To see if this custom-fit item will work for you please tell us what vehicle you'll use it with.
This aerodynamic Thule roof rack mounts flush on your roof for a sleek, factory look. Crossbars with split rubber strips in top channels work with channel-mount and clamp-on accessories. Installs to flush rails on your vehicle's roof.
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Specs:
Alternate Instructions
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Videos are provided as a guide only. Refer to manufacturer installation instructions and specs for complete information.
Hey, everyone, I'm Evangeline here at etrailer. If you are looking for a super sleek roof rack action for your 2021 GMC Yukon, today we're taking a look at the Thule WingBar Edge kit. This is gonna be a custom fit kit for your car, and we'll take a look at how it looks, how it measures, and later on I'll show you how to get it all installed. There are several roof rack options for the Yukon. This is gonna be one of the most low profile options. We'll definitely give you more of a factory look.
This will be ideal if you still want a roof rack every now and then to carry things, but you don't want it to be as much in your face or bulky looking. This is available in two different colors by the way. We currently have the all black version, but there's also an aluminum version, which actually might fit the aluminum look of the flush rails of the Yukon a little bit better. Since this roof rack clamps around your flush rails and is not a fixed mounted roof rack, that means you can actually slide this system forward or backward as far apart, or as close together as you need for different things. For example, if you have a roof box up here, and you want to make it easy to get up to the roof rack using your running boards, well, you'll have your system a little bit further up.
If you have a kayak instead, then you may want your roof rack a little further back. Now, crossbar spread is how far apart your bars are and I measure center to center. So where I have it is around 28 inches apart, which is a great number to aim for first, if you're not sure what type of crossbar spread your accessory will need. Some other important measurements to now is gonna be your roof height clearances. That first measurement is how much space do you have underneath the crossbars for clamps.
So right over here from the top of our sunroof to the bottom of our crossbar, I have it at around three inches. Now that number will change depending where on your roof you measure, and also you do need to decide if you want it a little bit further forward and potentially come in contact with your sunroof, or further back where that's not an issue whatsoever. The next measurement I like to go for is where does your cargo sit So here from the roof to the top of the bars, you can see it at around four inches. And that's helpful, if let's say, you're carrying skis with extra tall bindings. You would make sure there's enough clearance for those bindings and are not scratching up your roof.
If you find you need a little bit more clearance, well, we have accessories here at etrailer that give you that extra height for those different things that you might be carrying. Now this is a full kit available here at etrailer, which includes the crossbars, the towers, and those clamps you see around the flush rails. It's very important you get the kit that matches your car. We have a fit guide here at etrailer. You put your year, make and model, and then you get all the correct kits for you. See how nicely those clamps fit around the ridges of the flush rail. That's what gives us that weight capacity, that stability and all of that functionality to carry all types of cargo. A lot of my friends ask me for recommendations for roof racks, because they know I've worked with so many different types. And the big thing is what are your priorities and what types of cargo are you carrying 'Cause that will help you pick which roof rack is best for you. For example, the WingBar Edge looks super sleek, but since they are flush bars, they may be a little trickier to reach, especially on a taller vehicle like the Yukon. If that's the case for you, then maybe check out the Thule WingBar kit that has longer bars. I saw an installation of that video on this vehicle if you wanna compare. Now, if your focus is low profile and sleek, but you want a brand that has been around for a while, has always made good roof racks, and has a really good weight capacity, then this Thule roof rack is going to be a great choice. All the measurements cleared my checklist of things to look for when it comes to working with a lot of different types of accessories, so you should be good there. Now if you're curious about how I got this installed on the car, stick around. Getting your roof rack installed the first time might be a little intimidating at first, because you have so many different parts, and clips, and bolts, but for the Yukon, it's actually a lot more simple than you would imagine, because all the parts are the same. So I'm gonna guide you through that process. I already installed the rear crossbar. We get to install the front crossbar