[S391]

Thule offers the Force in Alpine, Medium, Large, XL and XXL... Are you talking about the Sonic? The sonic was Medium or Large and that series has been discontinued..... I've used both a Force Medium and a Sonic Medium on my Outback... I prefer the Force (less wind noise) but most of the time I use a Thule Transporter which mounts into my receiver hitch so I don't have to worry about increased wind noise since it's on the back of the car.

 

[johnre]

Has anyone had issues with their box mounting on the factory bars? I've got an older Evolution 1200 with Thule's original quick clamp set up.

I have a Thule Atlantis 1600 that clamps to the factory bars, and I've already had to replace two of the clamps as they just didn't clamp assertively enough. I didn't want to have one let go on the highway.

I think the abs plastic-against-u-bolt threads clamping system is a bit hokey.

But if it's only a spacer you're worried about, not retaining the box, I would make a spacer set and call it good.

 

[dubs]

Thule Motion XT (XL)

Just picked up my Thule Motion XT (XL) for my 2017 OB. Thought I'd post a couple pics so you can see how this new box looks. Still able to drive into my garage with the box on, too!

 

[atron80]

I have a Thule Atlantis 1600 that clamps to the factory bars, and I've already had to replace two of the clamps as they just didn't clamp assertively enough. I didn't want to have one let go on the highway.

I think the abs plastic-against-u-bolt threads clamping system is a bit hokey.

But if it's only a spacer you're worried about, not retaining the box, I would make a spacer set and call it good.

Thanks for the reply. What you describe seems to be more of the issue. The anodized (?) factory bars, metal U-bolt, and hard ABS plastic of the bottom of box seems slippery. I definitely clamped the U-bolts tight enough, but I could still push the box side to side on the rails. Not sure the newer bolting system would get any tighter (although it appears the new U-bolts come with a plastic or rubber gasket that probably helps with slippage). I will have to play around, and see if I can get it to work properly. Maybe a spacer isn't the issue, and it's more of a grip problem.

 

[mehringe]

Just picked up my Thule Motion XT (XL) for my 2017 OB. Thought I'd post a couple pics so you can see how this new box looks. Still able to drive into my garage with the box on, too!

That glossy finish on the box matches the car's paint nicely. What do you intend to store in the rooftop box? I personally drive a small car and the storage in my GF's OB is already multiple times larger than what I have.

 

[dubs]

What do you intend to store in the rooftop box? I personally drive a small car and the storage in my GF's OB is already multiple times larger than what I have.

We plan on using it for camping & ski trips. I'm not storing anything in it or keeping it mounted except for when we hit the road. The fact that it fits into the garage mounted on top of the OB just makes loading it onto the vehicle from the Thule MultiLift a breeze. Not to mention that if it's raining or snowing, the garage is a much better place to load up the gear.

 

[Chip_M]

Just picked up my Thule Motion XT (XL) for my 2017 OB. Thought I'd post a couple pics so you can see how this new box looks. Still able to drive into my garage with the box on, too!

I've been thinking about getting one of those.... Does the XL size clear the tailgate OK, or do you need to limit the opening distance of the 'gate?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Shortsonfire79]

That glossy finish on the box matches the car's paint nicely. What do you intend to store in the rooftop box? I personally drive a small car and the storage in my GF's OB is already multiple times larger than what I have.

I feel the same way. I always wanted a rooftop box when I drove a Corolla but now that I have the OB I can fit everyone's stuff in the cargo area with plenty of extra.

Now I want a rooftop box just for the looks. Not sure how I feel about the drop in mpg though. If I had a four legged friend then it might be very handy.

 

[WantAnOutback]

I put a Yakima Skybox 21 on my 2016 Outback with factory bars. I don't like Roof boxes but I need the space with 2 soon 3 kids and dog and junk. It needed slight modification to move the box 2" forward to get it to fit with the trunk open. It was the biggest box I could find . If you have an electronic trunk I understand you can change how high it opens, so you wouldn't have to modify the Yakima. I bought Yakima over Thule because it has a lifetime warranty. I had a problem once with my other Yakima and they offered to replace the whole box for free. I asked them to just send me the parts instead. So they sent me the part, and 1 extra just in case it happened again!

 

[atron80]

Just picked up my Thule Motion XT (XL) for my 2017 OB. Thought I'd post a couple pics so you can see how this new box looks. Still able to drive into my garage with the box on, too!

Looks Good! Is that the Oakbrook REI?

 

[dubs]

I've been thinking about getting one of those.... Does the XL size clear the tailgate OK, or do you need to limit the opening distance of the 'gate?

I didn't even check this when I had it up, but I have a feeling it does due to the angled rear design. I may throw it up again this weekend and check that for you.

I'm also thinking about doing quick video for the Motion XT on the Subaru OB since there really aren't any on YouTube that offer good info. I'll post here if it happens.

Looks Good! Is that the Oakbrook REI?

