Any opinions about what sort of rack system to use with the Subaru Forester?
I have given up on my Talon Rack (side-loading).

I have had Yakima Low Riders on my 1998 Subaru Forester factory rack and
have been very happy with them.

If you buy them, get the SKS lock system, and buy more than 4 lock cores,
because eventually you will find yourself needing them for various
accessories you put on the crossbars. It's nice to have the same keys
working on all the cores. If you want, I can email you a photo of how I set
up the system on my Forester. (I believe the factory rack system has not
changed on the Forester since 1998.)

People get into fights over the virtues of round bars (Yakima) vs. square
bars (Thule). I prefer round bars.


wrote in message
...
Any opinions about what sort of rack system to use with the Subaru
Forester?
I have given up on my Talon Rack (side-loading).

wrote:

Any opinions about what sort of rack system to use with the Subaru
Forester? I have given up on my Talon Rack (side-loading).

We carry our Pungoes (Pungi, Pungoi, whatever) on Thule Hull-a-Port J-racks.
They clamp right onto the factory rack; support the boats at about 48
pounds apiece; and have given us no trouble at [ahem] 70-80 or so (keeping
up with traffic and all that).

One benefit is that I had an old Thule rack for a long-gone Taurus; replaced
the towers with those for my Corolla; and the Hull-a-Ports move over with
just a couple of plastic spacers for the square bars. The Yakima racks
would not work with the factory bars, as I recall.

I've been looking at the Talon system.... what's wrong with it?

wrote in message
...
Any opinions about what sort of rack system to use with the Subaru
Forester?
I have given up on my Talon Rack (side-loading).

How on earth did you get the Low Riders to attach to a Forester? Yakima
doesn't mention it as option for the Forester on their web site.

People get into fights over the virtues of round bars (Yakima) vs. square
bars (Thule).

I hoping not start one of those wars in this thread. My Hulley Rollers will
adapt to either, so I'm more interested in the connection to the car. Since
Memorial Day weekend, I have had 3 rack failures, and the first cost me a
kevlar sea kayak.


"Jack Fu" wrote in message
news:sOq9b.360247$cF.106266@rwcrnsc53...
I have had Yakima Low Riders on my 1998 Subaru Forester factory rack and
have been very happy with them.

If you buy them, get the SKS lock system, and buy more than 4 lock cores,
because eventually you will find yourself needing them for various
accessories you put on the crossbars. It's nice to have the same keys
working on all the cores. If you want, I can email you a photo of how I
set
up the system on my Forester. (I believe the factory rack system has not
changed on the Forester since 1998.)

People get into fights over the virtues of round bars (Yakima) vs. square
bars (Thule). I prefer round bars.


wrote in message
...
Any opinions about what sort of rack system to use with the Subaru
Forester?
I have given up on my Talon Rack (side-loading).

You are the 2nd person to mention the Low Riders for the Forester. Have you
ever used these?

Niels

wrote in message
...
On Mon, 15 Sep 2003 17:46:26 -0400, wrote:

Any opinions about what sort of rack system to use with the Subaru
Forester?
I have given up on my Talon Rack (side-loading).

Yakima has a weight limit of 125 lbs with both the MightyMounts and
the LowRider options for the Forrester. Thule has a 130 lb weight
limit if you use their crossbars. Subaru's optional square crossbars
have a 125 lb limit. The stock flattened oval Subaru crossbars have a
150 lb limit. I would rather have a higher weight limit, even above
the weight of the kayaks - there will be wind drag and crosswinds. We
have used the stock bars with the Subaru kayak attachment (stacker
type) to carry two Perception sea kayaks, combined weight about 125
lbs, with no problem. We tie down both bow and stern, and the kayaks
rest on their side, arguably the strongest part of the kayak. We
cruise at 70 mph with no worries. YMMV.
Dan

On Mon, 15 Sep 2003 19:23:36 -0400, wrote:

How on earth did you get the Low Riders to attach to a Forester? Yakima
doesn't mention it as option for the Forester on their web site.


Lowriders will work on older Foresters. I believe with the newest
body style (03 and up?, maybe 02) you need a special tower again for
Yakimas.

Personally, I'd probably go Yakima, since its a custom tower.

Ted,
who drives a Legacy w/ 66" Thule's (and likes it that way)

I had it professionally installed twice: Once on 2003 Camry LE, then on a
2004 Forester XT. It came loose from the Camry, but I caught the problem &
corrected it; one of the Thule towers was coming loose off of the car. (You
need Yakima or Thule towers to attach it to your car.)

Yesterday, the rack wouldn't lock, and the kayak kept sliding to the side of
the car. Talon is fantastic when it works, but it has too many moving
parts, requiring a tight tolerance in a rough environment. And in a parking
lot, side-loading becomes a problem.

Pushing & pulling the Talon off to the side, then back onto the car, puts
more stress on the towers, destabilizing the connection. I could be the
exception; hell my yakima rack fell apart on the 2003 Camry, early this
year. Talk to other Talon owners.

"Freeshot" wrote in message
...
I've been looking at the Talon system.... what's wrong with it?

wrote in message
...
Any opinions about what sort of rack system to use with the Subaru
Forester?
I have given up on my Talon Rack (side-loading).

I was hoping to hear from someone who has the custom towers. No offense
Ted, but I was a guinea pig for the Talon Rack; no more being a guinea pig,
with a carbon/kevlar kayak.

"cookson" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 15 Sep 2003 19:23:36 -0400, wrote:

How on earth did you get the Low Riders to attach to a Forester? Yakima
doesn't mention it as option for the Forester on their web site.


Lowriders will work on older Foresters. I believe with the newest
body style (03 and up?, maybe 02) you need a special tower again for
Yakimas.

Personally, I'd probably go Yakima, since its a custom tower.

Ted,
who drives a Legacy w/ 66" Thule's (and likes it that way)

writes:

I had it professionally installed twice: Once on 2003 Camry LE, then on a
2004 Forester XT. It came loose from the Camry, but I caught the problem &
corrected it; one of the Thule towers was coming loose off of the car. (You
need Yakima or Thule towers to attach it to your car.)

I don't have specific knowledge of your setup; however, IME _all_
rack attachments will work loose over time, due to jolting and what
have you. You need to check them thangs periodically and tighten
the cams (or whatever) as needed. It's not much and it's not
frequent, but my rack needs minor tightening about once a year. Let
it go much longer, and yeah, it can get very loose indeed.
Dangerously so.

--
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Mary Malmros
Some days you're the windshield,
Other days you're the bug.