Yakima vs Thule

jeepers · **Posted:** Mon Jan 09, 2006 9:27 am

i am looking at getting a roof rack for my 02 kj.

what do you think i should get?

i like the Yakima racks because of the higher load range but i like the Thule because of the low profile.

give me some ideas folks!

dog_party · **Posted:** Mon Jan 09, 2006 10:46 am

Jeepers, there are a number of different reasons to buy either Yak or Thule. There are so many that I can't personally vote for one or the other. Both manufacturers make a low profile feet. If you want the lowest rails, get the Mopar ones, but you'll be sacrificing load capability. I have parts from both manufacturers hanging on my Liberty, and both perform above my expectations. We all had a good discussion about Yak and Thule rack parts a while back...go here to check out that conversation.

Good luck in your search!

BlueFreedom · **Posted:** Mon Jan 09, 2006 11:02 am

Yakima, very tough rack, I've owned two (for an Accord and the Liberty).

adamkrz · **Posted:** Mon Jan 09, 2006 3:57 pm

Make sure you buy the wind fairing for whatever you buy since the crossbars produce noise.

Se7enLC · **Posted:** Mon Jan 09, 2006 4:11 pm

adamkrz wrote:

Make sure you buy the wind fairing for whatever you buy since the crossbars produce noise.

Mine are pretty quiet, but I plan on getting the fairing anyway just cuz they look nice

mikemd · **Posted:** Mon Jan 09, 2006 4:27 pm

I have the Thule 450 brackets with crossbarrs. I had to put on the fairing because at high speeds the bars made alot of annoying noise. I was a little disapointed with the thule fairing. It seemed like a piece of @#$% for 50 bucks. It does look pretty sweet with it on though.

kevh · **Posted:** Mon Jan 09, 2006 7:46 pm

if you have the rene aux roof lights the fairing isnt needed

i have had great luch with yakima on 3 different vehicles now. currently running yakima lowrider towers and they are pretty short

adamkrz · **Posted:** Mon Jan 09, 2006 9:18 pm

I have seen theThule bars bend but not sure if they were overloaded,I"ve been using Yakima for along time with only minor problems such as water getting into the bars,Also I have the longer bars to carry 4 kayaks,either way you can spend alot of money for all the extras because it seems nothing comes with them such as the locks,and not to crazy about the faring which would vibrate against the roof until I added some padding under the corner- but overall the quality is very good..

joe · **Joined:** Mon Jan 02, 2006 8:25 am **Posts:** 16

I put Thule Racks on my ford tarus, the foot broke while I was tightening it down, by hand no less. Took it back, got the Yakima rack and it worked great, just my experiance.

-Edit-
Ok oops have to change my story, I got it confused, it was the Yakima that broke, and the Thule that was good, sorry.

Se7enLC · **Posted:** Tue Jan 10, 2006 4:41 pm

joe wrote:

I put Thule Racks on my ford tarus, the foot broke while I was tightening it down, by hand no less. Took it back, got the Yakima rack and it worked great, just my experiance.

Just to give the opposite experience, I have the thule crossroad 450s attached to my oversize renegade factory bars (2005), and it's strong enough for me to pretty easily stand on.

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Tue Jan 10, 2006 6:49 pm

Can someone plz tell me all the part numbers and what its all called. I got on yakima's website but wasnt sure what i needed. How much does all that cost and where do you all get the mopar roof rack?

ManicMechanicJoe · **Posted:** Tue Jan 10, 2006 10:32 pm

I have been using Thule since I got my license (december 2002), my dad used Thule since he got married in December of 1985. We have one set of bars and a box with over 100,000 miles. I got them as a graduation present. My dad bought another one. My friend has a Yakima and it makes more noise then the Thule.

dog_party · **Posted:** Wed Jan 11, 2006 8:48 am

Quote:

Can someone plz tell me all the part numbers and what its all called.

Sorry, don't know the part numbers, but you'll find these on the websites.

If you like Yak...

If you like Thule...

I have Thule and Yak items in my big pile of hauling options and I'll attest to the strength of either. The greatest discussion point I've heard for choosing between the two manufacturers is cross-bar shape. The Thule crossbars I saw were square and the Yak bars are round. Personally, I didn't choose based on that fact, I picked Yak because the store I was dealing with gave me the best deal on Yak.

MattyMac1 · **Posted:** Wed Jan 11, 2006 9:29 am

This one is pretty diesel.. I contacted them and they said no one ever bought another one in 4 years so they scrapped the idea. heres the website.
If anyone is in Phoenix AZ, they are located there and could prob build you one.

http://www.snfracing.com/

ManicMechanicJoe · **Posted:** Wed Jan 11, 2006 9:14 pm

I want that basket!

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Thu Jan 12, 2006 5:58 pm

what store did you buy them in dog_party?

dog_party · **Posted:** Fri Jan 13, 2006 8:33 am

I got mine in a (relatively) local cycling store called Conte's fitness. They gave me the best deal after I shopped around quite a bit. During our first forum discussion about this topic, Se7enLC suggested rackattack.com, which seems to have some pretty good prices.

Quote:

rackattack has all Thule + Yakima at 10% off right now, free shipping of any order over $100 (they ship the day you order it, too. I got mine the very next day)

But that was back in early December, so I don't know what kinds of sales they have going on now. Check your local fitness, bicycling, and watersports stores too. They'll all carry these racks. And, if you're looking for some other stuff, you might get a bigger deal on the rack if you buy a bike/canoe/kayak (or anything else) at the same time as the rack. I'm buying a Wenonah canoe tomorrow and will be negotiating for some "throw it in" stuff (like maybe a rack fairing). The more you spend, the more they'll throw in. Buy a $7100 Specialized S-Works Epic Carbon Disc mountain bike and you get the rack for free. :wink:

If they don't throw anything in for free...leave. Get it somewhere else, like online...and PLEASE don't pay shipping.

There are a bunch of stores linked at the Yakima.com site. Go there and hit the "Where To Buy" tab and they'll link you to a bunch of places that sell racks.

Good luck!

Cabbie · **Posted:** Sat Jan 14, 2006 3:10 pm

dog_party wrote:

I got mine in a (relatively) local cycling store called Conte's fitness. They gave me the best deal after I shopped around quite a bit. During our first forum discussion about this topic, Se7enLC suggested rackattack.com, which seems to have some pretty good prices.

Quote:

rackattack has all Thule + Yakima at 10% off right now, free shipping of any order over $100 (they ship the day you order it, too. I got mine the very next day)

I bought the Yak rack and ski attachments based on this post. I have nothing but good things to say about either RackAttack or the Yak rack. RackAttack even threw in some tie-downs that I didn't order. Great experience.

Cards81fan · **Posted:** Mon Jan 16, 2006 2:13 am

www.orsracksdirect.com was an excellent source for the Yakima rack

Lowrider with the next size up (58") crassbars

Love it.

I like the fact that the Yakima rack is round, and as the roof of the Liberty is curved up in the middle, it makes the top of the square Thule bars sit at different angles. No big deal really, but a round bar avoids this problem.

opo · **Posted:** Thu Jan 19, 2006 2:10 pm

What I have is 58" yakima bars+loadwarrior with extension, it looks awesome and the setup is very impresive as far as strength. For the rear hitch I use the Thule 4 bike carrier. It is a very strong carrier which has some room for jerry can that I`m planning to add shortly.

The quality in both trademarks is very good. You can`t go wrong with any of them.

Cheers,

Octavio

Yakima vs Thule

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