Depending on the size, the product has a total weight of between 10 to 13 pounds – not the lightest on the list but certainly not the heaviest either. Top-quality aluminum has been employed to manufacture a bar with excellent overall weight capacity. This roof rack from Yakima certainly has the hallmarks of a premium product. They also have rounded edges and a low-profile design. The best thing is the all aluminum construction, which give these bars strength (the load capacity is 150 pounds, not bad at all) and save weight – the 46-inch versions weighs a little under nine pounds, which is far less than the equivalent steel versions. Look a little closer, and you can see that this item comes with some features that you may not expect given it’s lower mid-range price point. They’ll stay there too, thanks to the built-in lock that secures the bar in place with the turn of a key, deterring any would-be thieves. You simply place the bars where you want and then raise the tension with a simple little tool until you have the bar locked securely in place. It simply clips onto the rail with the help of a very well-designed locking system. What we have is a rack designed to be used on the kind of raised roof rails that are often found on SUVs and station wagons. Explore our Instagram to see the Sparrow mounted up on our Subaru.We kick off this list with this set from CargoLoc that appears, at least on the surface, to be a pretty simple design. In addition, we can fully open our trunk with the nest mounted in this position. Once we mounted it, we cant even see it from inside the car (unless we lean way forward). We measured several times with a tape measurer and we weren’t sure if it would hang out over the windshield too much. At first, we were concerned due to the length of the Roofnest. For us, we ultimately decided on the hard shell pop up due to the quick and easy set up time. My Roofnest and 2 adults weigh much less than that.Ĭheck out our list of Recommended Roof Top Tents! There are plenty of Subaru Forester’s out there rocking both the pop up and fold out style rooftop tents. I had a hard time finding an actual number, but keep in mind that car roofs are designed to handle the weight of the whole car if flipped over (which is well over 1,000lbs). This load is a lot higher than the dynamic rating because the car is not driving, stopping, or turning which means the weight is not amplified by other factors. Static weight is when your car is parked.I’d recommend getting a solid set of crossbars like the ones we use if you’re venturing into the world of rooftop tents. Add in the weight of my sturdy Yakima Crossbars and I’m all set. Personally, I fly a Roofnest Sparrow (check out our YouTube review, here) on top of my Crosstrek with no issues…it weighs in at 130lbs. When looking at the weight of the rooftop tent, be sure to include the weight of your bars & whatever else you may store inside of the tent. The dynamic load for a Subaru Forester is 150lbs. This rating is a lot lower than the static rating (when you’re parked) for many reasons such as center of gravity, wind drag, turning & weight transfer, among many others. Dynamic weight means when your car is in motion.In order to look deeper into this question you must understand a few things such as dynamic and static load ratings. Calling all Subaru Forester roof top tent lovers! Wondering if your Subaru Forester can carry a Roof Top Tent? The short answer is, yes.