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White 2019 Sport with roof basket, shovel and axe

8K views 8 replies 6 participants last post by  Kean 
#1 ·
Added Yakima Offgrid medium with Rhino Rack Spade shovel and Gerber 36-Inch Power Splitting axe to my 2019 Forester Sport. All locked in securely with common SKS key. Now ready for summer camping ahead. Still surprising quiet on the road and I didn't notice any new wind noise on the highway, and no real difference in the gas mileage after adding these.

My next project is to add Lachute Performance Axle Back and aluminum engine guard that are coming in next week, along with few other OEM accessories. And swap the mediocre factory Falken tires with Yokohama Geolander A/T G015. I really considered BFG K02 tires for more aggressive look but they are not available in the stock 225/55-18 size, so I'll need to spend more money on new 17" wheels. I think Geolander is a good compromise as it will provide better gas mileage and improve paved road manner/noise while still offering light offroad and severe snow driving capability.

This is my very first Subaru and I like it a lot so far. I paid only $28k for pretty much fully loaded Sport model (MSRP over $33k). For nearly the same price as a top of the line Civic Touring sedan, you get an amazing compact SUV (but interior room is more like a mid-size SUV) with tons of features and go-anywhere AWD capability. This will be my daily commute car and occasional light offroad camping and winter ski trips.
 

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#3 ·
I used Yakima TopGrip OG to attach the shovel and axe to the roof basket. It's very well made and its compression latch design positively locks in the shovel and axe with no gap. I also bought Yakima's SKS Lock Cores 8 packs to lock in everything with a single key system, very convenient. All can be purchased directly from Yakima or you find some deals online. I really like Yakima OffGrid roof basket since it comes with two crossbars that I can attach ski racks or use them to secure heavy stuffs in between. And you can buy extension to make it longer to carry more stuff if needed.
 

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#4 ·
Nice!

Welcome to the forums and nice mods so far....

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#5 ·
Hey there - considering basically the same setup and had a quick question. By chance, does the mounting of the basket block the torx screws of the aero bars? I'd love to keep on the car for weeks at a time here in Brooklyn and use the lock core kit, but if the aero bar hardware is easily accessed, while the locking basket is helpful it might not be enough to make me comfortable leaving regularly overnight.

Also, still happy with it overall? I'm looking at the large and medium+ extension as well but both seem like a less ideal fit and like they'd significantly block the panoramic roof.

Thanks and great looking ride!
 
#9 ·
Not sure if the OP is going to come back and answer your question but from a Yakima owner, ours doesn't. It would make the mounting and adjustment of the rack a pain in the butt (IMO) if it did to be honest but yes, it does expose your car to theft.

It's funny, I bought the locking plates for ours so there it's unlikely that someone would steal the basket from the cross bars but then again, they can lift the whole thing off together. ....then again, we keep our cars in our garage and never had a problem with theft where we go on vacation, during the day, etc. It's not something that is going to just come off in a matter of seconds.

Something I thought of was using security Torx bolts vs. the regular ones, placing plugs in those holes and other ideas that wouldn't necessarily make it really hard to steal but difficult enough to maybe deter an amateur thief. Other solutions could include a more permanent security cable(s) you bolt into the rail and then lock onto the rack when installed. There are also alarm locks that will sound when disturbed, gps tracking devices with phone app, etc.
 
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