Yakima  SkyLine Towers - Set of 4

The installation is really really difficult to understand. While the fixed point connection (Landing Pad) instructions have text and diagrams, these only have pictures. It's really tough to figure out what's going on, even for someone with a decent mechanical background (I'm an engineer, for reference). Make sure you budget enough time for installation and/or have a friend who has the same setup help you. I've used these + the aerodynamic JetStream bars + the SkyBox 16 for a trip to Acadia so far, and they worked well. No annoying noise. I can't judge the effect on MPG since I hadn't done much highway driving with my new car beforehand. Roof racks are great!

Yakima Rack Towers and bars are great, love how easy they are to use and to lock with the SKS lock system.

The tower has a gap in the middle on the bottom where it meets the landing pad. After a hard rain storm water got in and went down the hole with the screw that went into the roof and into the van. Pictures show it is flush but it has a gap on both sides. I have to put duct tape over it. Yakima can do better than this.

After reading several customer reviews about challenging installation experiences, I was a bit concerned I'd be seeing the same issues. My personal experience turned out to be fairly easy, and I found the towers were all around straightforward to pair with the landing pads #15 on my Outback. I would say Yakima's instructions could be a challenge at times, my advice to others is that it's important not to rush through the steps. I just took my time, measured everything repeatedly before mounting, and boom. Still remains to be seen how they maintain tightness over time.

The Skyline Towers fit easily and securely to the existing rails of my 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee. I have to say, the REI rack fit site was helpful and easy to navigate. HOWEVER, they are missing one detail that is critical. I went with the Jet Stream rails to go with the Skyline Towers and the core Lock system that was recommended. REI DID NOT recommend anywhere on the site the HD Bar SL Adapter. I went to install the rails for a cargo carrier, but was not able to do so as the rails will not secure atop the towers without the bar adapters. I wish REI mentioned this as a MUST HAVE ACCESSORY for securing rails to the towers. I had to order them after-the-fact from Moosejaw as they had them in stock. REI would be getting a 5-star rating if not for that one glaring glitch.

The installation of the Control Tower Landing Pads, Core Bars, and SkyLine Towers, plus SKS Lock Cores was very straightforward and intuitive. Everything fit exactly as expected, and the quality seems very sturdy. The only slight trouble was getting the plastic end caps to slide onto the Core Bars; the trick is to angle with the leading edge first; then they pop on very easily. Yakima engineered this system really well.

These towers were really easy to pair with the corebars and the landing pads. Didn't take me long at all to get everything put together and mounted. These make it really easy to put the bars on and take them off. So easy that I would strongly recommend getting the locks to put in the towers. Anyone in the know could pop your bars off and be on their way pretty quickly.

I get it, Yakima wanted to make a tower that fits multiple bars. I bought these to replace the old towers that Yakima sold for years. I quickly found that these loosen when used with the round bars and are nearly impossible to tighten when on the roof top. It appears you have to remove the entire rack to tighten the nut underneath that holds the bar?

Installation instructions consist of drawings only with no written details. Instructions are generic and include drawings for install of parts that aren't part of the package. Plan on several hours to do install and don't even think of buying without locks because the whole $500 tower and bar system can be removed from your vehicle without a single tool in about a minute. Poor design and overpriced.

We bought this with the cross bars and 3 of them installed easily but the 4 the threads wouldn’t line up correctly on the piece that screws the cross bars down. Took it in the store and they tried to fix it but failed. So we exchanged it for another set which we had to get mailed to our house because they were out of them in the store. Upon arriving, a different screw became impossible to tighten. Skip this and spen more on a Thule