Cross bar and top box questions

Did a search on my topic and found a bunch of information, but none that definitively answered my questions.

 

I have an 05 Legacy GT wagon limited and I'm planning on buying a top box (likely Yakima or Thule) from REI (I have an REI credit card and a hefty rebate). I've been trying to figure out what cross bars to get for the roof rack.

 

Subaru's web site shows square crossbars for $130 on the Legacy, and round crossbars for $170 on the Outback. Is there a significant difference between these choices (other than the shape)? Advantages or disadvantages to either one? I'm assuming either would fit, but I'm a bit curious why the Legacy page of the website only shows the square bars as an available accessory and the Legacy Outback page shows only the round bars.

 

Would a top box lock onto either one, or do they require their own crossbars (i.e. Yakima box only fits on Yakima crossbars)? Would Yakima or Thule crossbars fit the Legacy roof without alteration? I really want it to be a plug-and-play system that requires no extra work to make it fit.

 

Lots of questions, but thanks for any help!

Any tob box will fit any cross bars. You don't need to get crossbars if you already have them (stock ones). Also, FYI, all Thule and Yakima products are compatible (i.e. anything Thule fits Yakima cross bars, and vice versa). Getting aftermarket crossbars will raise the box up higher though, which helps with the rear gate interference.

The square cross bar set ($130) for the Legacy GT is made by Mt. Blanc for Subaru and is exactly the same design (square shape) as the Thule cross bars. I have a set of them. They fit into the GT roof rails very well (strong, tight fit) and are easy to adjust. I would go with these if you want plug and play. I'm not sure if the Outback round cross bars would even fit the GT roof rails - I suspect they don't. The Outback roof rails are a different design than the GT's.

 

And, yes, roof boxes made by Thule and Yakima will fit any style cross bar - square or round.

 

One other thing to note, however, is that your rear liftgate will not open up fully when you put a roof box on your roof. The wing/spoiler will hit the bottom of the box. I can personally vouch that this occurs (I have a Thule Evolution box) and the issue has been discussed by others on other threads.

 

To addess this issue, I ended up drilling extra holes in the bottom of my roof box, so that I could mount it as far forward as possible. Not a huge project, but it does require some measuring and drilling. It's worth doing so your liftgate opens up fully.

I would recommend purchasing your crossbars and mounts from an aftermarket dealer rather than the ones that subaru offers. Seems that for around the same price you can have better functioning and looking racks. I got the yakima low rider mounts and some round crossbars that work and look great.......just my 2cents

This is probably insignificant, but since you can get either round (Yakima) or square (Thule) bars for your model...

 

Material thickness being equal, round bars resist bending better than square. However, I've personally found naked round bars to be slightly noisier (go figure), and figure the potential strength difference is of little practical consequence. That said, I use round Yak bars on my Legacy.

 

As the others have indicated, I've run both Yak and Thule boxes on these with no mounting complications, and would expect the same with square bars.

 

One other thing to note, however, is that your rear liftgate will not open up fully when you put a roof box on your roof. The wing/spoiler will hit the bottom of the box. I can personally vouch that this occurs (I have a Thule Evolution box) and the issue has been discussed by others on other threads.

 

Not so with the new Thule Atlantis 1200, nor some of their "short 'n wide" boxes.

 

(Link to Thread) Thule Atlantis 1200 + 05 Legacy Wagon

 

http://www.booboodog.net/images/05-legacy-atlantis-1200-3.jpg

FWIW,,,The square bars that came on my GT whistle like crazy by themselves.

whistle not completely gone but helped GREATLY....

http://yakima.com/gfxCMS/product/8001115-image-1-big.jpg

Thanks for all the good info!

 

Based on some online shopping at REI, it looks as if the crossbar system from Subaru comes in at least $40 cheaper than either Yakima's or Thule's, so I think I may pay a visit to the local parts department and see what they have in stock.

 

Then off to REI to find the top box that fits our needs best.