Which crossbar is best value?

[Djames210]

I’m looking to purchase a crossbar for the Telluride. I see Thule has an Aeeoblade that gets good reviews but it comes in 3 different widths. It looks like Harbor Freight might work but it only comes in silver.
Does anyone know which size width will fit? Any suggestions for the best options?

 

[DarkMossJustin]

I’m looking to purchase a crossbar for the Telluride. I see Thule has an Aeeoblade that gets good reviews but it comes in 3 different widths. It looks like Harbor Freight might work but it only comes in silver.
Does anyone know which size width will fit? Any suggestions for the best options?

You know what will definitely fit and look good?

The OEM Cross Bars.

Kia even worked with Yakima on a few other attachment products to make sure their attachments (roof boxes, snowboard racks, kayak racks, bike racks) would fit perfectly.

Yakima and Thule have been around for a long time and know what they're doing.

That being said, they have to come up with fit kits and special models that work best for your vehicle.

Personally, I'm not a fan of Thule.

Maybe it's the aesthetics, maybe it's the big logo that reads Sweden on it.

I had a complete Yakima bars, snowboard racks, fairing set-up for my 1990 V6 4Runner back in the day and was impressed by the quality. Would go back to them but if their box and snowboard racks fit on the OEM bars, why not just do that?

The OEM bars objectively look the best, almost like they had the specs for the Telly when they designed them.

Are the HFT bars made in China (most of their products) or Taiwan?

 

[Djames210]

You know what will definitely fit and look good?

The OEM Cross Bars.

Kia even worked with Yakima on a few other attachment products to make sure their attachments (roof boxes, snowboard racks, kayak racks, bike racks) would fit perfectly.

Yakima and Thule have been around for a long time and know what they're doing.

That being said, they have to come up with fit kits and special models that work best for your vehicle.

Personally, I'm not a fan of Thule.

Maybe it's the aesthetics, maybe it's the big logo that reads Sweden on it.

I had a complete Yakima bars, snowboard racks, fairing set-up for my 1990 V6 4Runner back in the day and was impressed by the quality. Would go back to them but if their box and snowboard racks fit on the OEM bars, why not just do that?

The OEM bars objectively look the best, almost like they had the specs for the Telly when they designed them.

Are the HFT bars made in China (most of their products) or Taiwan?

I did a quick scan of the HF owner manual but it didn’t indicate the country of manufacture. But I’m confident there is a little sticker somewhere on the product that says ‘Made in China’. Lol. Anyway, the HF crossbars are $60, less a 20% coupon, so about $48. They get 4.7 stars and 97% of customers would recommend the product. That said, I’m pretty sure expectations would need to be kept in check considering the price. Side note- I wouldn’t be putting anything on them, just need something to latch the roof bag onto since the stock roof rails are not raised.

 

[DarkMossJustin]

I did a quick scan of the HF owner manual but it didn’t indicate the country of manufacture. But I’m confident there is a little sticker somewhere on the product that says ‘Made in China’. Lol. Anyway, the HF crossbars are $60, less a 20% coupon, so about $48. They get 4.7 stars and 97% of customers would recommend the product. That said, I’m pretty sure expectations would need to be kept in check considering the price. Side note- I wouldn’t be putting anything on them, just need something to latch the roof bag onto since the stock roof rails are not raised.

@Djames210:

Good luck getting some acceptable cross bars for your Telly.

Maybe those cheap ones will be perfect for the bag.

For a couple hundred dollars more, you could have OEM cross bars that will do what you want (roof bag) and have the functionality to mount other cool things like roof boxes and snowboard racks and bike attachments.

You've made some mostly great decisions so far:

SX-P Telly, AWD, Factory-mounted tow hitch receiver, illuminated scuff plates, awesome

NFE???

How much do you like Pandas?

If HFT doesn't list country of manufacture, it's because they know that their numerous products made by de facto slaves in China turn some customers off.

We know, statistically, that the overwhelming majority of HFT/Target/Amazon shoppers don't care, but some consumers do check the country of manufacture for products sold by big retailers.

If you do end up with the HFT bars, let us know about the fit/finish and how they hold up after some extended use.

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[Djames210]

@Djames210:

Good luck getting some acceptable cross bars for your Telly.

Maybe those cheap ones will be perfect for the bag.

For a couple hundred dollars more, you could have OEM cross bars that will do what you want (roof bag) and have the functionality to mount other cool things like roof boxes and snowboard racks and bike attachments.

You've made some mostly great decisions so far:

SX-P Telly, AWD, Factory-mounted tow hitch receiver, illuminated scuff plates, awesome

NFE???

How much do you like Pandas?

