Yakima  Logo End Caps - set of 4

A stock OEM replacement crossbar end cap. Sometimes these caps can crack in harsh weather, rack loading accidents, or just knocking your noggin. (see picture) The old end cap may be stubborn taking off. With a dab of grease, the new end caps slip right on. It's a good idea to always have a spare set.

I have a set of the round Yakima bars. They came with plastic plugs, presumably to keep the water out because they WILL rust from the inside (I lost a pair of bar to just that rust). I usually remove them from the car when not used to keep them out of the rain. I also feel the need to occasionally remove the plugs to be sure it's dry inside. Problem is, no matter what tool and how careful you are, it's hard to remove the plugs without destroying them. Once in, they're very tight, but not tight enough to keep all of the water out, but removing them usually breaks one or more. They're $3.00 each, sold in sets of 4 and I'm on my third set so far. They're necessary, but I feel they could do a better job.

You don't have to give Yakima $10 when you need to recap your bars. You can go to a hardware store and find end caps for for the legs of stools or bed frames that will slip snugly over the ends of the bars. Look for the ones that are 1 and 1/8 inch inside diameter. A set of 4 cost about [$]

Can't believe that I had to purchase these separately, as they are an integral part of the bars. They come with the TOWERS! How much sense does that make? As others have written, I wasn't able to salvage the ones from my old bars, and I assumed that the new bars would include the caps. Not REI's fault, but Yakima sure knows how to milk it.

...for keeping your wallet light & totally necessary for anyone who can't bear putting anything else on their yak bars. maybe I can get something else (cheaper) to cover the hole & to keep it from howling while driving on the highway.

I used a rubber cork with the picture of the legendary Kraken on it. Looks cool and fits perfectly.

So the Yakima round bar racks have been around forever which means there is a ton of stuff that fits on them and they are cheap relative to some of the newer product that's out there. And there is plenty of product on the peer-peer used market. But the major design flaw = these plugs will NOT fit under most if not all tower configurations, which means they must be removed if you want do maintenance to your towers. In most cases, removing them will destroy them from the outside in, leaving a "cork" of the remaining male portion, which is probably enough to minimize wind noise. This phenomenon occurs because the inside surface of Yak round bars inevitably rust. No worries. The Yakima end caps aren't that expensive and there are alternatives per other reviews.

No issues with plugs.. I thinks bars should come with them, instead of getting nickeled and dimed to death with extras. just add them and charge me with bars... other great products!

I put these on and pressed them on with the palm of my hand. It was painful. Using a rubber mallet would have been better. They are a firm fit and protect the ends of the 58" Round Crossbars I purchased for they did not come with these so I had to order them.

Just installed the new end caps on a new set of round bars a few days ago, and one is already cracked. Not at all impressive, considering the relatively high cost of these flimsy plastic caps.