Installed Rhino Rack 54” Vortex Bars, Yakima Skybox 12 on my Snugtop Rebel.

[lazynorse]

Snugtop came with Yakima tracks, so just bought the Rhino Rack kit (base, feet, bars). Rhino Rack is a great product, btw. Saved a $100 going with silver over black for some reason via ETrailer.com.

Used my Yakima Skybox 12 on my Subaru Outback. For camping, I primarily use it to transport my Gazelle T4 tent, which otherwise stores diagonally in the canopy (just longer than 5’ packed up). This does not work for me on long trips with lots of stuff. Also fit camp chairs and some soft goods.

I got maximum spread on the crossbars, then set the Skybox mounts equidistant front and back for balanced load. Does mean it hangs off the back by a foot. Doesn’t interfere so it’s alright with me. Also pleased, at 24” wide the Skybox doesn’t interfere with the antenna when set to one side, which is how I like it and makes it way easier to access.

Other rack use will include J style kayak carriers.

I’m tall, 6’4” but the top of this truck compared to my old Outback is much higher! No lift but a true 32” AT tire. I’ll probably struggle with the kayaks!

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[imapseudonym]

It looks really clean and nice!!

 

[Jhbryaniv]

Snugtop came with Yakima tracks, so just bought the Rhino Rack kit (base, feet, bars). Rhino Rack is a great product, btw. Saved a $100 going with silver over black for some reason via ETrailer.com.

Used my Yakima Skybox 12 on my Subaru Outback. For camping, I primarily use it to transport my Gazelle T4 tent, which otherwise stores diagonally in the canopy (just longer than 5’ packed up). This does not work for me on long trips with lots of stuff. Also fit camp chairs and some soft goods.

I got maximum spread on the crossbars, then set the Skybox mounts equidistant front and back for balanced load. Does mean it hangs off the back by a foot. Doesn’t interfere so it’s alright with me. Also pleased, at 24” wide the Skybox doesn’t interfere with the antenna when set to one side, which is how I like it and makes it way easier to access.

Other rack use will include J style kayak carriers.

I’m tall, 6’4” but the top of this truck compared to my old Outback is much higher! No lift but a true 32” AT tire. I’ll probably struggle with the kayaks!

I put the yakima bed rack setup on my truck. Because I had the HD bars from my forester...

I loaded 2 kayaks last weekend - a wilderness systems tarpon 120,and a 10 ft otter xl.

Holy heck was it a pain in the butt.

Next time I'll load them from the back and slide them uo instead of hoisting them up the side... Using a 2ft step ladder while holding a 12ft boat over your head is stressful... (that 2ft ladder stays in the bed all the time... It makes getting in and out of the bed easier too....)

How loud is the skybox? I have a basket where you have the box. I toss firewood and rotopax in the basket... (or coolers when I'm going to storage)

 

[Dereku]

Looks like an avionics pod that gets slapped under a wing of an F16. Or that funny navy missle, JASSIM I think.

 

[lazynorse]

@Jhbryaniv re: Skybox wind noise, I haven’t driven it yet while mounted. The photo was from my dialing things in, yesterday. When mounted in my prior Outback, the front was positioned closer or over the driver position. Wind noise was just noticeable but not significant.

I haven’t compared but read many times that a basket is louder than a box, due to all those wire/metal strips and tubes, each causing turbulence and associated wind noise. Also read baskets are worse for MPG too, probably for the same reason. Again, what I’ve read, I’ve not owned a basket.

Re: kayak hoisting, yeah, not looking forward, lol! My wife and I have a pair of Necky 11’ Manitou Sport kayaks. 44 pounds each and as you know, a little wonky when above your head!

I’m seriously considering a change from the J cradle, lay upside down instead, on rollers or ? Thinking I can prop the nose of the kayak up on the rear canopy crossbar from behind the truck and push forward, rather than heave up from the side.. if that makes sense.

 

[Jhbryaniv]

@Jhbryaniv re: Skybox wind noise, I haven’t driven it yet while mounted. The photo was from my dialing things in, yesterday. When mounted in my prior Outback, the front was positioned closer or over the driver position. Wind noise was just noticeable but not significant.

I haven’t compared but read many times that a basket is louder than a box, due to all those wire/metal strips and tubes, each causing turbulence and associated wind noise. Also read baskets are worse for MPG too, probably for the same reason. Again, what I’ve read, I’ve not owned a basket.

Re: kayak hoisting, yeah, not looking forward, lol! My wife and I have a pair of Necky 11’ Manitou Sport kayaks. 44 pounds each and as you know, a little wonky when above your head!

I’m seriously considering a change from the J cradle, lay upside down instead, on rollers or ? Thinking I can prop the nose of the kayak up on the rear canopy crossbar from behind the truck and push forward, rather than heave up from the side.. if that makes sense.

Yeah, the basket isn't quiet. At all. Lol

I have a gazelle screen room (don't remember the real name) what 8ntrigued me about your box is your gazelle tent fits inside...

A friend of ours has a pair of J cradles, and the yakima rollers and saddle. Those rollers make loading her boat a easy 1 person job. LoL

When I take my tarpon 0ff the bars I slide it backwards so the bow lands in the grass, than sorta push it until the stern comes off the back bar and carry it down that way. I'm sure loading would be easy that way, but I always struggling pushing them "up hill". The gf saw a guy with 4 kayaks on a trailer, now she thinks that might be a good thing to have... I told her once we move from south florida to Colorado we can look into one...

 

[lazynorse]

UPDATE - it seems the Yakima tracks installed by Snugtop are a maybe 1/8” off of true, square parallel.

My ‘front’ Rhino Rack bar, as I assembled it to its feet and base component to the track, doesn’t quite snap into the rear position, and vice versa. Sure enough, one end of the pair of tracks is about 1/8ths closer together than the other end. So, I inconspicuously labeled one bar ‘Front’ to fix it.

Only other option is removal and realignment of the Yakima tracks and new holes drilled through my Snugtop, by me or through warranty (4 months old)…

That’s quite alright, I’ll forgive Snugtop.

 

[Synfulz]

Looks like an avionics pod that gets slapped under a wing of an F16. Or that funny navy missle, JASSIM I think.

ECM pod. I used to work those on F16's.

 

[lazynorse]

Re: my Yakima Skybox 12, that was a rare find indeed, especially used during the height of Covid when everyone was buying up camping gear!

Some dude posted his like new one for sale for $325 and I jumped on it like a deranged monkey. He honored my call (I left immediately for my 1 hr drive) but when I arrived, he said he got a lot of inquiries in that hour, some offering to pay more, which doesn't surprise me.

As mentioned, I bought it before my Ranger to transport my Gazelle T4 hub tent, which is 5.5' long packed. The Skybox 12 is just 24" wide (exterior). While totally crammed, I fit the Gazelle, two typical sized camp chairs, two air mattresses and two down sleeping bags in this long, narrow box.

I like the long, narrow profile. It fits in this particular nook in my garage that a full width one would not. Although I never did in the Subaru, I like that I can have the Skybox 12 on one side and a kayak on the other, or maybe a Yakima Skinny Warrior basket, or nothing.

Pro tip, any wider than the Skybox 12, you'll have a hard time retrieving gear at the opposite side as the side you have open, and you're probably already on a step stool to even get to that. At 24" wide, I can access it all from one location on just one side of my truck.

Of course, longer cross country skis fit up there, snowboards. I really like the option, especially with a 5' long truck bed.

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