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These multipurpose, galvanized steel crossbars supply the backbone for your aftermarket roof rack system. Works with accessories that clamp around the bars. Pair with Yakima towers, fit kit, and RoundBar SL Adapter to create a complete roof rack.
Features:
Yakima 48" RoundBar SM:Videos are provided as a guide only. Refer to manufacturer installation instructions and specs for complete information.
Hi everyone, Aidan here with etrailer. Today we're gonna be taking a look at and later we'll be showing you how to install this Yakima JetStream Roof Rack System on our 2023 Volkswagen Tiguan. This is the one with the 50 inch long crossbars, but we offer a kit here at etrailer with a 60 inch long crossbar. But the beauty of these Yakima bars is that they have a continuous channel on the underside. So in theory, you could get an even longer bar if you wanted. I don't know that I would.
I think the 60 inch long kit is gonna be more than enough and offer just a bit more crossbar overhang here if you need it. But just know that it's available. And depending on your needs, you can go with one of those two kits. You maybe would go with that crossbar overhang if you had a load assist kayak carrier that needs more clearance from the side of the vehicle. But if you don't have an accessory like that, this is the kit I would go with because it's gonna be a bit more of a clean install.
Roof racks in general, I think they're a great option to expand the functionality of your vehicle. For one, it's the best place to go for larger items like kayaks. You could always go with a trailer, but that's a whole can of worms. And if you have something like a roof box, again, the roof is a great place to go with that. You can expand your cargo space up top without adding length to your vehicle.
And I think for the Tiguan, this makes a ton of sense because you have these raised rails that's a feature that's already on your vehicle. We're just gonna utilize them to attach this roof rack, which makes a very simple install and can be quickly removed if we don't wanna leave the roof rack on there all the time. The basic way this one works is you've got this band, it's got a metal core around that rubber band that will wrap around the bar and clamp to it, giving you a really strong hold. Other brands like the option from Rhino-Rack will have a clamp that kind of goes around the bar rather than fully encapsulating it with that band. So both options work great.
Some people might like this Yakima one because it fully wraps around. Others might like the Rhino-Rack option because it sits a little bit lower to the ground or to the roof rather, and gives maybe a sleeker appearance. But personally, I think either way you go, you can't go wrong. They're both gonna be solid. The core of your system though is going to be these JetStream crossbars, thicker in the front and tapering off towards the back. It's gonna help them be a little bit more aerodynamic and not have as much wind noise. They're perfect for clamp around accessories because that flat top makes for a good stable base and it's a great size for most of those clamps to attach very securely. And if you don't want to use a clamp around accessory, maybe you've got something that can mount into a channel. They do have this track up top that you can slide those channel mounted accessories into and keep them all inside the bar making for a clean install. Now, there's a weather strip here that will help block out wind noise. Your channel mounted accessories will just compress that strip wherever they sit, so no need to trim them to length or anything like that. It makes, again, for just a cleaner install. Some measurements to think about here. Your crossbar spread can really be whatever you want it to be. You don't have fixed mounting points on your raised rails, so you can clamp these wherever works best for you and your accessories. But one thing you do need to watch out for is clearance with your roof. So I'm gonna go from the tallest point on this corrugation here. And from that tallest point to the bottom of the bar is gonna be two and a half inches, so there's not a ton of room there. Certain clamps might take up more room than others, so maybe look for low profile clamps. Particularly on Yakima's roof boxes, they've got great clamps that don't sit very tall at all and would be perfect for something like this. The thing I don't love about this system is those legs, they're a bit bulky and because they don't conform around the bar, they kind of just sit on top of the bar. It doesn't look like a very nice fit. Again, it's stable, it's not going anywhere, but especially compared to that option from Rhino-Rack, I like the look there a lot better, but I think functionally the Yakima one's gonna work a bit better with the extra roof clearance and the nicer channel up top for channel mounted accessories. Regardless of which way you go though, the install is gonna be probably the next most important part. And for this, it's gonna be really straightforward. So we'll walk you through that process right now. So the first thing is take your crossbar and flip it over. That'll reveal the channel on the underside that our legs will attach to. That block will slide into this channel. So just take out your end cap and slide that leg in, making sure that it kind of tapers out to the outside edge. If you're having trouble getting this in, just take your tool and maybe loosen up that T block a little bit. Chances are it's just a bit too tight. Once you have both installed, there's gonna be a small line on the underside of those legs and we just wanna measure between those two lines and make sure that it matches up with the same measurement as we can take between the two raised rails on our Tiguan. That just lets us know how far apart these legs need to be. For us today, I'm shooting for 42 and a half inches between those two lines, and I just need to scoot it out a little bit more and just know that wherever you plan on installing these, that measurement could be completely different for you because the roof of our vehicle is gonna be a bit wider in front and taper off towards the rear. So for our rear crossbar that's already installed over there, actually had a measurement of 40 inches between the two. So almost a two inch difference here and that's just something to consider. When you have the positioning where you like it though, take that included the Yakima tool and tighten down those T bolts with those T blocks completely. There's another bolt tucked in the leg back there, and it's gonna control the side to side movement of our leg. Make sure you tighten that up too. If your vehicle had more of a taper, I'd say, then try to adjust that angle. But on our Tiguan, we can just keep it straight like this and it'll be fine. Once the tool clicks, we know it's properly torqued down and that's gonna be true for every single bolt on the whole roof rack here. So just keep that in mind too. We'll take this up to the roof. If you have an extra set of hands to feed the other side through, you can, but you can do it on your own too. Just get that set in place loosely and then feed the band under the bar on both sides, making sure that that line we saw earlier is the part that's resting on top of your raised rail. You can take that band and hook it into that little cleat right there. And before we start tightening things down, maybe a good time is now to take some measurements. You can go from a fixed point on your raised rail to the center of the bar on both sides to make sure that this is running perfectly straight side to side. And then for your second crossbar, you can take a measurement from one to the other to make sure that your crossbar spread is exactly where you want it to be. That's important to know for whatever accessory you plan on attaching and just making sure the bars run parallel to one another. But when you're done, you can take your included tool and tighten it down using that outermost screw. Now as you're tightening this, it might feel like it's not going to click and it takes a lot longer than you think it should, but it's just because the band underneath is a bit stretchy and it has that metal core. So keep turning until you hear the click and you can pop your caps back on once all sides have been tightened, And at the end, I always like to give a good shake test to make sure that nothing I installed feels loose. And particularly on that band here, that there's no front to back movement and that it's tight enough. But once I've done that, we're done. The installation process here is really straightforward, and you're left with a pretty solid roof rack system that utilizes those raised rails on your 2023 Volkswagen Tiguan. Thanks for watching.