together. The very first step is setting up your crossbar for the first time. Now with your crossbars, you're gonna have this weather strip. You actually need to take this weather strip apart before inserting it into the crossbar. The strip that has a flat design to it will be attached to the bottom part of your crossbar, which can be seen with a Thule logo. The strip with the arrows on it will be pushed in facing the front of your crossbar, which is the collar part of bar. This seems non-intuitive for the first time, so just double check that the tall part is the front of the bar. Now I know you worked so hard to push those strips in, but at the very end we're actually gonna lift those pieces up, so that you can see where the tower goes into the bar. Now here we have our tower. There is gonna be a left and a right side. You can see that on the corners, but you can also verify by putting it up to the crossbar to see if the shape matches the bar. So this is a match. We're gonna push this right in. And then on the tower, we're gonna have this little tab here. That tab needs to go into that hole. To do so, and to save my fingertips, I actually use the tool included with the roof rack kit. And then this is what I used to push it initially underneath the crossbar, and then I can push the whole tower in. Might need a little bit of work at first. Keep going until that tab clicks in right there. Now do this for both sides. Now we're gonna set up three different pieces onto the tower. The first piece is gonna be this clamp. It will have A stamped on it. This will go onto the tower, see where the two little hooks kind of have little arms on the tower. Now something to help keep that hook in place is gonna be this rubber piece and that will have B on it. That rubber piece will fit onto the tower. It's gonna be little tabs that push into the tower, and it'll hold a in place. And then finally you'll have C. C will go onto the lip of that first clip, and then we'll go over the bolt. And holding all three pieces in place is gonna be this nut. And we're just going to hand thread this on for now, just enough where it keeps everything together. And now you can lift the whole thing and carefully place it onto your flush rails. Now it doesn't quite matter just yet exactly where you place it, because you can adjust it once it's on your rails. And you'll be will adjust it to the crossbar spread and the location on your roof that you prefer. Wherever you do decide to secure this, you can then tighten it down. What I recommend doing is holding the clamp in the back with your hand and holding it up with your thumb, and that way the clamps are fitted up against the rails ridges. Then you can use the tool included to tighten down on that nut. For me, a good rule of thumb is to always try to as evenly distribute that tightening down process as you can. Like on the one side, I'll go maybe halfway tighten down and then on this side I'll go 75%. Then I'll continue back onto the other side. That's just like a good thing to do so you're not pulling all the tension one way. And then you can also just double check that both towers are still on the rails as you secure it. If you didn't know, the tool included is actually a torque tool. That's why it's very important to use this specific one for all your Allen key needs with this roof rack. This will prevent over tightening bolts. In fact, once you get to the proper tension, the tool will click just like that. I do recommend always double checking all the towers to make sure all of them have clicked to make sure that everything is tightened down properly. Then cap it off with these endcaps. If you purchase Thule one key system lock course available here at etrailer in different multi-packs, ideal for if you have multiple Thule accessories, and you want them all keyed alike, this is when you would switch out your plastic lock cores for those metal lock cores. For me personally, I don't have as many Thule accessories, so I just keep with a plastic lock cores on my own roof rack. This will fit over your tower. And if it doesn't seem like it's fitting well, there is a right and a left end cap, so just double check that those match. This will just clip and slide into place and then I use a flathead screwdriver to turn that lock core to the locked position just like that. You can then go and double check that they're secure by trying to pull on that end cap. Do that for all four towers. And that's gonna be it for the installation of your roof rack. From this point onwards, if you ever needed to take the roof rack off or reinstall it, all you would need is that torque tool. And you'll just loosen the clamps just enough where you can get them off of your flush rails. You don't have to take everything apart and put it all back together again. So it's a lot more simple than this installation or set of process. Now, if you have any questions at any point, please reach out to us here at etrailer. Hopefully this video was helpful for you for seeing how this looks, how this works, and how this installs on your 2021 GMC Yukon. My name's Evangeline and I hope this helped you out.
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