If HFT doesn't list country of manufacture, it's because they know that their numerous products made by de facto slaves in China turn some customers off.

We know, statistically, that the overwhelming majority of HFT/Target/Amazon shoppers don't care, but some consumers do check the country of manufacture for products sold by big retailers.

If you do end up with the HFT bars, let us know about the fit/finish and how they hold up after some extended use.

Will do. Like you, I’m big on aesthetics and having the right “look.” The crossbars would likely only be used once or twice per year for family vacations. With a nice set, I might consider just leaving them on.

 

[aperry]

FWIW, I've been running these since October, most of that time with a Thule roof box. I haven't had any problems, but I also haven't removed them yet to inspect them.

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[Mac172]

My Yakima JayLow kayak racks don't fit right on the OEM cross bars because the bars are slanted (see my earlier post on this topic). The part number is the same as if I had purchased them from the dealer. I am going to contact Yakima about this issue. Perhaps there is an attachment for the cross bar that level's the rack.

 

[DJGBerg]

I have the OEM/KIA cross bars and used them to put. Thule storage rack on the top during a trip to Colorado last summer and everything was lovely. I keep the in the attic when I’m not using them because they have a high profile. The Thule cross bars, in my humble opinion, look better with the low profile. To each his/her own.

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[malogus]

I guess it depends on what you are doing with it. I have an old Kia Borrego with the factory crossbars that I love. The reason I love them is that there is a gap between the body and the rail running along each side of the vehicle. I can fit a tow strap between the rail and the roof, and hold things secure.

The problem I have on the Telluride is the rails are flush to the roof. With smooth cross bars, anything you strap to the roof using tie downs will ultimately be a PITA to secure. As you tighten the straps they have a tendency to slide towards the center of the vehicle. Had the same problem on my jeep with smooth gutter mounted cross bars.

If you intention is using the cross bars to mount accessories on (like for bikes, kayaks, roof box), then the factory probably is fine. If you plan on using the roof to carry random load with tie downs, I would recommend something where the cross bar extends a bit past the rail mount (hope that makes sense), giving you something to wrap your tie down around. Not as visually pleasing, but will give you a more secure load.

EDIT: Something like this for tie-down points:

https://tellurideforum.org/attachments/8d024830-6d3c-4fb7-a935-9a98e24e81ee-jpeg.18878/

 

[Djames210]

I guess it depends on what you are doing with it. I have an old Kia Borrego with the factory crossbars that I love. The reason I love them is that there is a gap between the body and the rail running along each side of the vehicle. I can fit a tow strap between the rail and the roof, and hold things secure.

The problem I have on the Telluride is the rails are flush to the roof. With smooth cross bars, anything you strap to the roof using tie downs will ultimately be a PITA to secure. As you tighten the straps they have a tendency to slide towards the center of the vehicle. Had the same problem on my jeep with smooth gutter mounted cross bars.

If you intention is using the cross bars to mount accessories on (like for bikes, kayaks, roof box), then the factory probably is fine. If you plan on using the roof to carry random load with tie downs, I would recommend something where the cross bar extends a bit past the rail mount (hope that makes sense), giving you something to wrap your tie down around. Not as visually pleasing, but will give you a more secure load.

EDIT: Something like this for tie-down points:

https://tellurideforum.org/attachments/8d024830-6d3c-4fb7-a935-9a98e24e81ee-jpeg.18878/

Yes, I see what you are saying. How did you get the black grill? Did you spray it?

 

[malogus]

Not my car, just a pic I found.

 

[WolfGrayTelly]

I have the OEM/KIA cross bars and used them to put. Thule storage rack on the top during a trip to Colorado last summer and everything was lovely. I keep the in the attic when I’m not using them because they have a high profile. The Thule cross bars, in my humble opinion, look better with the low profile. To each his/her own.
View attachment 19040View attachment 19040

Are the crossbars easy to remove when not using? I do think they have a high-profile and would want to remove them when not in use

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[PaulD]

TIL Harbor Freight makes cross bars. I had seen the cheap Chinese ones on Amazon and decided they were a terrible idea. There are things I'll buy at HF, such as a breaker bar and socket to keep in the car for tire changes, but I'm not going to trust their stuff for security on the roof of a car at 80mph. I don't want my expensive bicycle flying off and potentially hitting someone else's car.

The OEM cross bars look good, but aftermarket bars like Yakima or Thule have two advantages. One is that they're flat, not curved. Sometimes this doesn't matter but having something like a bike leaning over can be a bit of a pain and other attachments might bit better if not on a radius. Second is that with some things, it's nice to have a bit of cross bar extending past the tower. I've carried kayaks on a roof before and this helped as for anchoring the straps down.

