Review on 🚗 YAKIMA - BaseLine Adjustable Towers: Perfect Solution for Vehicles without Rails, Gutters, or Factory Roof Options (Set of 4) by Bryan Hill

Yakima BaseLine Yakima CoreBar Adjustable Clamp Rail System 50" Yakima Base Clamp (148 & 150) I am a longtime Yakima customer and this is the fourth roof rack system I have purchased from them for the past 30+ years.I originally chose Yakima because it was made in the US and Thule, their only competitor at the time, was not.This is no longer a factor as Yakima systems are no longer made in the US I have also found that the round bars on the original Q-Tower are easier to work with than the Thule rectangular bars.The latest Q-Tower system has served me well for 12 years and I turned it on when I sold my last car.The first two systems served me well, one was stolen from my car and the other lasted over 10 years.Me Our experiences with Yakima products have only been positive. through numerous bike rack systems, ski racks, kayak racks, etc. I have nothing but praise for the Yakima products that I have used. However, the new BaseLine system was a disappointment to me. I still believe that Yakima uses excellent materials and will accompany me for years. However, it's one of the few words of praise I can give to Yakima's new roof system. To better express my dissatisfaction with the Yakima BaseLine, I'm comparing it to my old Yakima Q-Tower that the BaseLine replaces than and my limited experience with the new Thule Rapid Traverse with Thule AeroBlade that comes with the BaseLine system I bought is comparable. Cost: Yakima BaseLine SystemYakima Q-Tower System: $323 + $50 for Yakima JetStream Alloy Bar) Thule Traverse System: $544 Revain, $510 Thule.com The entire base systems cost Yakima. I didn't do extensive pricing research, but found the Thule system to be more expensive everywhere I looked online. Install/Remove: Q-Towers/Thule Traverse This category depends on how you want to use your roof rack. If you plan to buy a BaseLine system, install it, and never remove it from the vehicle, the only problem you face is the initial setup. However, I have found that I have to remove and reinstall the roof rack from time to time for various reasons. I tend to remove the rack when I know I won't be using it for an extended period of time (more than two weeks or more) and reinstall it when necessary. I do this mainly to reduce wind noise and I can also clean the fairings. All three systems are based on the same basic installation premise. There are many videos online showing how to install each one. It's worth googling a few and seeing how each one installs. It's worth noting how easy it was to install/remove/reinstall the old Yakima Q Tower system. Once the turrets and bar were in place and the special legs attached to the turrets, I was able to quickly remove and replace the turrets by measuring the required clearances and pushing the turret lever/cover. If I had two bike mounts on my roof rack, I could remove the entire unit from the car as one and just replace them. It's also worth noting that I'm 6ft 4in tall so getting into the car wasn't too difficult. The opposite is the case with the BaseLine system. The initial setup and installation took about 2 hours. I found myself re-reading the instructions, checking the information on the Yakima website, and watching a few videos before realizing that I had assembled and installed the roof rack correctly. Much of the confusion stems from the fact that the turrets have two different settings, one for the top of the turrets and the other for the tilt or angle of the air beam relative to the roof. Once installed, these settings do not need to be set again and only need to be changed if you wish to install the system in a new vehicle. Eventually the bars lined up on my car, but the instructions that came with it were far from clear. On my car, tightening the roof rack requires adjusting 2 different hex bolts on each leg. One pulls the attached clamp up (vertically), the other moves it inward (horizontally) toward the vehicle. These adjustments are made with the supplied hex screwdriver. This is where removing and replacing the rack becomes tedious and difficult. Removing the clamps from my machine requires loosening all the hex screws and reinstalling requires re-tightening. This process is far from quick and easy, and every time I change a brace on my machine, I count the threads to see if I've tightened each side roughly equally. Overall, the install and uninstall process took a big step backwards from the original Q-Towers. On average it takes me about 20-30 minutes to rebuild the towers. Plastic butt caps no longer attach to BaseLine turrets. Older Q-Towers had a built-in lid/lock that also served to secure the rack to the roof. The Thule Rapid Traverse covers flip up and then snap shut to close the tensioning mechanism. While I could replace the covers every time I remove the BaseLine rack for storage, and then remove them and replace them when reinstalling, it's just an extra step that makes it a poorly designed product in my opinion. I also find that the plastic covers feel cheap compared to other materials used on the Baseline system. Baseline system car clips attached to the turrets tend to fall off when the trunk is not attached to the car. This was an issue I never had with the old Q-Tower system and on the Thule Rapid Traverse system the clamps are held in place with a small plastic clip to prevent them from falling out. It is also necessary to store the required hex screwdriver separately from the holder in the glove compartment, which is not the case with other systems. While not as easy to use as the Q-Towers, the Thule Rapid Traverse system relies on a single tensioner that is stored under a hinged cover on the Rapid Traverse towers. In general, installation is much easier, and uninstalling and reinstalling is not difficult at all. I also find that the car's support legs are better designed. Road Noise: A Tie I have no experience with Thule roof racks on my car and can't say if they significantly increase the road noise heard in the car. However, I was a bit disappointed with the amount of wind noise I hear from the BaseLine system at freeway speeds (55+ mph). I haven't compared either system side-by-side, but I'm under the impression that all of the Yakima and Thule systems produce roughly the same wind noise while driving. Thule's current mounts can be used on any luggage rack. Bottom line: If you want quick and easy removal and installation of your system, like me, buy a Thule Rapid Traverse System. Everything about the Rapid Traverse system outperforms the Yakima BaseLine system, from installation to removal and reinstallation. The difference in cost isn't even that big when you consider that you'll benefit from every system you work with for over 10 years. system to go. I would recommend using the Yakima JetStrem Alloy Crossbar instead of the CoreBar as it gives the rack a cleaner look and mounts from the bottom of the bars to the BaseLine posts. You should be prepared for a complex installation process depending on your level of mechanical know-how and ability to decipher direction, but once you're in the car the system will last a very long time, just make sure you do it leave there. I am seriously considering selling my Yakima BaseLine and buying a Thule Rapid Traverse. I don't like the idea of taking a financial hit, but moving to a system that I'm not afraid to use is really starting to excite me.