Hey everybody!

I just picked up a new black on black 2012 lr4 hse on Halloween! (I think I clocked in all of 130 miles total so far)

Love it. Such a big jump up in quality, I don't know what to do. :biggrin:

Anyway, I had a question regarding Roof Racks and Rails. (Since I surf a lot-- which leads to the key/wetsuit question but I will hold off)

So currently there's nothing on the roof, and I was thinking about getting a aftermarket rails and cross bars. Is that possible?

Or is the best option to get OEM rails? If so, what's the difference between short and full?

Yakima's site seem to say that I don't even need rails to install the crossbars, that I can install to the 'attachment points' on a LR4, what the heck is that?

I saw this( and ) and really interested in the whisperbars by Yakima. Anyone has experience with it?

 

Hi,

I went with OEM since we bought our LR4 in 2010. I didn't want to try messing with aftermarket racks as it did not seem obvious to me that there was an easy way to try to mount them. The OEM rails require taking off the rubber/metal inserts that run along the roof and then putting in the roof rails. there are anchor points "screws" which allow you to attach the roof rails to the car. You should make special note that on one side of the rail is the steel body of the car and on the other is the panoramic glass roof. the OEM rails have special rubber ridges which need to be positioned carefully to ensure proper drainage for water when it rains, otherwise, you risk the potential for leaks in the future.

I have posted some pictures throughout this site of the extended roof rails so you can see what hey look like. the dealership accessories brochure also has some pics.

you might be fine with aftermarket, but my recommendation would be to stick with the OEM. if you are worried about noise, just take off the crossbars when not in use. I can get mine off and on in less than 15 minutes. the OEM crossbars are extremely durable and have a nice locking mechanism.

good luck and let us know what you end up doing and how it works out.

 

Thanks for the input! I will probably end up getting the OEM rails.

 

I've had the factory cross bars attached to the roof rails and they obviously fit and look great. The downside is they are kind of noisy and do take some effort to get on and off. Specifically you have to loosen the Allen Head bolt to get them to slide freely through the track to remove/replace.

I went with the Yakima Wishbar cross bars that connects to the factory rails. You have to screw down a small mount that sits ontop of the factory roof rails that the cross bars mate to. The advantage is that once the small mount is in place you can quicklly remove the cross bars with no tools and only have the little mouning foot on the cross bar that can go through the car wash with no troubles.

I do believe that you may be able to mount the Yakima system directly to the roof but I haven't done this. I would assume that you would still be able to remove/replace the cross bars in the similar speedy, tool free, manner.

Surf's up!

Rick

 

Looked up the whisperbar online and htey didn't have a fiting for the LR4. I ended up buying a used crossbar on Craigslist.