I need:

A box big enough to fit 185 cm skis

Something that works with my factory rack (not puttin on rain gutters) - this is a lego rack that ends mid way past the rear windows.

The hatch must be able to open all the way.

 

Browsing online has led me to believe that the Thule 603 ascent may be a candidate.

 

Anybody else have an idea on this one?

You could get the Thule Frontier

available at some the chain autoparts stores but don't know what you have close to you. Here's a thread about this very to

 

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=58707&highlight=hohieu

You could get the Thule Adventurer available at some the chain autoparts stores but don't know what you have close to you. Here's a thread about this very topic:

 

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=58707&highlight=hohieu

 

 

so,

the adventurer is discontinued, at least on the thule website havent checked elsewhere yet, the frontier seems like the only option as my aforementioned option wont fit the boards inside.

 

i know there are more of you out there that have faced this issue before...throw me a bone.

The Frontier has been discontinued for a while, even when I bought mine. But is still available at some autpoarts stores: Pep Boys around here. The successor to the Frontier is the Cascade (11 cubic feet).

The Frontier has been discontinued for a while, even when I bought mine. But is still available at some autpoarts stores: Pep Boys around here. The successor to the Frontier is the Cascade (11 cubic feet).

 

 

uh...check thule's website...the cascade is discontinued...the frontier is back.

thanks

I've got an evolution 1800... it will NOT fit without modification

I've got an evolution 1800... it will NOT fit without modification

 

modded like drilled holes and moved the mounts off the sliders and over the drilled holes?

modded like drilled holes and moved the mounts off the sliders and over the drilled holes?

 

yup, and chopped a little off of the rear lip, because i didn't feel like drilling another set of holes, when i was about 3mm to far back.

i managed to keep one of the mounts for the front and back in the 'slider' part, but i also had issues because the obxt has a spoiler at the top of the hatch, i don't think 99 legacies had that.

I have seen some of the new boxes are re-designed to allow hatches to open better (pretty much just a larger sliding range, and an angled rear section i think.

uh...check thule's website...the cascade is discontinued...the frontier is back.

thanks

 

ah, ok. The Frontier will fit 5-6 pairs of skis and will fit onto your factory roofrack without any modiifications.

I have a yakima sky box pro 18 on my 97 obw and he hatch open just fine.. with factory rails

I jacked our 1200 Evo up on some small rectangles of cutting board, which matched the rectangles on the Thule brackets. I used two 1/2 inch thicknesses at each attachment point, so I raised the box up one inch. The stock bolts still fit (barely), which is good, because they are specialized, big head, metric carriage bolts. Now I can open the hatch without the box hitting it and I can also open the front tilting sunroof on my 02 Legacy GT.

 

Note - If you have the box or attachments block the sunroof from opening/tilting, you can strip the mechanism -> big $$$'s.

 

Jack

 

EDIT: Lego99 hit the nail on the head. While I had shimmed the box up last year, as I didn't want to drill the box, I finallly broke down and drilled it. I put another set of holes to the rear of the existing set, effectively moving the box foward on the crossbars. Ths allowed the bars to move far enough back that the Thule bar attachment system cleared the pop up front skylight, yet the back of the box still cleared the hatch when it was opened.