You don’t understand the rack set up
There are two rear mounting positions for the cross bars you can only mount the cheap factory cross bars at the 42 inch spacing. They will not carry much load and deform.
You can mount landing pad options from Yakima only at the 30 inch spread. they will not mount in the 42 inch spread holes.
Call Yakima
I called Yakima customer service recently when purchasing a new vehicle. During conversation, Yakima had mentioned that they came up with a work around for the horrible Outback Rack. You may want to call Yakima directly. I believe it involves removing the existing factory rack and then utilizing the space for a Yakima part that would go into the channel. If you have your heart set on the Outback, it is worthwhile exploring.
i have two way radios
With the weather band on them. However, in my car it’s pretty useless. With cell phones and the actual radio, it’s pretty redundant.
New Subarus are different, but so are new Volvos, so are new Fords. I agree, the new ones abandoned the old niche, but they are pretty good compared to what else is available.
But you are making your own problems by
… purchasing the wrong vehicle, thus rewarding Subaru for their bad designing behavior.
You want it to carry 2 (“Two”) canoes, correct ? Is the 2nd canoe for the wife? It really doesn’t make much sense that the person driving the car wants a frou - frou interior to get somewhere, and you having to put all that extra crap on the car top every time just to carry the canoes, when you could get the Subaru model with a less- offensive roof, capable of taking a better rack.
it’s a tough choice
Compete with everyone else, or be different. Being different only works for a certain share of the market. OTOH there is VW.
There is no longer a low-slung AWD wagon with good reliability and MPG. The Audis and Volvos are temperamental, and almost everything else is too tall.
audis and volvos
Are also near unaffordable for most.
If factory bars are “in the way” = cut
– Last Updated: Aug-20-14 6:46 PM EST –
em' off, plug up securely or do as JackL did, or are we prioritizing how our vehicles compare to the images in the catalog while at the stoplight?
No it’s just a modified landing pad
The yakima work around has a piece cut out of one of the non-symmetrical landing pads that lets you mount it at the 30 inch spread location. You can do it your self from the old landing pads. This solution works fine if you are happy with the 30 inch spread. I use it, but only for my short surf kayaks, waveskis, and whitewater boats. Nothing over 10’.
There are a number of people posting advice on this thread who have never seen a 2013-2015 Subaru roof rack system and don’t understand what the issue is with the over enginered retractable bars and non-symetrical plastic housing that runs the length of the roof.
Trailer?
Consider a trailer.
I have a 2002 WRX wagon, and a 2008 Outback XT Ltd 5-speed (which has 58" Thule bars and racks for two kayaks and two bikes). I just got back from a two-week vacation, where I rented a 2013 Outback. The ONLY thing I liked about it more than my 2008 was the seats. Other than that, it was just another generic SUV. It wandered on the road, had limited driver feedback, was huge, changed location/function of buttons/knobs that have been the same for decades, etc. I’ve bought my last Subaru, and don’t know what I’d get if the OBXT croaked today. I’ve driven wagons for decades, and there’s nothing out there like the pre-2010 Outback…
I have a 42 spread
on my Toyota Highlander and have never had a problem. Just make sure you secure hulls at both the cross rack and on the stems.
Forester Caution
The Forester still has good rails, but my experience with my wife’s 2014 makes me urge caution. The Forester is rather high to the rack, compared with my old 2002 Outback or my current VW Sportwagen. The bigger problem for me, is that the Forester rides like a logging truck if you are on rough roads. It’s fine on smooth roads, but shakes your liver on back roads. I understand the last model of Forester rode just great. The new one gets great gas mileage - we got 31.2 mpg on a trip from NY to Georgia and back. We routinely get that in around town driving, too. Too bad Subaru can’t seem to get it all together on any one vehicle!!
Alan
No, you are making short-sighted …
– Last Updated: Aug-25-14 1:56 AM EST –
... assumptions. For some reason, you are fixated on the damn cross bars. You made the cross bars the whole issue in your first reply to me and you are still doing it. Let me be clear. You don't need the cross bars to make the modification I mentioned, and yes, your remarks still are completely irrelevant to anything that I said.
When I was referring to whether the rack "mounts" were strong enough, I was using that word in the normal sense, and in any normal sense, "mounts" of the roof rack are not cross bars. Cross bars are "mounted" to the roof via the side rails. If the side rails are sturdy, and in this case they appear to be about as sturdy as on most halfway-decent factory racks, that's what a smart person would attach lengthwise extenders to (adding lengthwise extenders was the topic of my post that you originally replied to). I just can't imagine a reason you'd want to utilize the cross bars for making the modification I described above, especially if those cross bars are flimsy. I admit that the existing side rails wouldn't be the easiest thing to attach extenders to, but no matter what, the pivoting cross bars are NOT part of this discussion.
As long as I've written this much, I might as well add that when the cross bars are pivoted into their lengthwise orientation, extender bars could utilize them as anchor points. Pulling up on the factory bar within an inch of where it exits the slot (when oriented lengthwise) would be a pretty secure attachment, even if the bars are weak at supporting loads away from the attachment points when in the "cross bar" position. You'd still need to invent a way to secure the extender bars from moving sideways or pivoting, but as a hold-down point, the the factory bars would likely be fine.
One could probably take things a step further if it turns out that the side rails can't be trusted, or (for a person who's capable of doing this in the first place) just to make the job much more simple. No doubt the side rails are bolted to the roof somehow, and it would be a fairly simple matter to utilize those bolt holes to attach your own home-built rack mounts. If a person DID do that, the use of lengthwise extenders would still make it easy to provide a longer cross-bar spread than that which is "dictated" by the distance between the existing front and rear attachment points.
except the used models
…but there’s a reason for that.
Thule 450 works
I mounted Thule’s Crossroads 450 on a '13 Outback–Thule’s Fit Guide says it’s okay. Despite the short distance between towers, we’ve not had any problems at freeway speeds BUT we also use tie downs to the front of the car. A pulley and cord tie down that hooks to loop straps anchored under the hood works. (I advise it for any rack carrying canoes/kayaks at freeways speeds.) Yakima has a great, albeit expensive set-up but if you’re not handy with tools, it’s best to have a professional do the installation. Yup, Subaru remains quirky as always. The best AWD in the industry, a unique boxer engine and the dumbest factory rack on the planet.
Need a pic
I sort of understand what you’re writing…can you post a picture of what you’ve done. Thanks…
Need a pic
I sort of understand what you’re writing…can you post a picture of what you’ve done. Thanks…