Ok. I figured there was no advantage to buying from Subaru v. buying from Thule or one of their suppliers. Subaru dealer told me it's pretty normal that new cars (including ICE) don't have many of the accessories for a long time after release. Not sure if they "Subaru" aero bars are any better/stronger than the Thule's.
Crossbar (roof rack) options?
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UPDATE: I switched my 53” Thule Evo wing bars bars for 50” as I was worried the 53” were a bit too wide (the total length is actually about 55 1/4”, which I hadn’t realized when I bought them). I think they look pretty good and they seem solid. The install instructions weren’t that clear but otherwise I’m happy with them so far.
I liked what you've created. I'm in a similar boat, as I've invested a lot into Yakima round bars and accessories. I've been checking the Yakima website for months and even offered to go down to Oregon but no response. Finally went to my local rack dealer and asked them to call Yakima. The response they received was something along the lines of "We made the baseline clips for the Solterra/BZ4X and are aware of the flush side rails, but don't have plans to design a Landing Pad for it at this time."
I was disappointed and started looking at the Thule Fit Kit. However, I like the Yakima system as I can easily take the bars off and put a cover on the Landing Pad. As a walked through parking lots, I noticed the Rav4, Highlander and Lexus SUVs have very similar flush rails. So I did some research and found Yakima makes Landing Pads for the Rav4 (#23) and Highlander (#28). I got my hands on them and it seems Yakima Landing Pad #28 for the Toyota Highlander is a close match. There's a bit of trimming on the sides and shimming on the bottom, but it should work nicely. Here are some pictures of the Yakima Landing Pad #28 on the Solterra. Plus some pics of the Landing Pad #28 on an actual Highlander. Notice the Highlander threaded roof part is raised compared to the Solterra, so hence the shimming needed. There was a little front/back movement on Landing Pad #28 when placed in the Highlander mounts, so that should be ok for the Solterra too. It's a rubber Landing Pad with a hard plastic mount on top. I expect most of the strength comes from the bolt tying directly down to the threaded part with the tall metal washer in the Landing Pad acting as another rigid piece in-between.
Please have a look at the photos and let me know what you think. I haven't started this project, but would be great if someone could make that shim from a 3D printer! Probably a metal washer or thin piece of plexiglass with hole drilled though would work too.
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This is what the Thule Fit Kit looks like. Too bad you can't remove the foot and bar easily when not in use. That's the benefit of Yakima... if only they made the required Landing Pad.
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