Aftermarket Roof Racks

[acidgypc25]

I am trying to find a good aftermarket roof rack for my 96 legacy lwagon 2.2L. I am looking at the Yakima 

Q Towers 4 Pack System

since my legacy didnt come with any roof rack anything its

a bare roof. Im just not sure if its gonna work or if there is a cheaper one. Ebay is full of different ones but I still cant figure out how to measure my roof for them. Anyway if anyone has can help me decide if the Yakima kit will work or a better way let me know Please. Or if you have a used kit you wanna sell me that would be cool too.

thanks for your time

[AdventureSubaru]

I've heard Thule makes a better rack than yakima but this is hearsay from people I trust and not first hand.

 

You can always get a stock rack from a junkyard. Subie racks are pretty useful. Mine are put to use on a weekly basis.

[bendecker]

We've used a Yakima roof rack on our 1996 Legacy wagon for years. It's fast to put it on and pull it off and is very strong. Be prepared for a little wear where the hooks attach, though. We also have a rocket box that attaches to it. Very good, but expensive racking system. I have no experience with the Thule racks.

 

If you have an REI near you, they sell Yakima racks and are -- at least down here -- very helpful in letting you check them out and see if you like them.

[upnorthguy]

I worked at REI for years and sold tons of Thule and Yakima roof racks.  Both companies generally make good stuff.  In a few instances, one brand might fit a particular vehicle better than the other, but in most instances either will work fine.  I have tons of Yaks parts and have owned almost every tower they've made through the years.  I do have a pair of Thule towers now that I like (they mount to factory side rails) better than the current Yak variant, but that is me.

 

Paying full price is fine, but expensive, for both Yak and Thule.

 

Generally you can score good deals on used Yak/Thule parts both on fleabay and on Craigslist.  Many people (myself included) end up selling towers as you change vehicles because of changes in fit.  Even if you buy a full set (towers, clips, bars) used and have to buy your own corresponding Q-clips it is still usually cheaper than buying new.

 

Get yourself a set of used Q-Towers and two pairs of the Q-44 clips and some round bars.  Generally, the fit for the towers is from the near the front of the front door to near the rear of the rear door.  Yakima has measurements that tell you for each car how to set things up (distance from windshield to front tower, distance between front and rear towers, and distance between left and right towers, both front and rear set).  You can call/e-mail Yak and they will give you these dimensions.

 

Another cheap option might be an older Yakima tower called the 1C-SST.  This was the tower for gutterless cars up until 1997 (when the Q-tower took over).  It uses Y-clips (instead of Q-clips).  The fit info I have only lists the 95-96 sedan, but I'd bet the fit is the same for the wagon.  (Again, checking with Yakima could confirm this).  These towers don't mount as quickly as the q-towers, but if you don't remove them often, it isn't a big deal.

 

EDIT: Out of curiosity, I e-mailed Yakima about the 96 wagon fit and the SST towers.   Yakima did not have any fit info, which is surprising.  The sedan clip is the Y33, so I bet that would likely fit the wagon.  However, Y clips are getting rather hard to find since they haven't been made for so many years.  I didn't see any Y33 clips on ebay, so the SST is probably out (for now) unless you want to search for a period of time to try and stumble on some Y33s.  I did find some hits on Google for people selling them on Craigslist (one from Omaha, NE as recently as a month ago) but the listing is expired.

Edited October 30, 2014 by upnorthguy