Basic Roof Rack for a 2014 Nissan Altima  

Question:

Expert Reply:

I have some potential solutions for you, however, there is not a Thule roof rack fit available for your vehicle.

For basic racks that are similar to Thule, I recommend Yakima's Round Bar or JetStream kits.

The base kit for your vehicle is made up of parts that will work with whatever bar style you choose. It is made up of:

BaseLine Towers for Yakima Crossbars, part # Y28TR
BaseClip Fit Kit for 2014 Nissan Altima, Front, part # Y06137
BaseClip Fit Kit for 2014 Nissan Altima, Rear, part # Y06127

Be sure to add both BaseClips to your order, as one is assigned to the front of the vehicle, and one to the rear of the vehicle.

This will let you pick between the RoundBar and JetStream crossbar packs, which offer their own range of features.

The RoundBar kit is most similar to Thule's Square Bar kits, and is a basic, efficient model that allows for a wide range of accessories, especially with the prevalence of universal clamp mounting on a good range of accessories. If you'd like this bar type, you'll add:

Yakima RoundBar, 48 Inches, part # Y00408
RoundBar SL Adapter, part # Y03536

An advantage of the RoundBar is their smaller size, which lets you have a wider compatibility with more accessories, and Yakima makes a range of adapters for these bars called MightyMounts. Yakima products will specifically note which MightyMounts they use, if needed.

If instead you'd like a more modern style crossbar, you'll want the JetStream.

JetStream Crossbar, 50 Inches Long, part # Y00425

These will mount on the same kit and give you a different range of features. Most importantly, JetStream bars have a channel mount which lets you use T-Bolts to mount to the bars, providing a flush, overall quieter ride. Additionally, some accessories only come in T-Bolt variants.

A disadvantage of these bars is their size for use with clamp mount accessories. Because they are taller and wider than Round or Square style bars, sometimes the clamps won't fit these bars quite as well.

I recommend adding a set of locks with part # Y07204. This secures the tower to the vehicle, helping to prevent it from disappearing on you.

I've included a couple of video reviews of the crossbars and BaseLine towers so you can get a closer look a how the towers work and how they install onto the vehicles.

expert reply by: Jacob W

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