To see if this custom-fit item will work for you please tell us what vehicle you'll use it with.
These crossbars are built from aluminum, giving them the strength to handle up to 165 lbs of gear. Whether you’re loading a kayak, canoe, or cargo box, the sturdy build keeps everything steady mile after mile. The black finish looks clean and holds up well through weather and long-distance travel.
Nothing ruins a long trip like constant wind whistling overhead. The WingBar Evo’s aero-style shape helps reduce that noise and drag. Split rubber strips fill in the top channels to smooth airflow and cut vibration while you drive, so the ride feels quiet and more relaxed.
Mounting gear can be a hassle when you have to cut channel rubber every time. These bars fix that with split top channel strips that open for your mounts, then close back around them—no trimming needed. It makes loading and unloading faster while keeping the rack sealed against wind and weather.
No matter what you’re hauling, this setup is ready for it. The bars work with both channel-mount and clamp-on attachments, so you can use your favorite bike racks, kayak cradles, or cargo boxes without extra adapters. From camping trips to paddle weekends, it’s a single system for all your gear.
Protecting your gear is easy with Thule’s One-Key System locks (sold separately). They let you secure both the rack and any channel-mounted accessories using one key, helping deter theft when your vehicle is parked at a trailhead or campsite overnight.
Alternate Instructions
Videos are provided as a guide only. Refer to manufacturer installation instructions and specs for complete information.
Hi, Matt with etrailer. If you have a 2023 BMW X5 and you're looking for a roof rack that's gonna be really easy to work with and that's gonna give you more of a clean finish to the top of your roof, then the Thule roof rack will be a great option for you. So let's check it out. Now it's important that you know what type of roof you have because the X5 will come with a lot of different variations of roofs. And the one we have today will be a flush rail. And the way you can tell is if I come over here, I can actually wrap my hand around the rail.
Now that's gonna be a flush rail. Now if there's no rail to grab, that's gonna be a naked option. And if you can actually get your hand or fingers underneath the rail, that's gonna be a raise rail option. I also recommend just plugging your vehicle's information into our fit guide to find the right one for you. What I really like about roof racks though is that they're gonna keep all those additional accessories in one location or more so in one footprint of your vehicle rather than expanding past behind you extending that footprint so you're gonna take up more space in a parking spot.
And what's also great about a roof rack is they're gonna allow you to carry those longer items. So anything like skis, kayaks, or anything that just won't fit in your car. And this one is be comprised of three parts today. So we're gonna have our crossbars up top, we're gonna have towers beneath them, and then the fit kit. So let's take a closer look at the crossbar.
So these are gonna be the Thule 53" wing bars and there's a few things that really pop out to me. Now typically we're gonna have a built-in weather strip to this, and that's going to help protect your TCH channel. Your T channels gonna be great if you have any T channel accessories or if you have maybe a clamp-on accessory that isn't working very well. If you just wanna get the most out of your real estate up here, that's gonna be great for your T channel accessories. That weather strip's also gonna keep out any debris or water from getting in here and help reduce wind noise.
Now we don't have ours in right now 'cause we've had this down in the shop for a long time, but yours will come with one. And we're gonna have this end cap at the very end of it, which I really like. So that's what kind of makes this one a really easy to work with roof rack. If I slide that around, you can actually mount your T channel accessories from this spot right here instead of having to take off your end cap completely, which is a really unique feature to this kit. And moving down to the tower, you'll notice right here we have this plastic core, you can actually get that traded out for a metal locking core for more security. And if I take this end cap off, you'll notice you have all the hardware here. And I really like this design because it's a pretty smart design, because what's happening is, this clamp, you only have to tighten down one bolt to secure not your towers to your crossbars, but also your tower to your fit kit. Makes it really easy to use. And speaking of that fit kit, the way that's gonna work is, you're gonna have this metal clamp on either side. That's gonna grab onto the gutters of your rails. And this is a pretty seamless fit we're getting right here. So you can see how flush it is, even on top of the rail itself where you have that rubber pad, that rubber pad's gonna help prevent any scratching from occurring. But overall, I think this is an excellent fit we're getting. But now we get a few measurements to see how this is gonna live up here. So the first measurement I'm gonna get is gonna be the overall height it adds, which is gonna be 5", which is actually pretty high. So what I'd recommend doing is just taking the total height of the vehicle, the cross bars, and then anything on top of that just so you know what areas you can make it under. The spot to really think about would be a garage. And then if we look over here, I have my sunroof up, and this is gonna give you an idea of how much space we still have underneath and that's gonna be 2". So even with your sunroof up, will most likely not gonna make contact with it. Now if you have some really bulky clamps, they might come pretty close or they might make contact. I just recommend checking that first. If they are gonna make contact, then I'd recommend keeping your sunroof down because you're still gonna have 4" of space underneath there. So that's tons of space. And really placing your crossbars is gonna be another big factor to this. So right now, since this isn't a fixed mounting kit, we have it placed here instead of directly over this opening. The reason I recommend that is because if you're driving down the road and you want open up your sunroof, if that crossbar is directly above you, it's gonna create a lot of wind noise and it's not gonna be a very