Why do you need a rooftop cargo carrier for your Kia Forte? We guess you are an outdoor enthusiast who wants to drive your Kia Forte with companions and enough road-needed luggage or gear to enjoy different outdoor journeys. However, Kia Forte doesn’t give you sufficient trunk space (15.3 cubic feet) for outdoor needs; therefore, you should use hitch-mounted or roof-mounted cargo carriers to create additional storage space for camping or outdoor journeys.
According to Kia, most Kia sedans can afford 165 pounds on their roofs, so you better follow the roof loading limit to manage the weight on your Kia Forte’s roof. You cannot exceed the roof loading limit when packing things on the car roof, and you should know that the roof loading includes everything on the car roof, including the weight of roof racks and rooftop cargo carriers.
Your Kia Forte has a bare roof without roof rails, so you must utilize the doorjambs to hold the complete roof rack system and the extra cargo weight. If you want to protect the car doorjambs from scratches, you can locate soft pads underneath the clips to prevent the results from wear and tear.
Before getting suitable rooftop cargo carriers, you must install a pair of horizontal crossbars on the car roof. What are crossbars? We find the relationships between crossbars, roof rails, and roof racks, so you can refer to another article to learn.
We recommend you contact the local Kia dealer to order OEM roof racks or find compatible items on Amazon or eBay.
We have some recommendations for your consideration:
4 Roof Racks or Crossbars For Kia Forte
Thule WingBar Edge
The Thule WingBar Edge is a pair of aluminum crossbars with multiple length options, and you can choose to use the 41-inch model to fit the width of your Kia Forte’s roof size.
The Thule WingBar Edge is one of the most aerodynamic roof bars that can minimize wind noise and decrease the effect on gas mileage when it encounters airflow.
Each Thule WingBar Edge crossbar has strips to cut the airflow and eliminate vibration and wind noise. You don’t need to install extra wind-faring devices on roof racks to solve the wind noise problem.
Each Thule WingBar Edge (41-inch model) crossbar’s dimensions are 41 x 3.125 x 1 inches (L x W x H), and you can use this measurement to estimate if the Thule WingBar Edge fits your Kia Forte. Otherwise, if you have existing rooftop cargo carriers, you must ensure the mounting components can open enough to clamp and lock on the Thule WingBar Edge crossbar.
Each Thule WingBar Edge has an internal BoxBeam structure to enhance the strength and durability to hold heavy-duty jobs. You better not use cheap crossbars to carry cargo because of the potential risks.
If you want to install a pair of Thule WingBar Edge crossbars on a Kia Forte, you must get compatible mounting feet and vehicle-fit doorjamb clips to get a complete roof rack system.
We will list the items below for assembling a complete Thule WingBar Edge roof rack system for your Kia Forte.
You can attach the vehicle-fit clips on Thule Edge Clamp feet, and the process is straightforward with a torque tool.
First, you can use the torque tool to open the tower side cover and release the screw. Then, you can insert the vehicle-fit clip behind the attachment point on each mounting tower. Third, you can put the screw back to tighten the clip and reassemble the side cover. Fourth, when installing a pair of crossbars on the car roof, you should first locate the crossbars in position with the wanted bar spread (the distance between two crossbars) before tightening the vehicle-fit clips on the car doorjambs.
| Image | Thule WingBar Edge Combination | Links |
|---|---|---|
 | Thule WingBar Edge | Check it Out on Amazon |
 | Edge Clamp Feet | Check it Out on Amazon |
 | Forte-fit Clips | Check it Out on Amazon |
Yakima CoreBar Crossbars
Yakima is another famous brand that has many high-quality roof racks for vehicles. We pick the CoreBar crossbars for your Kia Forte. You can use the 50-inch CoreBar model to fit the roof size of your Kia Forte, and you also need compatible vehicle-fit clips and mounting feet to create a complete CoreBar rack system to carry roof-mounted cargo carriers on Kia Forte without roof rails.
Yakima CoreBar roof racks are steel-made roof bars, so they are sturdier and heavier than Thule WingBar Edge aluminum crossbars. The CoreBar roof racks are perfect for off-roading events. However, the CoreBar crossbars can occupy a large percentage of the roof loading limit and leave you an insufficient weight limit for luggage.
