smart Yakima roof rack and basket case install

Hi Everyone -

I just finished a 1400 mile, 2 week roadtrip, from Boston to Michigan to Ohio and then back to Boston.

With 2 dogs and a second passenger, I needed more storage, something relatively affordable and off the shelf that I could put together in a few hours. I found a few Yakima references on the smart car forums (this one and smartcarofamerica.com) and decided on this combo, suggested by Yakima's fit my car configurator:

- 1 set Q Towers
- 2 sets Q116 clips
- 1 pair 48" Crossbars
- 1 38" Fairing (to minimize wind noise)
- 1 4-pack SKS locks
- 1 Basket Case
- 1 Stretch Net (fit for Basket Case)

Photos are in my Yakima Album. Altogether, I got an awesome holiday deal from REI and Moosejaw, totaling ~$400 for the set. Though I just checked yakima.com, and it looks like they just upped their prices for 2009 - current retail price comes to $548.

I also purchased cheap waterproof stuff sacks to encase individual pieces of luggage and one tent footprint as an allover tarp. This added about $40-50 to the cost.

If you are considering this option for extra storage, here are some footnotes from my install and on-the-road experience:

(a) I set the Q116 clips on the Tridion cell itself, not between the two sets of rubber door seals
(b) the front crossbar "M" width (yakima's M1 measurement) should be 36.5" not 36", all other M measurements from Yakima were fine. (M2 = 5"; M3 = 36'; M4 = 18")
(c) you can install this on your own, though with two people, it goes much faster
(d) allows for ~70 lbs in luggage. Max weight limit is 100 lbs, including ~30 lbs for the rack & basket case themselves
(e) with the fairing, the basket case (26"x38") only fits with short sides facing side of car
(f) driving with just the rack & basket case appeared to affect fuel efficiency by 2-3 mpg
(g) driving with a full rack (3 bags - photo shows 2) & basket case significantly dropped fuel efficiency by 6-8 mpg*
(h) the entire unit comes off in one piece by unlocking/releasing Q clips or you can just remove the basket case itself, leaving the crossbars
(i) if you plan to leave the basket case on indefinitely, I suggest getting additional SKS locks via the 6- or 8-pack set so all locks are keyed to a single key. You can also order individual locks from yakima direct for about $10 each.

*Going ~70 mph along the NY turnpike, I get 33-35 mph normally. With with the full load & rack, I got 25-27 mpg over three fill-ups. In general, I noticed the smart lagging on hills (dropping ~10 mph) such that I had to drop to 4th gear to keep up speed.

Hope that helps. If I had to do anything over, I'd install the fairing with the logo facing backward - the "YAKIMA" is way too big for my taste.

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Tags: rack, roof, yakima

5 Comments

Comment by robm on January 3, 2009 at 9:50pm: my (model 450) owners manual says no roof racks. is the 451 different?

Comment by stzul on January 3, 2009 at 9:58pm: technically, the crossbars mount to the tridion cell, so there is no install on the roof or panoramic roof itself. there's been discussion on whether this hampers the integrity of the tridion cell, but no one knows for sure. if it helps, Yakima officially added the smart car to its "fit" list this year, and when i talked to the yakima support rep, he had a few notes about installing clips to the "door frame" and the roof rack affecting "driving dynamics" though nothing specific about the roof itself.

Comment by stzul on January 3, 2009 at 9:59pm: to answer the question itself, the 451 manual says the same thing, no roof racks.

Comment by George on January 4, 2009 at 12:58am: I just ordered one of these since I sold my other car and needed more space (economy sucks and the value of Smarts have dropped into a hole). They sure are expensive, more than a whole month's car payment + insurance. I bought mine piece-meal and think I made a mistake. Do you have a pic-by-pic tutorial showing how you attached it to the Tridon cell?

Comment by stzul on January 4, 2009 at 1:34am: Hi George - unfortunately, no pic-by-pics. Each yakima part comes with detailed & illustrated instructions which are also available on the yakima site for download on the product page itself. If you follow those, you should be fine. Yakima also has a free support line that you can call if you encounter any issues during your install. Some items I found helpful to have on hand:

- Hammer & screwdriver (for tapping off the end caps holding the crossbars together)
- Extra hex wrench (I forget which size) so 2 people can work at once
- Well lit area (or have a flashlight)

Everything else is provided in the packaging. The only thing I did not do was to lubricate the bolts (I believe this was for the fairing) as recommending in the instructions.

My recommended order of the install is:

1. Separate crossbars from each other

2. Open Q Towers box

3. Attach crossbars to Q towers (as directed in Q Towers instructions, using 36.5" for M1, 36" for M3). This is where the extra hand/hex wrench comes in handy.

4. Place crossbars on roof according to Q Towers instructions. Check M measurements (btw, I had to call Yakima to obtain all measurements. M2 is 5" where M2 is distance from top of windshield to front Q Tower foot; M4 is 18" where M4 is distance from center point of front bar to center point of back bar). I've added these to the original blog post.

5. Install Q clips according to Q clips instructions - if memory serves me correctly, you attach the clips to the Q Towers first, then you slip the bottom of the foot under the tridion frame.

6. Test all attachments according to Q clips instructions. According to the yakima rep, if the first time you feel movement, retighten attachments. If you retest and feel movement again, then yakima says to remove everything and adjust measurements.

7. Open and install fairing according to instructions

8. Open and install basket case according to instructions

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