Factory (Yakima) Crossbar installed

[SLJ]

Can these be installed at any point along the rails? I'm considering getting a smaller rack but I'd like to keep it towards the rear so nothing is above the moonroof.

You'd have to go with something like the Yakima Timberline rack towers. They can be mounted anywhere along the open bars on the side rails. That's what I use now on my Escape to carry the canoes and will be transferring them to the Sport. I just have to wait and see where I can place them without interfering with the moonroof.

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[SLJ]

Should be a minimum of 36 inches apart for carrying canoes and kayaks so the factory bars look pretty much worthless for boats and they don't look all that sturdy. I'm hoping I can attach my Yakima front towers in the first gap on the front and the moonroof won't hit them but it will be close.

 

[Johnperrion]

Should be a minimum of 36 inches apart for carrying canoes and kayaks so the factory bars look pretty much worthless for boats and they don't look all that sturdy. I'm hoping I can attach my Yakima front towers in the first gap on the front and the moonroof won't hit them but it will be close.

If I can find someone locally with type of towers you have, I can ask them if I can throw them on. Send me a pic what kind they are and I'll keep my eyes open

 

[SLJ]

If I can find someone locally with type of towers you have, I can ask them if I can throw them on. Send me a pic what kind they are and I'll keep my eyes open

Yakima TimberLine Towers:

 

[tRex]

You'd have to go with something like the Yakima Timberline rack towers. They can be mounted anywhere along the open bars on the side rails. That's what I use now on my Escape to carry the canoes and will be transferring them to the Sport. I just have to wait and see where I can place them without interfering with the moonroof.

With the added height from the mounting towers, I just don't see how anything at the crossbar level or above could interfere with the moonroof (except visibility). The moonroof only raises a fraction of an inch above the rails, even fully opened.

 

[SLJ]

With the added height from the mounting towers, I just don't see how anything at the crossbar level or above could interfere with the moonroof (except visibility). The moonroof only raises a fraction of an inch above the rails, even fully opened.

Except that the glass is within a half inch of the side rails so the clamps on the towers that go around the side rails might be a problem and when you clamp anything on the cross bars the clearance will be lower. The towers need a couple of inches on the inside toward the glass and the clamps for my canoe brackets hang down another inch below the crossbars. I'm hoping that when the glass first pops up it leaves enough clearance for the front towers on the side rails.

I would love to see a side shot of the glass and the side rails when the glass is first popped up. The dealers here don't have any with sunroofs I can check.

 

[Johnperrion]

Except that the glass is within a half inch of the side rails so the clamps on the towers that go around the side rails might be a problem and when you clamp anything on the cross bars the clearance will be lower. The towers need a couple of inches on the inside toward the glass and the clamps for my canoe brackets hang down another inch below the crossbars. I'm hoping that when the glass first pops up it leaves enough clearance for the front towers on the side rails.

I would love to see a side shot of the glass and the side rails when the glass is first popped up. The dealers here don't have any with sunroofs I can check.

Do you have instagram? Add Buck_N_PennyPerrion and we can set up a facetime and I can show you/measure what ever you need!

 

[Johnperrion]

Rhino rack's website says these will fit... and I wish I would have seen these first lol

https://www.rhinorack.com/en-us/products/roof/roof-racks/vortex/vortex-stealthbar-black-2-bar-roof-rack_ja7969

 

[SLJ]

Rhino rack's website says these will fit... and I wish I would have seen these first lol

https://www.rhinorack.com/en-us/products/roof/roof-racks/vortex/vortex-stealthbar-black-2-bar-roof-rack_ja7969

All my attachments are for Yakima so switching at this point isn't an option.

 

[Deleted member 2781]

I have timberline towers and jetstream bars on order.

As for the 100lb limit - that's the limit that can be supported while in motion. Stationary, the bars can support 600+ lbs. 100 is likely conservative because you never know what people are going to throw on their roof. But at highway speeds, and shifting wind, that will place torsional forces on the roof - transmitted through the bars/towers. A roof that is half detachable glass is not as structurally rigid as one that is not I guess. Although non-moonroof only gains you 50lbs on this vehicle.

