Factory crossbars on 05 Outback

[Ron]

Hi all-

We traded our '02 WRX for an '05 Outback wagon (that whole kids
thing...) and are planning our first big trip for the week of
Thanksgiving. As such, we are *not* light packers (well, the kids
aren't ) and thus won't have enough space in the car for a week.

So we're thinking of getting a Thule roof basket for the extra stuff.
My family had a Thule bike rack on our '86 Taurus Wagon, and I remember
the Ford crossbars had to come off because the Thule bike rack would
only mount to the Thule crossbars, and the Ford crossbars were pretty
much for decoration anyway.

What I'd like to know is, is the situation pretty much the same for the
Outback? The crossbars are curved at the ends and that seems like
anything mounted to them would have to take that into consideration.
Then there's also the weight aspect..we're not talking hundreds of
pounds here, but am I correct in thinking taht we shouldn't even try to
subject the factory crossbars to any kind of weight? I've seen people
use the top for carrying stuff with a lot of bungie cords, but we're
talking about something that needs to be secure for highway driving.

Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Ron

 

[Edward Hayes]

Must be a really really big trip OR you're packing the kitchen sink +

 

[Ron]

For people who are not light packers, everything is a big trip.
We're also bringing some stuff for the mother-in-law that is too
expensive to ship, so we'll definitely have more going than coming back.

 

[Bonehenge]

Any info would be appreciated.

Thule and Yakima both offer adaptors to mount boxes to factory
crossbars.

See a local dealer for help.