Setting up the Thule SquareBar Evo Roof Rack for Flush Rails on your 2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee

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Hi, Matt with etrailer and today we're talking about the Thule roof rack on top of our 2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Now this will be a great option for you if you're running out of space in the back of your vehicle. Whether you have a lot of people back there or it's already full of luggage, your roof's gonna be a great option to store any of those additional items, whether you are using a roof basket or a box. So let's check it out. Starting off with the crossbar, this is gonna have an arrow shape to it, so what that arrow shape is gonna do is make it more aerodynamic to help reduce that wind noise. Something else that's gonna help reduce wind noise is this weather strip at the very top.
I was gonna also do a couple other things that's gonna help keep debris from getting in this channel. And what that channel is designed to do is to be able to be used with T track accessories. So if you ever run into the situation where you don't want to use any clamp on accessories, you just want something on the very top or you want something that's gonna go closer to the edge of your crossbar, anything like a ski carrier, this is gonna be a great option to use. You'll have another channel at the very bottom and what this channel is used for is to connect your tower to and your tower is gonna be what connects your crossbar to your fit kit. And what I do like about this design is if I remove this end cap, you'll notice we have all our hardware here and that's how everything works.
So that's a nice thing about having an end cap. It does a few things. It hides all that hardware to give you more of a clean finish and it helps protect it so no one can come by and just remove this because if you notice we do have this circle core right here, you can actually get that replaced with a locking metal core just for that additional security. And then at the very bottom we're gonna have our fit kit that's gonna be at that fixed mounting point like I was talking about earlier. This is what connects your whole rack to your vehicle.
Now for the design, I have mixed feelings about this one just because we have this gap at the very bottom of it. Now it does feel pretty snug and this doesn't hinder how it holds in place, but I just wish it didn't made full contact just to give it more of a clean finish overall. Let me take a closer look on how it looks up here. So the first measurement I'm gonna get is gonna be the total height and that's gonna be about five inches, which isn't bad at all. What I'd recommend doing is just taking the total height of your vehicle plus your rack, and if you have any gear on top of that so you know what areas you can make it under, anything like a garage.
As for the space underneath it, that's gonna be about four inches and that's a decent amount of space to play around with. So if you have any more bulky styles of clamps, then I think that should be fine. Now if you have a sunroof on your vehicle and it does extend up, definitely watch out for that because if that extends up and you have that really bulky clamp, you could make contact with it. Just keep an eye out. As for the spread, since this is a fixed mounting system, this is gonna be the same across the board and that's gonna be 24 and a half inches. So this is gonna be more ideal for if you have any roof boxes or baskets. Now if you want to haul any kayaks, it should be fine too. It might not be the best way to handle it because you're gonna have a lot of overhang of your kayak on either side. There is another option for you to use for the mix fixed mounting points. This is second set of holes back here that you could move the crossbar too, but we chose to go with this orientation because we don't have a lot of overhang. It's only gonna be a couple inches on each side. We're also gonna have a weight capacity of up to 165 pounds, which is a decent amount. But what I recommend doing is just checking what your roof is rated for. You can find that in your owner's manual. And then I recommend going from the lowest rated component so you don't overload anything. But in my opinion, I think this is a great option for anyone who does wanna haul those roof boxes or baskets and you want more of a clean look or finish on top of your roof. If you want an even cleaner look though, then I'd recommend another Thule option and that's gonna be the option with the flush mounted roof system. And you're gonna have a little bit less crossbar spread to go with that. So that's gonna be a sacrifice you have there. But if you want somet