Carrying a Rooftop Tent and Surfboard on a 2014 Subaru Outback Wagon  

Question:

Expert Reply:

This setup will largely depend on how wide you want to go with the bars.

I'll be using the Yakima SkyRise Small Rooftop Tent, part # Y07436 as our rooftop tent in this setup so you can get an idea of how this works together.

When mounting a rooftop tent, it's best to stay in the same brand family as the tent, as the companies tend to design their tents around their rooftop system. Yakima designed theirs around fixed point or factory rails that run front to back for their best fit.

To mount the Yakima SkyRise, you'll want to use the following kit to completely replace your 2014 Subaru Outback Wagon's existing factory kit:

Yakima SkyLine Towers for Fixed Points, part # Y00148
Yakima RoundBar Adapters for SkyLine Towers, part # Y03536
Yakima LandingPad 13 for Control Towers, part # Y00239


The bars will be a matter of preference, and determined largely by your surfboards' size. I can't recommend mounting them vertically as they tend to catch a lot of the wind and try to break away from the carrier, so instead, you'll want to use a flat, locking solution to mount the boards.

I recommend the Inno Locker Watersport Carrier, part # INA446 for this solution, as the kit mounts using around-the-bar clamps, making installation easy.

Whatever your width is, you'll add 9 inches for this carrier to either side to make it work. Again, the major advantage of the Watersport Locker is that it is able to adjust, and doesn't use its towers to clamp, so it can mount right up against the SkyRise.

My research shows that an average surfboard is between 19 and 22 inches wide, meaning you'll need between 28 and 31 inches of space on your rack for the surfboards to mount in this carrier.

The Skyrise itself can mount up to 1 inch outside of the towers, putting 44 inches over the center of your crossbars. This means you'll need a total of between 72 and 75 inches overall for the setup to work properly.

If you want to go wider with the bars, I recommend the full 86 inch round bar, part # Y00420. This will give you wiggle room to properly mount the bars, and a little extra if your board is wider than 22 inches. If your board is within the average range, then the 78 inch bars, part # Y0411 will be the best fit.

In either case, you'll want to be sure to measure your board prior to installing the roof rack to be sure that you fit within these two bar ranges, plus check your local laws and regulations for any wide-load flagging rules as you may exceed the maximum vehicle width in your area.

To recap, if you're equipping the SkyRise with shorter, 78 inch bars, your complete purchase will be:

Yakima SkyRise Tent, Small, part # Y07407
Yakima 78 Inch Round Bars, part # Y0411
Yakima SkyLine Towers, part # Y00148
Yakima Round Bar Adapters, part # Y03536
Yakima LandingPad 13, part # Y00239
Inno Watersport Locker, part # INXA446

Or, the longer, 86 inch bars,

Yakima SkyRise Tent, Small, part # Y07407
Yakima 86 Inch Round Bars, part # Y00420
Yakima SkyLine Towers, part # Y00148
Yakima Round Bar Adapters, part # Y03536
Yakima LandingPad 13, part # Y00239
Inno Watersport Locker, part # INXA446

expert reply by: Jacob W

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