For my 04 I had to get an adaptor kit for it to work with my factory bars.

Maybe thats what he meant?

 

According to Thule's website, for an 08 Outback Wagon (you didn't specify sedan or wagon), you need the 450 Crossroads. I've put these on other vehicles before and they work great! As long as the roof rails have a little clearance under them, the rubber coated steel band will securely wrap the rail and hold the crossbar. For more info, go to www.thuleracks.com.

If, when specifying your vehicle, you don't see an option for your car, then there is no fit available.

 

talking to your dealer was your first mistake. go to a thule dealer (REI, or a rack store) and they'll hook you up.

 

Thule Towers

talking to your dealer was your first mistake. go to a thule dealer (REI, or a rack store) and they'll hook you up.

I have an 08 Out Back Wagon. I also have a complete Thule rack system for my prior vehicle. Your dealer was incorrect. The Thule bars can be used if you buy the tower adapters that fit onto the stock OB rails. I think they are around $125 for the four towers. If I decide to carry much on my roof, I will buy them. I am not too impressed with the very flexible stock crossbars my car came with. I think they were designed for aesthetics and possible lower wind resistance rather than load capacity.

 

The towers are the 450 Crossroads, and the msrp is $159 for a set of 4. You may be able to find them cheaper... they used to be $135 a year or two ago...

I agree with Ole DW, NEVER go to the dealer for rack solutions! A good outfitter/bike/ski/kayak shop will ALWAYS be able set you up better and usually cheaper than the dealer. Plus, they're the experts and will have a better product knowledge of what works and what's crap.

Just my buck-two-ninety-five's worth.

 

Inflation!

Just my buck-two-ninety-five's worth.

Wow! You have really kicked up the price. I used to give advice for just :2cents:

 

Well, you know, the dollar isn't worth what it used to be. So it's really still 2 cents in 1999 dollars.

 

Over here we have some ideas..*LOL* maybe a look at thule.se would do you good..*LOL*

Only that you have to fool it a bit looking at 2007 does it..

Footkit 4900 (819 SEK=85EUR)

Tube (760 or 860("slimline")) (229SEK/689SEK=24EUR/71EUR)

Kit (WTF that is) 4911 (199SEK=21EUR)

shipping to SF is on you if you need to to shop for you

 

Thank you everyone for your help!

Gasar-Magnus made it really easy for me. I can get those parts from the local car parts shop with those Thule #´s. So 2007 has identical roof rails! I didn´t know that. And maybe this is the reason why dealer did not find it either. He even gave me Thule accessory manual with me when I asked about this. Well, at least he should´ve known that ´07 / ´08 / ´09 have all identical rails.

So all I need is Footkit 4900 and installation Kit 4911 (= these are just small parts that will secure the bars in correct angle). That should be ~90€. I don´t need to buy the tube because I already got 860 tube bars for my Saab.

 

Mailed Thule about this issue and it´s their mistake; someone thought when the diesel came along it was a new body as well thus the 2008/2009 outback isn't in the application list.

This is their reply:

" Hej Magnus

Du kan lungt köpa detta räcke, det passar fortfarande.
Anledningen till att den inte finns på webben är att någon trodde att det var en ny kaross när diselmotorn släpptes.

Mvh

Micael"

 

Thule reply?

Mailed Thule about this issue and it´s their mistake; someone thought when the diesel came along it was a new body as well thus the 2008/2009 outback isn't in the application list.

This is their reply:

" Hej Magnus

Du kan lungt köpa detta räcke, det passar fortfarande.
Anledningen till att den inte finns på webben är att någon trodde att det var en ny kaross när diselmotorn släpptes.

Mvh

Micael"

Was bedeuted das auf English?

 

Basicly it´s translated there above, just what Gasar Magnus wrote. Thank you very much for clearing this up!! It must be the 4911 kit that makes them fit. When I was at the dealer, they only had 4900 and it doesn´t fit. They had no clue what 4911 is and didn´t want to order it when I said I wouldn´t buy it if it doesn´t fit. And mainly because Thule-guy (finnish importing company) said that there isn´t parts for 2008/2009 models...

So thank you Gasar Magnus! I´ll go and order parts tomorrow. I give them numbers and that should work.

 

A little note of advice here:

ECE Outback have a low "edge" you connect the bar clam to:

while the US made Outback has more a classic roof rail:

So these Thule numbers does NOT apply to US models!!

 

Forgot to comment on this. I got those parts (4900 / 4911) for my Thule rails and they fit perfectly. Actually they look good on OB! They attach so low that they look aerodynamic. I´ll get you better picture later, but heres a quick one (lousy cell-phone pic).

Thanks Gasar-Magnus once again for clearing this up!

 

Just bought a set myself ended up paying 1100 SEK....

My main concern is when ill fit the skibox i need to be as far forward as possible to let me open the rear hatch without hitting the box, but a few first measurements on the intended box looks promising...

 

I paid 113€ for the kit. What kind of a box do you have? I´ve been considering to buy a box but don´t know what. It needs to be 210cm long to be able to get my xc-skis in. We´ll see...

 

Subarus "own" box:

Not really a Subaru box its built by Autoform in Malung,Sweden (just as they do for Montblanc and Packline too )

I don´t own a box myself but my boss does (a Packline-box sold at the Volvo dealers thus it became a "Freetime"- box) looking something like the classical Packline-box:

Packline also offer this one:

 

Thule rack option for a 2008 OB:

450R feet
aero bars (47 inch)

 

Thule rack option for a 2008 OB:

450R feet
aero bars (47 inch)

Thule rack option for a 2008 US-spec OB you mean :25:

 

Thanks for the clarification....yes US spec

 

To clarify...am I to understand the stock crossbars on the OB wagon will NOT accommodate a Thule bike carrier? I've transferred an entire Thule rack (including feet) from my old Jetta wagon and it's not especially unattractive. But it is noiser than all hell. The stock crossbars are still there and I was thinking of dumping the feet and simply attaching the rack to them.

 

Thule rack option for a 2008 OB:

450R feet
aero bars (47 inch)

the rapid aero bars are usually more of a pain in the a$$ to use than they're worth. being someone who used to sell thule and yakima products for a living, i would stick with thule's standard black rectangular bars. :17:

 

Here´s a pic of my diesel Outback with Thule roof rack & Mont Blanc box. It was actually hard to find a box which is suitable. The rear spoiler limits the options to minimum.

The actual box is Mont Blanc Triton 500 (size 221x80x40cm) and when it´s installed as front as possible, I´m able to open the rear gate without spoiler touching the box.

And btw, I took all the Mont Blanc stickers away and replaced them with some aftermarket Subaru stickers.

 

Interesting... so that is probably the longest box that you can get that won't hit the spoiler.

221cm = 87"

My Thule Evolution 1200 is 90.1" long and, in the furthest forward position, still hits the spoiler above the window.

 

Yes, the salesman at the shop was really helpful and we tested every box they had in shop to see which would fit perfectly. This one works for sure. I know that this very same box hits the spoiler on a Legacy. It leaves 5mm gap to spoiler in the furthest position on Outback. I needed to have at least 210cm box to fit my xc-skis (classic style) inside and this works perfectly.

This view from the side shows how it fits there.

I don´t like the look of these boxes, but it´s still better than to have skibags on the roof. And of course this is more practical since it´s possible to put ski shoes and the like in there too.