Average Customer Rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars (192 Customer Reviews)
These multipurpose, galvanized steel crossbars supply the backbone for your aftermarket roof rack system. Works with accessories that clamp around the bars. Pair with Yakima towers, fit kit, and RoundBar SL Adapter to create a complete roof rack.Works perfectly. I am always impressed that Yakima continues to make parts for the "old roundbars" since they have since moved on to the superior JetStream bars.
I ordered the Yakima roof rack, with the Hullyrollers for the back crossbar and the Mako saddles for the front crossbar to use with my kayak. It arrived just like they told me and I put them on my car the eveningit arrived. Got to finlly use the roof rack on June 22 to go out kayaking and it worked great. Only thing is I did not know about the air reflector piece for the front crossbar. Now I will be ordering it to help with the wind noise.
Great rack, go on fast, easy to install and work well on my VW TDI wagon. Care has to be given and follow the instructions for the install to what type of rails you have. Works great carrying the VW luggage carrier and plan on using it to carry kayaks as well. Just have not decided what kayak rack type to get yet.
I've attachec a few pictures of the Yakima rack on my Audi Q7. It took a few attempts to find the right combination of attachments, but in the end, the pin attachments work best with the access points on the factory flush-mount rails. Great product!!!!!
roof racks showed up in great condition, and showed up as one package.... I should have ordered the J racks from here but I found them cheaper locally so Thule J racks compliment the whole setup and i am just about ready to hit the water :)
Kimberly has shown that great customer service is not dead! etrailer and Kimberly are great to work with and have earned my business and will always be the 1st and last place I look for my rack+ needs!
As for the application, I needed more space to fit my cargo box on top of my 4Runner TRD Pro’s rack. I came up this this… Thank you!
Everything from etrailer is timely and of good quality! The Yakima crossbars are no exception - they are indestructible.
The installation of this rack system went very well, all of the instructions were easy to read and use. I have attached some pictures of our installation. The vehicle is a 1994 Honda Accord EX four door sedan
Roof Rack 2008 Saturn Astra The roof rack arrived one day early...The packaging was excellent and the quality of the product more than met my expectations. The instructions made the insulation very easy. It took less than 45 minutes to install the unit complete.
Excellent selection of rack parts. Very useful installation videos help when choosing between products. Easy ordering process. Quick delivery.
One quick phone call and Gwendolyn figured out exactly what I needed for our new car to use my old Yakima rack.
necessary for using the widest cross bar option (78"). East to install
Everything arrived as promised and earlier than expected just installed. Looks like it will do everything I need it to which is haul around paddleboards. So far so good!
Really Easy to Install! Solid and Strong amount to Roof Rack.
We got a Yakima Roof Rack system with locks and fairing for a "lime squeeze metallic" (Green...) 2011 Ford Fiesta 5dr Hatchback. Received the package yesterday and set it up within about an hour.
I have been using Yakima racks for around 40 years and have never had any problems. However, I am amazed at the price increases over the years. Etrailer prices were by far lower than most. Overall, a very excellent purchase.
Great products though, again, written instructions would have been nice.
Have been rocking my Yakima rack from etrailer.com for a year now. I am using rack in conjunction with a Tepui tent. Once I added the air deflector, I would say it's the perfect setup. The Yakima gives more clearance over the factory rack, so I was able to get my hands under it to secure the tent hardware. If you're thinking of upgrading your factory rack, I would not hesitate to use etrailer.com
The Yakima roof rack system is an Outstanding product. I purchased the product to replace the OEM roof rack because it was too flimsy to carry the tandem bike mount and my bike. The Yakima roof rack is solid and provides me the peace of mind while hauling my bike on the roof of my car. etrailer provided the product for the best price as always.
The rack has been so useful since I purchased it. Staff at etrailer.com were exceptionally helpful in getting the best option for my car and answering questions. I recommend this company, for its 110% customer service, excellent prices and timely delivery.
Haven’t used them yet but they should work as expected
We are so happy with etrailer. The product is high quality and it arrived one day before the expected day of delivery! Their customer services is exceptional - real people who know their stuff first hand. The installation was easy and is a prefect match for our Yakima Sky Box. We took the car to Zion National Park as shown on the photo taken at the Watchman Campground!
An Excellent Roof Rack!
Roof rack on my 2005 Chevy Uplander. Also ordered the Q towers and fairing.
etrailer is excellent...however, not too pleased with Yakima and these cross bars - second set in four years...they make them out of a steel that rusts quickly...better out of stainless or aluminum. Maybe that is their idea of planned obsolescence. I also learned not to install end caps...that accelerated the corrosive process.
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