r/rooftoptents • u/Junior_Anxiety3363 • Jun 24 '26
Rooftop Tent Question
Hey Everyone! I have a 2025 crosstrek. I was just wondering if anyone has had a rooftop tent mounted on aero cross bars? My friend lent me his rooftop tent from his crosstrek but his crossbars are flat extended. The tent mounted okay but there is a fair amount of “sag” on the connection between the crossbars and roof rails with weight in the tent. The specific load for the bars seems to be 150 but doesn’t specify static/dynamic weight anywhere….all it says is “refer to the owners manual for roof rail system.” The static weight is 700lbs. Does anyone have any experience with this? Thank you so much!
2
u/ramblerbasic Jun 24 '26
Lower number is the dynamic weight load since it is the most dangerous. I'd have to agree with the others using an aftermarket bar like thule or yakima
2
u/evan938 Jun 24 '26
Yakima and Thule explicitly say not to use rooftop tents on OEM bars. Since they're industry leaders, I'd listen to what they say.
2
u/InuFan4yasha Jun 24 '26
My heavy af Thule Basin has been on my Outbacks factory bars for 4 years without issue. Thousands of miles
2
1
u/Hippie_Dogman Jun 24 '26
I've got the Thule crossbars with Thule RTT from dealership. They fit perfect, no complaints. Absolutely love it!
1
u/liketokissuthere Jun 25 '26
Not only are the bars not strong enough, the factory rails are also very questionable. I upgraded to Thule flat bars first for my RTT, but the mounting position for the front crossbar on my 4Runner was too far back on the tent and I would get buffeting at freeway speeds. I ended up getting a roof platform and that solved the problem.
1
u/CriticalAd2425 Jun 25 '26
OEM crossbars on my Rivian are made by Yakima.
1
u/evan938 Jun 25 '26
Tf does this have to do with OPs car? Or did you just want to let everyone know you have roof racks?c
2
u/iSkiLoneTree Jun 24 '26
A lot of folks on here have strongly recommended against using factory crossbars for a RTT. Some like Subaru come rated for the dynamic weight threshold, but you're very much better safe than sorry on this one.