Good eye! I cropped the original photo which looked like an advertisement. BTW, the folks there were incredibly helpful in going over the features and helping me get it out the door and placed onto the car - they aren't allowed help fasten it, however.

 

[dubs]

Here's a quick video I threw together of the Thule Motion XT (XL) on my 2017 OB. When latched down as forward as it can go, the rear gate opens fully without interfering with the Motion XT. If you don't push the box all the way forward before latching the box to the crossbars, the rear gate could hit the box. Enjoy.

 

[velezf]

Skybox 16 and Frontloader at same time

So I searched all over the interwebs and couldn't find a definitive answer to this. Even the yakima amazon account said it wasn't possible. Anyways turns out it is. Makes me think a smaller skybox and 2 front loaders is possible.

I think we will end up going with the Landingpad 15's , sky-tower rack, and 70" bars so we can keep the Skybox 16 and have 2 bikes plus someroom for 3 when we reach that stage.

 

[crackberry]

Here's a quick video I threw together of the Thule Motion XT (XL) on my 2017 OB. When latched down as forward as it can go, the rear gate opens fully without interfering with the Motion XT. If you don't push the box all the way forward before latching the box to the crossbars, the rear gate could hit the box. Enjoy.

cool setup, thanks for sharing!

 

[kriopell]

Great info!

 

[Lightingguy]

So I searched all over the interwebs and couldn't find a definitive answer to this. Even the yakima amazon account said it wasn't possible. Anyways turns out it is. Makes me think a smaller skybox and 2 front loaders is possible.

I think we will end up going with the Landingpad 15's , sky-tower rack, and 70" bars so we can keep the Skybox 16 and have 2 bikes plus someroom for 3 when we reach that stage. ]

So a question, in practice, does the curve of the factory cross bars work OK with the bike being slightly at angle ?,

I assume you've had this up to speed on highways. One concern I have is, with a fork mounted/clamped bike, there's pressure on the fork clamping design. Not sure if this concern is mis-placed, but I too am contemplating the Yakima system.

 

[jw669]

Good to know that a bike rack could also fit on top with the box --- which bike rack did you get? Most yakima/thule that I see online are only compatible with round/square mounts.

Also - one downside to shifting the box all the way over, is that now you're virtually unable to reach undernearth the box when it comes time to cleaning your roof. May not be a worry for most, but I'm a bit OCD when it comes to keeping the car clean

 

[peewee]

Hi. A combination of impending camping and REI sale (and availability) have me looking at a Skybox 16 to pick up local.
My old box (2005 ish Rocketbox 12?)leaves the gate about 50% open. Not realistic.

UNLESS I could modify the channels - I already tried flipping the clamps 180degrees, which gave me about 1.5 inches..

Anyone fit a Skybox 16 on a 2017 Limited with shark antenna?

Oh, and will I lose my sat read with the box?

thanks

P

 

[Boonma]

I have a skybox 16 and just got the launch pads and 60" bars so I could also put on our paddle boards/kayaks on the J bars as the need requires. Also got the shorty ARB shade. Will post some pics once we get it all together. Measured the bars to hold the sky box and J bar. Off to have a Class 3 receiver put on Saturday for the bikes so we should be able to bring enough, although not all, toys.

 

[Rub]

Hi. A combination of impending camping and REI sale (and availability) have me looking at a Skybox 16 to pick up local.
My old box (2005 ish Rocketbox 12?)leaves the gate about 50% open. Not realistic.

UNLESS I could modify the channels - I already tried flipping the clamps 180degrees, which gave me about 1.5 inches..

Anyone fit a Skybox 16 on a 2017 Limited with shark antenna?

Oh, and will I lose my sat read with the box?

thanks

P

Good questions. I too took advantage of the REI sale and picked (actually the order will be delivered tomorrow to the store) a Yakima Showcase 15.

On the Yakima site it does not show OB fitment so I contacted Yakima Customer Service to enquire. The short answer was that he didn't know why it wasn't listed but said the crucial measurement for fitment was 50" from the center of the front crossbar to the open hatch for the Showcase 15 and 52" for the Skybox 16. He continued on by saying that the Skybox was listed as fitting and he didn't know why the Showcase wouldn't or wasn't listed.

I've seen a few vids and pics of the Showcase 20 on a 5th Gen OB so I don't expect a fitting problem but I'll know tomorrow night.

As a side note, while the REI sale is good at 20% off, the real secret is the Amazon pricing which mirrors, at this time, the same REI sale price and also free delivery. Where the free delivery might be a plus is that it delivers to your house whereas REI is only to your store but if you want REI to route it to your house they'll charge $160 for that.

My best guess is that since most every REI doens't have these in stock, they are drop shipped from the manufacturer and the seller on Amazon is likley closely affiliiated with Yakima, if not an alter ego. The prices are the same and my guess is that there are vendor agreements where the manufacturer agrees not to sell for less than the current available price from their preferred retailers.


Also note that Yakima is built in Riverside CA so that's likely the drop shipment starting point.

Anyway, tomorrow it'll arrive.