RX 350. Can you suggest what type would be best for my vehicle. My vehicle has factory roof rails. Thank you

asked by: Melissa F

Expert Reply:

For your 2014 Lexus RX 350 I recommend keeping things lower profile with your roof rack and ski carrier.

Yakima's RailBar kit, part # Y00434-2 for Silver and part # Y00449-2 for black, provide a low profile, easy to install kit to add roof bars with a factory look onto your Lexus RX 350. These bars are easy and quick to install and include channel mounts, important to keeping a low profile on the vehicle. One of the best features of this rack is that the top channel's rubber inset actually squishes when something is installed in the channel, preventing the need to cut the bar's inset to maintain its aerodynamics.

Yakima's FatCat EVO is a new carrier that offers a lot of great features at a competitive price point. The FatCat EVO is available in a 6 Ski, 4 Board variation as part # Y03096 or 4 Ski, 2 Board variant, part # Y03095. These kits include an integrated ski lift to angle the mount away from the vehicle to accomodate larger bindings. You can also bias mount to one side or the other of the vehicle for easier loading. This kit can be moutned using its included universal steel and rubber cable mount, or swap for the Smar-T kit, part # Y03098 to be mounted directly into the channel of the crossbars.

I recommend that you buy a full kit of matched locks for the bars and ski transport, available as part # Y07206. This will let you use a single key to unlock the carriers and also to remove the bars if needed. It includes the change key you need to swap the locks into the bars and carrier.

I've included a video review of the RailGrab bars, however, the FatCat EVO is new, so there's not currently video of it available.