# Yakima rack question for Subaru owners



## Yellowstone Yeti (Jan 12, 2004)

For those of you with Subaru wagons (with factory rack) and Yakima racks, how did you set it up? I see on the Yakima site that there are several different options:
1. Use 2 sets of lowriders on the factory rack. 
2. Use 1 set of Q towers and 1 set of lowriders on the factory rack. 
3. Use mighty mounts on the factory rack with no towers or crossbars. 

I have a set of crossbars and all of my attachments are Yakima, so please don't recommend a different type of rack. I'm hauling bikes, skis, and sea kayaks on a regular basis, depending on the season. Does anyone have any advice on which setup will work best for me? Any suggestions are appreciated.


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## The Squeaky Wheel (Dec 30, 2003)

I used lowriders on my Outback and transferred to my current vehicle.
Works great. Have placed bike trays, ski rack & boxtop carrier without any problems.


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## mward (Apr 7, 2004)

Second the lowriders. I went from q-towers on my saturn to these and they're great so far.


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## t66 (Jan 20, 2004)

*I may have your towers*



Yellowstone Yeti said:


> For those of you with Subaru wagons (with factory rack) and Yakima racks, how did you set it up? I see on the Yakima site that there are several different options:
> 1. Use 2 sets of lowriders on the factory rack.
> 2. Use 1 set of Q towers and 1 set of lowriders on the factory rack.
> 3. Use mighty mounts on the factory rack with no towers or crossbars.
> ...


I've got some advertised on this sight. I have towers for an Outback and a Forrester (I've owned both). Can't remember which one is which. One of them used Crosstops and the other used Double Cross. Both are lockable just put in the cores.

I'll sell them to you at 50% of retail + shipping. If interested PM me!
Here's a link to my add.http://marketplace.consumerreview.c...sults_format=long&db_id=70724&query=retrieval


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## big country (Nov 26, 2001)

i use low riders, run 58" bars and you can run four trays easy!


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## Yellowstone Yeti (Jan 12, 2004)

t66 said:


> I've got some advertised on this sight. I have towers for an Outback and a Forrester (I've owned both). Can't remember which one is which. One of them used Crosstops and the other used Double Cross. Both are lockable just put in the cores.
> 
> I'll sell them to you at 50% of retail + shipping. If interested PM me!
> Here's a link to my add.http://marketplace.consumerreview.c...sults_format=long&db_id=70724&query=retrieval


I might be interested. It looks like I may have to go with 1 pair of q towers and 1 pair of lowriders. I finally got around to setting my kayak on the car and it looks to me like it sits way too far back when it is sitting on the factory rack. I'm awaiting an email from Yakima to see what they recommend. The lowriders would work fine for the bikes, skis and even a rocket box. However, a 17' 7" kayak is a different story. I'll let you know if I'm still interested. Thanks


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## GRFSR (Jan 23, 2004)

*Hybrid mounts*

I run the Q-towers up front, crosstops in rear. I was worried the bar height would be un-even, but it works/ looks great and I love the extra bar spread for my full size cargo box.


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## Yellowstone Yeti (Jan 12, 2004)

*Just curious*




GRFSR said:


> I run the Q-towers up front, crosstops in rear. I was worried the bar height would be un-even, but it works/ looks great and I love the extra bar spread for my full size cargo box.


Is there any difference in height between the 2 bars? My kayak is actually longer than the car and I think even a small difference will nose the boat up or down and create lots of swaying/turbulence.


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## GRFSR (Jan 23, 2004)

*Hybrid mounts...*

With "Q" towers up front, cross tops in rear ( now Yakima suggests " Lowriders ", which I believe do sit lower ) my front bars are about 1" LOWER than the rear bars, so any items would be slightly nose-down..with the Low-riders in back, they'd probably be level.


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## mward (Apr 7, 2004)

I wonder, being as the kayak is a large unwieldy object, if it would be better to get some kind of small trailer for it? I realize this may not be cool among the outdoor vehicle advertising set but it might be better for you in the long run. They make small aluminum trailers for lightweight things like kayaks and small sailboats, you might want to look into one.


