Wanted; Canoe bars for Subaru

Rob Stevens

Wooden Canoes are in the Blood
We have a new Subaru Forester (our Ford Freestar van burned recently).
I am looking for canoe bars to add to the factory roof rails.
Thinking Thule or Yakima. Anyone got a set they don't need anymore?
Please bring them along to Assembly if you're attending.

Rob
 
Rob --

I have a pair of plastic coated rectangular bars -- 57 1/2" x 1 1/4" x 7/8" -- that I believe are Thule. They were well-used when I got them long ago at a yard sale for essentially nothing, but should still be serviceable for carrying one canoe. Because I have a Yakima rack, I have never used them. They are yours if you want them; I'll bring them, and if you don't want them, we can auction them off.

I have two lenths of Yakima cross bars, 66" and about 57" -- the long ones get much more use (a canoe and a clam-shell box together, or other wide loads), and even the 66" are not long enough for two canoes:

cr sm 100_3243.jpg

Not a great way to go, even when the canoe on the bottom is Royalex. I've had to improvise, duct-taping 2x3s or 2x4s to the Yakima bars:

cr 100_1080.jpg sm cr 100_5818.jpg

Since then, I have made longer cross-bars of wood that clamp securely to the round bars -- about 74" -76" long -- so I don't have to stack canoes like cordwood, or rely on duct-taped lumber.

cr 100_2249.jpg cr 100_2250.jpg

Greg
 
I have made longer cross-bars of wood that clamp securely to the round bars -- about 74" -76" long -- so I don't have to stack canoes like cordwood, or rely on duct-taped lumber. Greg

I have 58 inch Yakima bars mounted most of the time but when I want to haul a few more canoes I replace the 58"s with my 78's.
I use the Yakima Rail Grabbers on my Volvo factory rails. The changeover from one set of bars to the other takes very little time, perhaps 15 minutes at most. For faster changeover the Rail Grabbers are a vast improvement over the roof mounts (Q towers etc.)
 
Back
Top