In this article, I’ll be covering the best roof racks for your Subaru Outback.
I’ve tested around 11 different roof racks and found the Jinsanity Universal Roof Rack is by far the best choice for your Subaru Outback when considering price and overall quality.
The Jinsanity Universal Roof Rack can hold up to 150lb of weight, is simple to fit on to a Subaru Outback and the universal crossbar design makes it reliable but perfect for other SUV’s you might own.
If you’re interested in finding more of my favourite roof rack as well as a couple of others, keep reading.
Jinsanity Universal Roof Rack for the Subaru Outback
Overall Best
Made from lightweight aluminum, the Jinsanity roof rack can be safely and securely attached to your Subaru Outback with ease, allowing you to carry 150lb of weight, perfect for off-road occasions, traveling, and camping.
The roof rack can be tricky to install, not because it comes without instructions (you’ll find them in the packaging) but because the Allen key they provide is way too short. It ends up banging on the upper rail of the rack with each turn.
I’d recommend purchasing a 5 mm Allen key with a T handle to make adjusting and fixing the plastics clamps to your side rails way easier.
Don’t be fooled by the words ‘plastic clamps’ either, the manufacturer has chosen durable plastic to help better hold to the side rails of your Subaru Outback tightly and protect your vehicle from being scratched.
Designed with an anti-theft feature, the simple lock and key system prevents the allen key slot from being moved once locked.
I was impressed with the sturdiness of this roof rack and the sheer weight it could carry (150lb), it also gives you the option to add bicycle racks, roof boxes, roof racks, and roof bags.
I’ve also noticed minimal noise and wind resistance when traveling at high speeds which can be attributed to its streamlined design.
Lastly, the endcaps can be tricky to add to each bar because of their very tight fit, but they NEED to go on to prevent damaging your goods.
Either leave them in the sun (along with the bars) or use a hairdryer on them to loosen them up a bit before trying again.
The fact that it comes with all these features AND a 3-month quality guarantee, you can’t really go wrong picking up one of these for your Subaru Outback.
Pros
- Carry 150lb.
- Can add bicycle racks, roof boxers, roof racks.
- Anti-theft feature
- Affordable
- Perfect for a Subaru Outback (and other SUV’s).
- Made from High quality aero aluminum.
- Takes a couple of minutes to setup
- Ideal for offroad, traveling and camping
- Minimal noise + wind resistance.
- Plastic features help to protect paint work
- Streamlined design
- 3-month quality guarantee
Cons
- Need to buy a better allen key.
- Endcaps can be tricky to get on
Malone Cross Rail Roof Rack for the Outback
Premium choice
The Malone Cross Rail Roof Rack transforms a bare Subaru Outback roof into a functional and stable platform, with no sidebars required. Transport up to 135 pounds of weight, the load bars come assembled and ready to install.
No need for drilling or fixing parts together, the Malone roof rack comes “out of the box ready”, all you need is a few measurements so you can adjust the steel bars and get the twin suction cups in the correct position before tightening with the wrench provided.
And don’t worry, the suction cups or “vacuum towers” as the manufacturer calls them, will not leave marks or dents on the roof of your Subaru Outback.
The vacuum towers are strongly built and give a lot of surface area on the roof of your Subaru so you can spread the load out evenly.
Once the vacuum towers are in the correct place, it’s a simple task of placing the 1.5” nylon straps through the windows of your car and then securing them tightly with a ratchet strap mechanism.
These straps help to further limit the movement of the roof rack when driving, keeping it secure at high speeds and providing an extra layer of safety in case the suction cups come unstuck.
In total, this took me about 15 minutes to set up on my Subaru Outback.
The only notable issue I’ve found is that water wicks down the straps and into the vehicle, although you’re not going to get soaked.
Malone Cross Rail Roof Rack is on the high end in terms of the weight it can bear (135lb) despite this, it is a very lightweight roof rack (10lb) which is very easy to handle when fitting on a Subaru Outback.
The steel beams are resident to corrosion, making it perfect for longevity and the roof rack overall produces minimal noise when traveling at high speeds on the motorway.
On top of all this, it comes with a 5-year limited warranty.
If you can make your budget stretch, the Malone Cross Rail Roof Rack is worth it.
Pros
- Lightweight design (10lb)
- Steel beams – resident to corrosion
- Produces minimal noise
- Tools provided
- Takes 15 minutes to setup
- No sidebars required
- Carry up to 135lb .
- Can fit on my different vehicles.
- Perfect for kayaks and bikes
- 5-year limited warranty
Cons
- Water can trickle down straps into your car.
- Premium price
MaxxHaul Steel Roof Rack
Worthy Consideration
Made from rugged steel, the MaxxHaul Steel Roof rack can be attached to the crossbars of your Subaru Outback to give 150lb worth of cargo space.
Compared to the other roof racks on this list, the installation for the MaxxHaul will take plenty more time (30 minutes total) as there are various bolts and brackets that need to be installed first before you can get moving.
These bits and bobs come with the product; It is very easy to do install and and absolutely worth it considering just how cheap, but high quality, this roof rack is.
I’d consider this to be a ‘permanent’ roof rack because of how it fixes to your Subaru Outback – you CAN take it down, it’s just very time-consuming to do so.
The strong and sturdy design of the MaxxHaul is apparent once you get it fixed on top of your Subaru, there is plenty of surface room for cargo – up to 150lb worth of it. Though it’s been designed like a basket, it’s not ideal for large items like kayaks and canoes.
An issue I and many reviews have found is that despite the manufacturer’s claims, it’s not quite as resistant to corrosion – this wasn’t too much of a problem to solve.
With a can of Truck Bed Liner Paint, costing a couple of bucks, you can cover the roof rack in a few of coats to make the entire roof rack rustproof.
Overall, this is a very high-quality roof rack despite its cheap price, and if you’re willing to spend a couple of bucks on some truck bed liner paint, then get one for your Subaru Outback.
Pros
- Very cheap
- Easy to set up
- Comes with all tools necessary.
- Able to carry 150lb.
- Plenty of surface area for cargo.
- Made from rugged steal
- Fits on your crossbars
Cons
- Time consuming to put up and take down.
- Can’t carry large cargo due to basket design
- Need to DIY corrosion resistance