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## SLinBend (Jan 12, 2004)

*The hybrid system...*

I use Q's up front and Lowriders in the back and would recommend that set up. I carry kayaks as well, and this give you more clearance in the back for when lifting the hatch. I pulled out the cross bars from the stock rack as they got in the way of kayak tie-downs when securing boats. Much nicer now. The downward tilt from back to front is negligable. Solid system. One point of caution however... if you use the Q's up front and you have really wide bars, watch your head as the bar will extend out right at the mid point of your door. In 3 years and 50,000 miles of getting in and out of the car, I've hit my head only once, but it's worth noting.



Yellowstone Yeti said:


> For those of you with Subaru wagons (with factory rack) and Yakima racks, how did you set it up? I see on the Yakima site that there are several different options:
> 1. Use 2 sets of lowriders on the factory rack.
> 2. Use 1 set of Q towers and 1 set of lowriders on the factory rack.
> 3. Use mighty mounts on the factory rack with no towers or crossbars.
> ...


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## grrrah (Mar 26, 2004)

nice car big country!

I'll also use the factory rails with lowriders.
only problem is some snowboards swith highbacks will hit the roof.


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## Melt (May 24, 2004)

my friend uses the **** that connects directly to the rack, doesnt touch the roof at all. His rack has gone from his 98 subaru outback to his 03 subaru outback and its still doin good.


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## Rollitup (Mar 13, 2004)

mward said:


> I wonder, being as the kayak is a large unwieldy object, if it would be better to get some kind of small trailer for it? .


I have had 4 kayaks & 2 MTBs on top of my Subby legacy on Factory racks with low riders & wide bars. Defenitely exceeded the 100lbs limit! Had to modify the factory rack with extra well nuts from Lowes to get the extra support I needed. Besides the loss in gas mileage rides great except in heavy wind were you get pushed around a little.


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## Bird (Mar 26, 2004)

*Carry behind*

You may not be interested but i bought a receiver kit for my outback so that i can haul my bikes from behind"prefered"and use my factory rack for additional storage.
Installed it in a 1/2 hr than bought a thule.Can also pull a small pop-up.


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## shanedawg (Jan 9, 2004)

The lowriders with yakima trays like the viper or steelhead will cause the rear of the tray to hit the window when you open the hatch on the Impreza outback wagon or the WRX wagon. To avoid this buy long crossbars and run the bike mounts outboard of the towers or turn the trays around so the bikes face backwards as some have done. I am planning on running the yakima lowriders and crossbars and then adding the sportworks bob ratchet mounts to the rack so I can mount the bikes with both wheels on. I think it extends out far enough that it will allow me to open the hatch also.


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## Spyder_Monkey (May 29, 2004)

I use Lowriders with Rockymounts trays and don't have any problems with hatch clearence. Skis and snowboards will hit (on the Impreza), and a sea kayak certainly would  .


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## Yellowstone Yeti (Jan 12, 2004)

*Thanks for the replies*

I finally got an email back from Yakima. They recommend the hybrid method of q towers/lowriders to get the kayaks centered over the car. They also stated that the difference in height between the two would be negligible. Thanks for the help everyone.


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## shanedawg (Jan 9, 2004)

Seems like subaru should extend the rails farther forward. I was thinking about sending them an email. I don't understand why they start so far back on the roof.


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## Tdiddy (Apr 28, 2004)

*For 03 Legacy Outback*

I can't remember exactly which one I use. (I believe it's the railrider system) But I simple took off the factory crossbars, attached yakima towers to the main rack, which then allows you to use the the yakima roundbars. I have a rocketbox, 2 bike racks and a kayak rack to fit no problem with the 58" bars.


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## Yellowstone Yeti (Jan 12, 2004)

Tdiddy said:


> I can't remember exactly which one I use. (I believe it's the railrider system) But I simple took off the factory crossbars, attached yakima towers to the main rack, which then allows you to use the the yakima roundbars. I have a rocketbox, 2 bike racks and a kayak rack to fit no problem with the 58" bars.


Doesn't your kayak hang too far off the back of the car? I'm not sure how long your boat is (that sounds dirty), but my 17' 7" boat hangs about 4'-5' off the back of the car when it is centered on the factory rack. I'm worried that somebody will run into the boat at a stop sign etc. I also don't think I'd be able to raise the back hatch without it hitting the boat.