They're not pretty, but I'll probably get the standard Yakima round crossbars. Leaving crossbars on all the time is bad for fuel mileage anyway.

 

[APetersen]

TIL Harbor Freight makes cross bars. I had seen the cheap Chinese ones on Amazon and decided they were a terrible idea. There are things I'll buy at HF, such as a breaker bar and socket to keep in the car for tire changes, but I'm not going to trust their stuff for security on the roof of a car at 80mph. I don't want my expensive bicycle flying off and potentially hitting someone else's car.

The OEM cross bars look good, but aftermarket bars like Yakima or Thule have two advantages. One is that they're flat, not curved. Sometimes this doesn't matter but having something like a bike leaning over can be a bit of a pain and other attachments might bit better if not on a radius. Second is that with some things, it's nice to have a bit of cross bar extending past the tower. I've carried kayaks on a roof before and this helped as for anchoring the straps down.

They're not pretty, but I'll probably get the standard Yakima round crossbars. Leaving crossbars on all the time is bad for fuel mileage anyway.

I typically stick with OEM but a lot of past posts say Yakima is the way to go? Interested to hear more. Didn't order them yet as I don't like the look and will only use 2-3 times a year. Kia.parts has them for $187 but shipping is expensive.

 

[anotherlostmonkey]

I've had Thule aerobars, and Rhino-Rack vortex bars (their aero version) on my other cars. From my experience the Rhino-racks vortex bars have preformed as well as the Thule aerobars, but are good amount cheaper ($150ish less then thule). No issues carrying bikes, cargo box, kayaks and a canoe. Thule accessories do fit on the Rhino-rack.

The nice thing about aftermarket racks is you can customize the length of the bars. If you get aero bars you can mount accessories in channel, but other then that they'll preform the same as OEM racks. There isn't much of difference between Yakima/Thule really just is brand preference.

Whatever you end up getting make sure they're at least aerobars, square bars tend to be very noisy when compared to aerobars. The bigger issue i'm finding with the Telluride is there's nowhere on the front to tie things down. Everything is covered in plastic, so I had to run some dyneema lines to the frame inside the engine bay to have a place to hook tie downs to.

 

[Socal949]

I typically stick with OEM but a lot of past posts say Yakima is the way to go? Interested to hear more. Didn't order them yet as I don't like the look and will only use 2-3 times a year. Kia.parts has them for $187 but shipping is expensive.

Link to the $187 please lol all I see is $349 plus shipping

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[APetersen]

Link to the $187 please lol all I see is $349 plus shipping

Wrong cross bars?

 

[anotherlostmonkey]

Wrong cross bars?

Thats for a Kia sportage. This is the right one.

 

[Yossarian]

I have a set of Volvo crossbars (guessing that they are Thule) that I used on a leased V60 that was turned in late in 2019. I'd always planned on selling them but never got around to actually doing that.

The roof rails on Volvos are the same as those on Audis, and seem very similar to those on the Telluride. Since I have the bars, and also a Telly EX-P AWD coming (hopefully in September), I'm wondering if the Volvo crossbars will fit since I neglected to add factory crossbars to my build. At this point, I'm obviously going to wait until I take delivery of the Telly to see if the Volvo bars will fit. It would be good to know if the odds are my favor however. Given the measurements below, does anyone have any thoughts about the chances of fitment?

The Volvo bars are 48" end to end with about 10" of adjustment inward for each mounting foot. The rail clamp on the mounting foot appear to have a range from about 1-1/4" to about 1-5/8" or so.

 

[anotherlostmonkey]

I have a set of Volvo crossbars (guessing that they are Thule) that I used on a leased V60 that was turned in late in 2019. I'd always planned on selling them but never got around to actually doing that.

The roof rails on Volvos are the same as those on Audis, and seem very similar to those on the Telluride. Since I have the bars, and also a Telly EX-P AWD coming (hopefully in September), I'm wondering if the Volvo crossbars will fit since I neglected to add factory crossbars to my build. At this point, I'm obviously going to wait until I take delivery of the Telly to see if the Volvo bars will fit. It would be good to know if the odds are my favor however. Given the measurements below, does anyone have any thoughts about the chances of fitment?

The Volvo bars are 48" end to end with about 10" of adjustment inward for each mounting foot. The rail clamp on the mounting foot appear to have a range from about 1-1/4" to about 1-5/8" or so.

When I was looking at racks 48" seems like the shortest length you can go for aftermarket. The tower should work, but you'll most likely need to get a different clamp/feet set. This is the part thats usually custom/specfic for each vehicle.