MKS07Suburban

I have a Yakima rooftop cargo box that I would like to put on my 07 Suburban. Are my factory cross bars strong enough to hold the cargo box? Or am I better off putting Yakima cross bars on instead?
Thanks!

SWHouston

I'm not sure that there were any major (strength) changes in the 2007, but, no, I wouldn't trust the "Crossbars" to be very strong.
However, IF you actually meant the "Rails" but said crossbars, I would trust those to do the job.

Crossbars = side to side pieces.
Rails = front to rear pieces.

The main duty of the OEM Crossbars, is to adjust and capture the load (front to rear) and keep it from sliding either direction, not to do any major "holding down" of the load. You should strap/tiedown the load/box to the Rails. If you can do it that way, then the Yakima bars should not be necessary.

MKS07Suburban

Thanks. The crossbars don't seem strong enough to me. I have railgrab mounts to attach Yakima crossbars to the rails. I used the cargo box on my old car. But I will need to get longer Yakima crossbars for the Suburban and them swap out the OEM crossbars for Yakima crossbars.

Incidentally, I did see a Suburban yesterday with a cargo box attached to OEM crossbars. Makes me wonder...

SWHouston

Makes me wonder too, if I were to find myself driving behind that guy

IF you must rely on Crossbars to tie down your Box, then I would definitely add the Aftermarket.

I would not remove the OEM Crossbars. Though they are not designed to hold much, they are integral to the side to side stability of the Rails. IF the Yakima Bars can't provide equal or better support for the Rails, then I wouldn't take the OEM Bars off.

in2pro

I use a Thule carrier without any issues on my stock cross-rails, we have loaded it up pretty good in the past...
https://chevroletforum.com/forum/mem...-thule-630.jpg

bmisfeldt

I've had a cargo box on my '02 Tahoe for many years using the stock cross bars and have never had an issue. I've probably had 150+ pounds in it many times.

The only issue I have had is trying to get in the best position to reduce the vibration/shaking of the box when driving 50+ mph.

in2pro

Per the Owners manual the weight should not exceed 200 lbs....

in2pro

I have gotten the vibration/oscillation before at highway speeds with a crosswind...slowing down usually cures it.... on that note be sure to check the screws that hold the crossrails to the supports as the vibration can cause them to work loose... see this link I posted a while back...
https://chevroletforum.com/forum/tah...-screws-49537/

bmisfeldt

THX in2pro!

SWHouston

There are some conflicting statements in the Manual Attachment, but a couple of the sentences are pretty clear...

"Tie the Load to the Siderails or Siderail Supports", then
"Use the Crossrails only to keep the Load from sliding".

I understand that there are many that use the Crossrails for Tie-Down purposes, and haven't had any problems...