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## Tdiddy (Apr 28, 2004)

My boat is a little smaller than yours (16 foot) but I use the hullraiser and I positioned the rack so the majority of the boat hangs out the front so I only have about 3 feet hanging out the back, so I get a little concerned at stop signs. If I open the back hatch it will definitely hit the boat, but I use a Rocket Box (which are great) and just throw everything up there, from dirty mountain bike gear to wet paddling gear. Keeps the dirty locker room smell out of the car.


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## D.F.L. (Jan 3, 2004)

When I had my WRX, I used the q towers and wider load bars, running two trays OUTSIDE of the towers. No chance of the spoiler hitting. This would allow you to run two more trays inside the towers, mounted backward.


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## mtbykr (Feb 4, 2004)

*just be careful!*

when using two different mounting methods ( lowriders and q-towers) you have to be carful of the height difference. if the q-towers have a height advantage in the front it will be more prone to catching air. not a big deal with a fairing and bike trays but will matter with kayak, canoe, rocketbox, ect...

if i were you i would go to yakima.com, find out what your crossbar spread will be and measure your car's rack for it. i would go with a set of lowriders and set then as far forward on the rack as possible and use a fairing. i have never had a problem with any load (not counting a canoe) hitting the hatch. imo yakima is the best out there--and going with a lowrider will be best because it is an independant system--ie if one lowrider comes loose, the integrity of the rack will still exist because the other lowrider on the same bar does not require it to stay locked. whereas q-towers: if one comes undone the bar is coming off the car!

i worked at a shop and have personally used railriders, q-towers, mighty mounts, and lowriders over the years and i would always stick with a factory rack adapter (railriders, and lowriders)

Just my $.02, hope it helps


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## bizutch (Aug 26, 2004)

The days of hoisting a heavy bike onto the roof are over. Regardless of your bike's frame, suspension, or brakes, the HookUp will hold it. The precision engineered, sculpted wheel tray holds your bike safely upright, leaving your hands free to secure the bike... or brag about the ride. 

Features:

• Easy to use: Load each bike in less than 10 seconds. Bike is held in place during loading, and you can fold it up when not in use

• Fits most bikes: Automatically adjusts to all sizes of wheels from 20" to 29". Fits all tire widths from 1" to 3". Works with bikes regardless of frame design, suspension, or brakes

• No frame contact

• Strong: Cast wheel tray supports even the heaviest downhill or freeride bike. Carries two bikes, Plus2 Add-On doubles capacity

• Lockable: Add SKS cores and HitchLock (sold separately) for security


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## wak137dude (Dec 17, 2007)

*Subaru Outback*

I have a similar problem, I bought low riders and 48" bars for my Outback, but I want to fit my two Viper bike racks and my big powder horn ski/snowboard rack, which i want to replace with the skybox 12 (something narrow) and stll keep a bike rack on each side of the box. I have 58" bars from another vehicle and was thinking about cutting them down some or if I can use the 48" bars and make this work, I'm not sure any ideas?. I don't want people hitting their head on the bar ends either. And dose anybody have any opinions about the cargo box's?

Thanks


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## kristian (Jan 20, 2004)

wak137dude said:


> I have a similar problem, I bought low riders and 48" bars for my Outback, but I want to fit my two Viper bike racks and my big powder horn ski/snowboard rack, which i want to replace with the skybox 12 (something narrow) and stll keep a bike rack on each side of the box. I have 58" bars from another vehicle and was thinking about cutting them down some or if I can use the 48" bars and make this work, I'm not sure any ideas?. I don't want people hitting their head on the bar ends either. And dose anybody have any opinions about the cargo box's?
> 
> Thanks


When I still have my Outback, I wanted to do the same thing. I used the 48" bars and set it up so that one of the bike trays was on the outside of the factory rails. It looked like there was enough space to put two bikes on the driver's side and put my Thule Evo (1800?) on the passenger side, but I never needed to try it. You can put the cross bars so they are over the "B" pillar of the car in front and over the rear window in the back to minimize the head-hitting issue. If you are running a really large box, wider cross bars would let you put two bikes on--each on the outside of the factory rails and the box in the middle.

Cargo boxes are something that you really get what you pay for. Get something with an easily operated cam to install to the rack and something that opens on both sides. I didn't think that the "open on both sides" thing was too important until an extended camping trip and it came in very handy.


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