enjoyable ride. So that's one of the benefits of having this not be a fixed mounting system, because you can really place it wherever you need it to sit. And this will have a little bit of overhang to it too. I'll get that exact distance. That is going to be about a little bit under 4". So that's pretty good. Now of the usable space, that's gonna be a little bit less, you might be able to get a smaller ski carrier on here, but as far as anything a little bit larger, more bulky, that's not gonna be a whole lot of room to work with. The reason why overhangs is pretty nice is because if you have anything like ski carriers or a kayak carrier, you're gonna want that as close to the edge as possible. It's just a little bit easier to take on and off. Now that's another reason why to have a T channel on your crossbars. It's gonna be a big benefit 'cause it's gonna maximize the amount of real estate you can use this with. Now this is also gonna have a pretty decent weight capacity, and honestly what's probably gonna be a limiting factor is gonna be a roof. So what I'd recommend doing is just finding that out and then going from the lowest rated capacity. Now in my opinion, I think this is a pretty great option, especially if you are looking for a cleaner look overall, 'cause I really do like the look of the towers and crossbars we have today. And especially if you are looking for just an easy-to-use crossbar or a roof rack, because we have easy access to that T channel too. Now we also do have the Yakima roof rack, which is also a solid choice. And what's nice about that is, you can actually get that keyed alike with any of the other Yakima accessories. But at the end of the day, I think this is just gonna do a little bit of a better job of grabbing onto your roof. And if you don't have all those other Yakima accessories, I think this is gonna be the better option overall. Now if you are curious to see what this installation looks like, just take tuned, we'll walk you through the process. To start off the installation, we like to lay everything out. So closest to me, we're gonna have our crossbar, we're gonna have the towers along with their end caps, and then we're gonna have our fit kit. It's gonna be comprised of three parts. They're gonna be labeled A, B, and C. And then we're gonna have these other parts that go along with it. I'll talk a little bit more about how they install. And you're gonna have this include an Allen key with a torque wrench. And we will have, or I do recommend bringing a tape measure just to make sure you get everything even. Where I'm gonna start with is gonna be the crossbar. So we're just gonna flip this over. This is gonna be this tab. We're gonna press in on that tab and pull this end cap off. I find it best if you kind of wiggle it some. It comes off a little bit easier that way. And then you're gonna grab one of your towers. You're gonna have this metal block and these two plastic tabs on here. We want that to slide into that channel. So I'm just gonna flip this around, making sure this bolt is facing on the outside of your crossbar. (plastic clicks) And then we're just gonna slide it in. And at this point, just make sure you put your end caps back into place, and repeat this on the other side. Now slide this into place. You're gonna have this hole that's in the center and these two tabs that are gonna slide into the tower. Should look something like this. And from here I'm gonna grab B, and that's gonna be that rubber pad. And the way you wanna line this up is with the tabs on your tower. They'll just slide into place. You might have to push that a little bit. And you can kind of feel 'em grab on. And this is what it should look like from the side, making sure you have this kind of flush fit. We wanna make sure that our thicker side is facing forward and the thinner side is facing behind this of the crossbar. And we're just gonna roughly lift it up and place it down. Now this doesn't have to be perfect when you first place it here, 'cause we're gonna adjust it later on. This is gonna be the fit that we're looking for. So you want that base to be roughly wrapping around rails like this. And now we can get a few measurements just make sure it's even on both ends. So I recommend going from some place that's gonna be the same on both sides, kind of this like this door hinge here. I'm gonna measure from there to the very end of our tower. And then I'm just gonna double check it's the same with both ends. If I need to adjust it, all I simply have to do is either push it or pull it either way. We're gonna check our overhang. So the way I'm gonna do that is to measure from the end of the tower to the end of the crossbar. And then I'm just gonna adjust it either by pulling on it or pushing on it. And you just wanna make sure you have the same overhang on either end. And from here we're gonna start cinching it down. And to do that we're gonna grab our C clamp and this nut. And the way this is gonna go on is, you're gonna have this tab right here. You're gonna have this opening on clamp C that will wrap around it, and it's gonna have this hole in the center that lines up with that bolt. And then I'm gonna grab this nut, slide it on until grabs onto that bolt in there and then start hand tightening it. Now this might take a second, but really the fit you're trying to get is to have this clamp wrap around this point right here. Once that is about hand tightened, before we tighten this all the way, I'm actually going to the other side and repeat this process, and then slowly tighten this all the way down until it is completely secured. You don't wanna tighten down one side completely before the other because it could give you an uneven fit. And the way you're gonna be able to tell this is all the way tightened down is, eventually you're gonna reach a point where you get a lot of resistance, (rack clicks) you start hearing that click. That's that torque device letting you know this is all the way tightened down. And from here we can start putting on our end cap. You're just gonna push it into place. You should hear a click. And you're gonna have this point that you can secure down with a flat head, unless you put the locking cores in there. And really the last step is really just sliding this tab back into place so you don't get that wind noise. But that'll pretty much do it for our look at the installation and some of the features of the Thule roof rack on top of our 2023 BMW X5. I'm Matt, thanks for watching.