It's actually a real bummer and REALLY limits rooftop tent options. Like almost all rigid RTT's fall outside that spec, at least that I've found so far.

 

[SLJ]

I have timberline towers and jetstream bars on order.

As for the 100lb limit - that's the limit that can be supported while in motion. Stationary, the bars can support 600+ lbs. 100 is likely conservative because you never know what people are going to throw on their roof. But at highway speeds, and shifting wind, that will place torsional forces on the roof - transmitted through the bars/towers. A roof that is half detachable glass is not as structurally rigid as one that is not I guess. Although non-moonroof only gains you 50lbs on this vehicle.

It's actually a real bummer and REALLY limits rooftop tent options. Like almost all rigid RTT's fall outside that spec, at least that I've found so far.

I have timberline towers with round bars. They're quite a bit stronger than those factory crossbars. I doubt they'd move even with a lot more weight on them, I haul canoes so that's a lot of surface area for wind. Never a problem on any vehicle I've had them on even with the older 80# canoes.

 

[Deleted member 2781]

I have timberline towers with round bars. They're quite a bit stronger than those factory crossbars. I doubt they'd move even with a lot more weight on them, I haul canoes so that's a lot of surface area for wind. Never a problem on any vehicle I've had them on even with the older 80# canoes.

Yeah I didn't bother going with the oem bars either. Was a tossup between jetstream and the chunkier HD bars.

The potential issue isn't how strong cross bars are or what they can hold, it's what the vehicle's roof can hold while it is in motion. Two different things.

Doesn't matter if your crossbars can hold 1000 lbs and it doesn't collapse the roof if it flips the car over when you make a turn at 60mph. Or torsional forces crack a glass moonroof because that makes the roof have less structural rigidity.

The sport has a higher center of gravity than similarly-sized vehicles already, and loads on top increase that height even more.

I'm guessing the low load capacity spec has a lot to do with vehicle safety and stability. But - I'm just thinking out load. Just stuff to think about - all I'm saying is don't ignore manufacturer specs completely - at least take it into consideration if you plan to haul more than 100# on the roof if you have a moonroof or more than 150# w/o the moonroof.

 

[SLJ]

Yeah I didn't bother going with the oem bars either. Was a tossup between jetstream and the chunkier HD bars.

The potential issue isn't how strong cross bars are or what they can hold, it's what the vehicle's roof can hold while it is in motion. Two different things.

Doesn't matter if your crossbars can hold 1000 lbs and it doesn't collapse the roof if it flips the car over when you make a turn at 60mph. Or torsional forces crack a glass moonroof because that makes the roof have less structural rigidity.

The sport has a higher center of gravity than similarly-sized vehicles already, and loads on top increase that height even more.

I'm guessing the low load capacity spec has a lot to do with vehicle safety and stability. But - I'm just thinking out load. Just stuff to think about - all I'm saying is don't ignore manufacturer specs completely - at least take it into consideration if you plan to haul more than 100# on the roof if you have a moonroof or more than 150# w/o the moonroof.

Weight won't be a problem with this one. We went from boats weighing 80 and 66 pounds to boats weighing 21 and 29 pounds. Don't even know these are up their unless there's a real strong crosswind. And the moonroof is gone. Wasn't going to wait till fall so I canceled my order and bought one without a moonroof that's already been shipped to another dealer.

 

[Deleted member 2781]

Weight won't be a problem with this one. We went from boats weighing 80 and 66 pounds to boats weighing 21 and 29 pounds. Don't even know these are up their unless there's a real strong crosswind. And the moonroof is gone. Wasn't going to wait till fall so I canceled my order and bought one without a moonroof that's already been shipped to another dealer.

Nice. What a huge weight drop. Well those will be a heck of a lot easier to portage if you have to! Enjoy!

 

[Petes]

I took my factory cross bars off yesterday to see if there is/was a difference in noise plus I don't "need" them yet (still considering a Yakima LockNLoad set up). But I was wondering it's necessary for the factory bars to face in the direction indicated on them? It seems to me that it would be easier to strap something down if the 4 "eyelets" faced each other, which means the rear bar would need to be turned 180°.

Was there any noticeable noise difference?

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