etrailer | Install: Yakima SkyBox NX 16 Rooftop Cargo Box on a 2023 Subaru Outback Wagon

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Full transcript: https://www.etrailer.com/tv-install-y...
Hey it's Ethan here at etrailer. Today, we're going to be taking a look at the Yakima SkyBox NX 16 rooftop cargo box and how it fits on our 2023 Subaru Outback wagon. So if you have a lot of items, you do have a decent amount of storage in your Subaru, but maybe you have some longer items, maybe you just have something messy, maybe you have skis and snowboards or something like a golf bag that's gonna take up a bunch of space. You'd rather get it up on the roof, but you wanna keep it safe while you're getting it to where you need it to go, this is gonna be a great option for you. So let's check out how it works. The box says 16 cubic feet of storage, which is kind of hard to internalize and know what that means.

So basically the description that we get is that it's got enough room for you to safely accommodate gear for up to three people. So that's kind of just the metric that we go by. Now, we can actually get inside the box and see what it looks like in there. So you're going to need the provided keys to do that. We'll just fit them in this metal lock core right here on the side.

You have to make sure that you turn it to the unlocked position, and then you'll be able to pull that handle down and pop the box open. It's got hinges on either side, so we can open this up from either side and they'll be able to keep the box open without us holding it the whole time, so it stays up and loading and unloading is made a lot easier that way. Inside here you can see that there is this raised portion so your stuff is a little bit higher. So maybe you have some skis and snowboards that get icy or snowy, maybe you have some sandy items in here, all that will funnel down and away from your gear so it's not gonna be rubbing up against that while you're driving. You can also see the top of our clamps.

There are openings here for straps so you can tie down your gear for a little bit of extra security inside the box. Also, the clamps do slide up and down these channels to accommodate different crossbar spreads, which is nice. And on the top of these are your Allen areas where you're going to be using this provided tool that just stores in the side. It's got a nice gear shape, has that square on the bottom. It'll fit into the top of your clamps to loosen up and tighten down, and just stores again inside the box when you're not using it.

Now when closing the box down there is another important safety feature to talk about. So also there's this nice little string or lanyard here to help pull it down if you can't reach the top. In my case, I can, so I will. And right now it's not closed fully, so I'm not able to get the key out. You'll know once it snaps down into place that red indicator will disappear, and now we'll be able to turn and get our key out, which is how we know the box is closed and secure. As far as the clamps go on the box right now they're working with our factory crossbars and they have a pretty good hold. They'll work mostly well with your arrow or elliptical style bars, but they will also work with your round and square crossbars as well. The box is a little bit tall, so it's gonna be adding 16 inches to the top of your roof rack system. So that's just the number you're gonna keep in mind as far as "Can I store this in my garage" or maybe somewhere where you're going to be running into clearance issues. Also, there is again that opportunity for you to accommodate different crossbar spreads because the clamps do slide up and down, as well as the base of the carrier is also really flat so it can accommodate different things. But with the Outback, our crossbars are factory and they're kind of stuck where they are, which means that it's really nice that we have this undercut tail 'cause even though it looks like it sits really close to our hatch, as you can see when I open it up, we still have plenty of room and it doesn't make any contact there. So although we don't have the opportunity to use that variability, just because of how the box is designed, it still fits really well. As far as weight goes, the box is gonna come in at 48 pounds. So it's definitely on the heavier side and we are definitely going to want to know what your roof and your crossbars are gonna be weighted for and go by the lowest rated component to be safe. And it does take up most of our factory crossbar space on the roof, so if we wanted to get anoth