Customer Satisfaction Score:
96% were satisfied with this product
4% of customers were not satisfied
Ratings & Reviews
I ordered the Thule WingBar Evo Crossbars - Aluminum - Silver - 50" with the Evo Flush Rail Feet for Thule Crossbars - Flush Side Rails and the Fit Kit for Thule Evo Flush Rail and Edge Flush Rail Roof Rack Feet for my 2020 Mazda CX9. I appreciated the product selector to make sure I was getting all the correct parts. I was happy with the products, but I did run into an issue where 1 of the rail feet had a defective bolt which required a replacement. I was very satisfied with etrailer's customer support, and how well they worked with me to get the part replaced quickly. I'm giving this a 4 start only because of the hassle of receiving a defective one initially
I bought the Thule Evo Roof Rack to transport my kayak on my Lexus 300H. Thule will advise you on their website that his particular rack is not right for a Lexus 300H (i.e., they don't make a roof rack for a Lexus 300H); it is really for a Camry, but etrailer told me that is worked, I trusted them and they were correct. After all, a Lexus sedan is really a fancy Camry, but Thule will not acknowledge this point. It works great. Thule makes a solid product.
After searching unsuccessfully for support in the retrofit of my legacy Thule rack to a new car, I was pleased by the excellent support from Bailey B. She was methodical in her query and verification of compatibility in my non-standard application. The rack
These bars are light weight and easy to set up. However, the measurements in the directions were not right to fit them to my vehicle, and they were really difficult to adjust once the bars were on the roof. They seem to be snug on the roof and working well, I did a test drive yesterday at varying speeds and they are secure. They don't cause any unpleasant noise - you'd forget they were on there.
It is great. I love appearance of the Thule roof rack that I install today.
Very pleased with order. Shipped fast, not damaged, all parts accounted for. Easy install, very sturdy, and attractive design. Slight wind noise but that was expected compared to not having a roof rack.
Easy to assemble and install. Love the way etrailer packages everything you need and they all are correct for the vehicle you are mounting them on. Once installed they appear very strong. Installed on a 2023 Chevy Tahoe and did not interfere with the sunroof.
I had to warranty the bars because the rubber strips that seal the attachment channel would not stay attached.
Blew off on the highway. Poor design.
Thule warranty is awesome, They sent me 2 new sets. Still wouldnt attach securely.
Thule sent me a new set of bars.
I already bought some square bars.
I dont even want to use the wing bars. I want aerodynamic profile not the rubber strips.
I’ve had it on my 2021 Kia Telluride now for a few months and it works great. When I was mounting the forward bar, I opened the sun roof to make sure I was comfortable with the roof window and bar clearance.
Rock Solid and good looking. Expensive but worth it!
Items arrived later than expected despite cancelling an month long order due to waiting stock on a different set up that was in stock. Once it arrived the box was all torn up and the person that delivered it just dropped it in the garage with the boxes spilling out of the bigger box. Love Thule products, etailer and the shipping supplier not so much,
Thule Rack looks awesome on my Kia Telluride. Products took a while to get to me because they were on backorder but it's not etrailer, they were on backorder everywhere. I messed up one of the pieces of rubber while installing and etrailer sent me a new one at no charge. Definitely recommend etrailer.