You need four BaseLine Mounting Feet to combine with two CoreBar roof bars, and you can disassemble each BaseLine Mounting tower with a torque tool. On each BaseLine Tower, you can find two concaved spots with brackets for immobilizing the head parts of a single CoreBar.
After combining each CoreBar with two BaseLine Towers, you need to install vehicle-fit clips on all CoreBar crossbars and hook the clips on the doorjamb of your Kia Forte.
We will list the items you need below to lead you to get a complete Yakima roof rack system for your Kia Forte.
| Image | Yakima CoreBar Combination | Links |
|---|---|---|
 | Yakima CoreBar 50-inch | Check it Out on Amazon |
 | 4 BaseLine Towers | Check it Out on Amazon |
 | Vehicles-fit Clips | Check it Out on Amazon |
Rooftop Cargo Carriers For Kia Forte
Roof-mounted Cargo Boxes
Your Kia Forte is a small sedan that doesn’t have a high roof loading limit to support big cargo boxes, but you can choose to use some smaller roof boxes for most outdoor needs. We have a list of 11 small cargo boxes for compact sedans, so you can pick one on the list to be the extra waterproof loading storage above the car roof of your Kia Forte.
What is the best cargo box for Kia Forte?
If you don’t have time to compare and find, we recommend the SportRack Vista XL as the rooftop storage space on your Kia Forte. The SportRack Vista XL has been the best-selling cargo box in recent years because of its affordable price, easy-to-use mounting hardware, and aerodynamic designs.
After having a pair of crossbars on your Kia Forte, you can mount a SportRack Vista XL cargo box on the roof bars for loading luggage for most outdoor activities. The SportRack Vista XL gives you 18 cubic feet of internal space for packing belongings, and you can load up to 100 pounds in the Vista XL. The SportRack uses ABS plastic to construct the Vista XL, so it is waterproof, durable, sturdy, and ultralight.
The Vista XL weighs 28 lbs, so it only occupies a small part of the roof loading limit; therefore, after the calculation, you still have at least 100 pounds of weight limit for luggage or gear. You can lift the Vista XL for installation alone, but most experts say installing a hardshell cargo box should be a job for two persons.
Roof-mounted Cargo Baskets
The rooftop cargo baskets are the least secure option among the most popular roof-mounted cargo carriers because they don’t have lids or locks to protect your belongings from theft. However, cargo baskets are perfect for off-roading and other outdoor journeys required to drive on unpaved territory.
Most people use cargo baskets to transport spare tires, gas tanks, and other waterproof items. You can use a cargo net to immobilize the items and prevent their sliding and shifting. We have a list of the most popular cargo baskets, wide to narrow, large to small, for your consideration.
Rooftop Cargo Bags
Soft cargo bags are alternatives to hardshell cargo boxes, and you don’t need car roof racks on Kia Forte to use a cargo bag. If you want to know more about using rooftop cargo bags without roof racks, we have another article for your curiosity.
Most soft cargo bags have a zipper system to protect your belongings from extreme weather and unexpected stealing. Therefore, soft cargo bags are better secure than cargo baskets. If you want to add security to a rooftop cargo carrier, you can find more solutions in another guide.
We have a list of 7 high-quality cargo bags you can temporarily use on your Kia Forte for transportation needs. Cargo bags are easy to store because they are foldable, and you can put a cargo bag in the car trunk.
In Conclusion
We give you a map of building a roof rack system for your Kia Forte from start to end with compatible options. Your Kia Forte has a bare roof, so you need a pair of high-quality crossbars to support the cargo carriers and luggage weight. You can follow the section one to find options.
After having roof racks or crossbars on your Kia Forte, it is time to consider choosing a suitable roof-mounted cargo carrier to transport luggage on the car roof. You can select a roof-mounted cargo carrier among the most popular options: cargo boxes, bags, and cargo baskets.
Except for these three types of carriers, you can mount rooftop bike racks, a roof tent, ski carriers, and other roof-mounted accessories.
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