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Yakima roof rack on a 2014 Prius v (V?)

Discussion in 'Prius v Accessories and Modifications' started by amount, May 24, 2022.

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  1. amount

    amount New Member

    Joined:
    May 23, 2022
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    Location:
    USA
    Vehicle:
    2014 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    V
    I just bought a Yakima roof rack to put on my 2014 Prius v. (Not sure if that should be a lowercase or uppercase V. Sorry, it's confusing!)

    I installed everything according to the Yakima's specifications. I triple checked my measurements and followed the directions very carefully. The racks seem very stable, but they don't look right. There's a pretty dramatic height difference between the front and rear crossbar. (See picture.)

    It looks like I could move both racks toward the back of the car to even them up a bit, but I'm not sure if that's a bad idea. I think there's enough room on the clip-tightening bolts to accommodate the longer reach to the edge of the panel above the rear door, but I'm hesitant to go against the instructions.

    Does anyone have experience with Yakima racks? Is there any reason why I shouldn't move both crossbars toward the back of the car?

    Details:

    2014 Prius v with panoramic sunroof
    Yakima Baseline Towers
    Yakima Baseclips 117 & 174
    Yakima Jetstream Crossbars

    [​IMG]
     
    #1 amount, May 24, 2022
  2. lrisius

    lrisius Member

    Joined:
    Aug 23, 2015
    120
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    Location:
    Illinois
    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Three
    I've got a Yakima rack for our 2015 v. I've got the round bars and Q Towers and am using Q99 and Q131 clips. So my parts are different than yours. I used install instructions that I found somewhere on Yakima's website (It's been 7 years....) that gave the front location and then gave a distance between the bars. It sounds like you did the same.

    Two things strike me in your photo. One is that my front towers are further back. My instructions gave a distance from the corner of the painted roof (or panoramic roof) to the front of the tower. Your photo looks like where I would be if centered the tower on the measurement. The rear of my front towers would be at the front of the black trim on the door. The other thing that seemed different in your photo is that the front and rear bars seem closer together than mine but that could be some kind of optical illusion. Mine are 32" apart center to center. I don't have the rack currently installed to really compare where they hit. When I measured my car, it looks like they are pretty close to where yours are.

    Not sure this helps you a lot given the differences in the car (panoramic vs not) and the different Yakima towers, etc. but my rack is several inches further back and seems more level. Yakima may recommend a different placement for your towers and bars.
     
    #2 lrisius, May 25, 2022
    Last edited: May 25, 2022
  3. Dusty rug

    Dusty rug Member

    Joined:
    Apr 20, 2020
    47
    32
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    Location:
    Colorado
    Vehicle:
    2014 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Three
    i would move the racks back just enough to make them level to each other because the way you have it now seems like itll put more work on the front bar when wind resilience becomes a factor while you're hauling something. gotta make sure they both share the load evenly to reduce the chance for failure.
     
    #3 Dusty rug, Jul 23, 2022
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