To see if this custom-fit item will work for you please tell us what vehicle you'll use it with.
These crossbars combine the strength of steel with an aerodynamic shape to create a heavy-duty yet quiet roof rack for your vehicle. Full-length bars work with most clamp-on accessories. Installs to raised rails on your vehicle's roof.
Features:
Specs:
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.
From start to finish, the folks at etrailer -- and I spoke to several people there, so it was a consistent corporate vibe -- were fantastic to deal with.
There were delays in getting my product that were on the supplier side and out of etrailer's control, yet etrailer folks kept me up to date and also worked on a customized solution.
My goal was to be able to carry my surfboard on the roof of our 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe to the beach more than 3 hours away. But the particular model we had had no existing racks, no recessed areas, nothing to fix racks to. Not even the dealer had a solution. I was sh*t out of luck.
But etrailer hooked me up. The racks did take me a while to put on, but most of that time was fine tuning to reduce “hum” while driving. I’m very happy with them.
Thanks to etrailer, I have gone surfing and can go surfing whenever I'd like to.
I've just recently installed this setup on my 2015 Toyota Camry.
etrailer - Shopping for this rack was fairly simple, and the shipping from etrailer was quick and reliable. I received the rack in 2 different shipments but they both arrived at the same time. etrailer made sure the all the contents were available. They also have several resourceful videos on their YouTube page, which was helpful while shopping for the rack and during a few trouble shooting items while I was installing.
Yakima Core Bar - Overall a quality product. Everything necessary was supplied, including a handy measuring tape and some very well written instructions. The fit is clean and very sturdy. The only qualm I have is that the hex hole in the large anchor bolts are a bit larger than the supplied hex driver. Toward the end of the installation, the tool was worn and ended up turning inside the bolt itself (not due to over torquing whatsoever). I ended up having to use a hex set I had in my toolbox to complete the installation because the provided tool was starting to strip out the anchor bolt. With that said, the kit is still a great kit that meets my expectations.
Wind noise is quieter than my OEM VW bars on my 2017 Volkswagen GTI. It's noticeable, but nothing extreme - I believe that's just the price you pay when adding crossbars to a vehicle.
Verdict - etrailer has definitely met my expectations, and the Yakima kit provided is a well designed kit that fits well!
Very good product. The Yakama towers and cross bars feel very solid and appears to be high quality. Very easy install. Others have complained about the instructions, but guess I'm a visual person because the pictures all seemed very clear to me and the install was very easy. They do sit higher than I expected. After adding a Rhino Rack cargo basket, we only have about 4-5" clearance below the garage door.
Really Easy to Install! Solid and Strong amount to Roof Rack.
These crossbars feel like they are well made and sturdy. It took less than 30 minutes to install with the Ridgeline Towers. I love the look of the bars! Can't wait to load the Kayaks up and get out on the water.
The instructions are good but it helped to watch a videos. Did not have any clicks for tightness.as in the video.
Timely delivery of my order, as usual! Easy to install on my 2015 4Runner. After I had the mounts ready and put on both bars, I installed the front one and fine-tuned it, the second took even less time then. I now have the ability to carry up to 3 kayaks, perfect! etrailer is a great company!
My experience with etrailer has been excellent. There was going to be a potential delay in one of the products, but their customer service promptly informed me, half the price of some of their competitors so can't really complain. In the end they got the part ahead of schedule and was able to ship in a timely manner. I will definitely keep them in mind for future purchases.
They do the job. I can't say that they look like they were custom-made for my new vehicle, but I trust them to stay on and keep my boat on the car. They hold securely.
Roof rack fits and works as advertised. Over the phone customer support for sales and install directions were very helpful and thorough. Geoff is an excellent brand ambassador who goes above and beyond to fulfill customer expectations. I will definitely be shopping at etrailer for my future vehicle needs. Well done!
As described! Quick delivery!
snug and sturdy
Customer service was excellent, they called me to tell me one item was backordered and how long it would be. Package was shipped with enough packing material. Install was pretty easy, some of the Yakima measurements in the manual are a couple inches off but no big deal. This will be used to carry a box for when the family takes trips. Can pile all the luggage up top and have more room in the car. I would recommend the Yakima corebar roof rack and etrailer! Their price was lower than 2 other sites I checked.
Very happy with the Yakima roof top rack kit for my 2017 Ford Edge with glass roof. The instructions were a little confusing at first, but after reading through them a couple of times while working with the product they became much clearer. The Yakima fit site was helpful as well. After the initial cross bar mounting measurements and set up, attaching and detaching the racks from the roof is a very simple process.
Great product and Sales Support from etrailer.
I bought this for my Son as a Grad/BDay gift for a Honda HR-V which has slightly odd roof/door shape
He installed it himself said the install was straightforward but the instructions could use a little improvement.
etrailer Sales Support was great, I was a little concerned about getting the right parts and the return policy. Olivia was great to work with, she offered recommendations and matched the parts to the type and vehicle it was to be installed on along with a kayak mount.
All the parts arrived in mint condition with no missing pieces.
I'll for sure return to etrailer on future purchases.
I am thrilled this got delivered sooner than anticipated! It was quite easy to install once you started actually putting it together and measuring everything out. I like that this can easily be removed and installed onto the vehicle.
Wonderful service from Kimberly at etrailer.com. I had ordered a roof rack in December for I car I had on order. Ultimately I purchased a different vehicle more than 3 months later and the roof rack and mounting parts were not compatible. I had no problem returning the unopened products and just needed to pay the postage. Kimberly made the process easy and seamless, making sure to send the new Yakama cross bars and necessary parts. It fits beautifully on my new car and setup was fairly simple with video support and step-by-step instructions.
I have a 2004 Toyota Camry, my purpose is to purchase this Yakima Baseline System for Rooftop tent. My 23Zero rooftop tent weighs 130 lb, so far it's super solid. I did some minor adjustments based on the shape and level of the roof when mounting it.
THERE'S A PIECE MISSING, A rubber cap on 1 of the crossbars
Great product! Relatively easy install, had the racks on for a few days now with no issues.
My son is very pleased with his Yakima Rack. Glad HE MADE THE RIGHT CHOICE ! Iam back on line to order his bike attachments.
Very sturdy, well made. The assembly instructions are not too good but if you call Yakima they will provide additional instructions.
The cross bars come with the items needed to install them on the mounts. Easy installation and the best part is they don't add much wind noise even at freeway speeds. I've only had them on the car for a day so I'm looking forward to putting them to use
Instructions are very unclear,not a happy customer,I may be returning racks
Great product. Great service.
Do you have a question about this Roof Rack?
Info for this part was:
At etrailer.com we provide the best information available about the products we sell. We take the quality of our information seriously so that you can get the right part the first time. Let us know if anything is missing or if you have any questions.
Thank you! Your comment has been submitted successfully. You should be able to view your question/comment here within a few days.
Error submitting comment. Please try again momentarily.