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Height Above Roof of 2020 Toyota Highlander For Thule & Yakima Roof Racks on Flush Mounted Rails  

Updated 08/19/2024 | Published 08/14/2024

Question:

Hi, I am looking to purchase a roof rack system to put on my 2020 Highlander. I currently have a rooftop tent on my factory crossbars but want to upgrade to something stronger. I have narrowed it down to either the Yakima HD bars on the skyline towers OR the Thule Wingbar Evo. I am trying to understand which one has a lower clearance, because Id like to be able to drive into my garage with the tent on I have a hoist in the garage that makes it easy to take it on and off the car. I have seen two questions answered on this site that have conflicting information on which one is lower and also which one is recommended. Can you give me the latest info on these two racks and which one you prefer? here are the two answers I saw already: question-744614 question-702283 Thank you!

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Expert Reply:

Hi Maggie,

So regarding the answers you mentioned, they are different styles of roof rack and different parts, so there's going to be a bit of difference because of that. The rack styles are also why the recommendations aren't one-to-one.

The same thing is true here for the racks on your 2020 Toyota Highlander with flush rails, as the Yakima SkyLine Roof Rack # Y65BB will be 5-1/8" above your roof while the Thule WingBar Evo Roof Rack - Silver # TH28YG or Black # TH86SG is 5" above the roof.

There's a difference here because of the Yakima HD bars, which are taller than most. I'm not a huge fan of the HD bars as they don't pair well with much because they are 1/2" taller than most bars, meaning they aren't as aerodynamic, and also a bit louder. So between these two specific options I'd go with the Thule Silver # TH28YG or Black # TH86SG.

For whichever you decide to go with, I do recommend considering locks to keep the rack nice and secure. Either the Yakima Same Key System (SKS) Lock Cores # Y07204 or Thule One-Key System Lock Cylinders # TH450400.

expert reply by:
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Kyle S
Maggie profile picture

Maggie

8/19/2024

Ok awesome this is a very thorough response! Thank you so much. If instead of the Yakima HD I did the Yakima Jetstream, how tall would that be? And do you still recommend the Thule WingBar Evo over the Yakima Jetstream?

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Kyle S. profile picture

Kyle S.

8/19/2024

@Maggie Well glad I could be of some help to you, and the JetStream are definitely better than the HD. We've actually installed and measured the rack on a '20 Highlander and it was 5" to the top of the crossbar with the Yakima SkyLine Roof Rack # Y99TB. Between these two I still do like the Thule; there honestly isn't a huge difference between the WingBar and JetStream, as even the crossbars are the same length. The biggest difference is the install, which is less complicated with the Thule rack so that's the route I'd go.
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