Overall solid product. The little rubber strips that fit into the top bar are relatively fragile, I installed them, pulled one out to trim about 1/8 inches of excess length and the strip deformed such that it never went back in correctly. Fortunately etrailer had replacement strips.
The feet are very sturdy and nice to put a strap around. The instructions didn't match the picture of what I was buying because they had a 28in gap between the front and the back feet but I actually needed more like 4 ft. so you can see I used something more like what the picture of a Leaf setup was on the etrailer website. The instructions were a little bit unclear about how the ridge on the bottom of the feet are to sit in the channels on top of the car but on the back rail I had to set the feet way outside the channels anyway. Still seems to be pretty solid
Thule is an excellent product and the fit on my 2017 Chevrolet Colorado is perfect. The good people at etrailer were super helpful in getting the correct fit parts to me as quickly as possible, especially during a tough year for all. I’ve found my Thule racks to be the perfect tool to take our kayaks on our adventures!
I’ve been searching for a set of crossbars for my 2021 Crosstrek. After looking at several different companys,, I decided to go with etrailer.com and get the Thule Wingbar Evo Crossbars and Evo Raised feet. Ordering was quick and shipping was even faster! Installed them in about an hour with no issues. I love the way they look, and the construction is solid. Shout out to the staff for doing a great job and for the great communication from placing the order, confirmation, updates and shipping the order. You will not be disappointed!
Website is easy to use & is better at putting together the correct package than Thule’s site.
etrailer had all the parts in stock for my 2020 Kia Telluride.
Payment process was simple.
Received periodic updates from staffer on my order & could actually reply if needed.
Installing the roof rack went well. Estimate start to finish was about 2 hours. Found it best to really examine each diagram in Thule’s step by step instructions to get it all right on the first try.
Hardness part of the installation was getting the crossbars installed at the proper distances. A tailor’s soft measuring tape & some masking were great aids.
I've always trusted Thule bars. I have an old Xsporter on my truck that works really well and it has held up over time. I needed to get a Thule rack for my Jeep Grand Cherokee and found that etrailer had all the parts I needed specified for my model. That was one of my favorite things about the site. No need to search around for the different parts to attached onto the factory rails. Once I received the rack and components, it was really easy to install. I pretty much watched the etrailer videos before hand.
I have the older Hullavator 897XT to haul my kayak in. With the WingBar Evo, I found I needed to get a slightly longer bolt (6-1.00 x 30), which I got from the local Ace hardware store, to attached the Hullavator support bracket to the WingBar. Once I got those bolts set up, I was on the water with the kayak the next day.
Talked to the customer service a few times and they are great friendly people. And I can understand what they are saying.
53” Thule bars fit our 2021 RAV4 Hybrid! Most people appear to be using 47” bars for the 2021 RAV4 with flush roof rails, but that’s smaller than I wanted. I sometimes carry a sheet of plywood, or a kayak plus a cargo box, and wanted a wider rack for that. I had heard that upsizing to the 53” bar was potentially not possible because the mounting slots on the bottom of the bar may not accommodate the rail locations relative to the bar length. ETrailer helped me out with some dimensions, so I bought the 53” bar knowing it would be close. There is only about a quarter inch of play on either side on the rear bar, but it fit (the front bar had more play, since the towers are a bit further apart at the front).
I’m SO happy with the result! Now I can carry what I want on the rack, and have room to spare! It looks pretty good too!
Thule has great quality and trailer is a great place to order from, highly recommend both!
Reliable and durable
Really good racks for a really good price and great customer service
Perfect fit. Easy to install. Excellent customer service and prompt shipping. These guys are great!! THANKS JEREMY!!
It took me a VERY long time to figure out what I needed to mount my Hullivator on my 22 Subaru Outback Limited. I bought the wrong parts on round 1, and finally after 2 yrs of frustration, asked AI what I needed. I don't entirely trust AI, but it got me on the right track. I asked the 'chat' person on etrailer about the AI suggestion, and the gal who helped me, Autumn, said the feet part was correct, but to use these feet and the TH37CE fit kit. I ordered immediately. Today was the day. Of note, the fit kit has specific parts for the front and rear passenger and front and rear driver side. Pay attention to the photo directions. The parts are different for each side. On my Outback, they mount at 69cm apart on the Subaru rails (folded in) on the Thule Wingbar Evo 55" bars. The cladding and design of the Outback roof system leaves much to be desired, but this worked and I'm looking forward to FINALLY using my Hullivator.
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