tfinan

Thanks to this helpful post by user MichaelM, I was able to order the Whispbar s55w and it does fit the 2013 GL as he indicated. These are available for under $300 delivered at amazon. This product comes with two different length bars which are adjustable to fit the GL.

These bars are well made and easy to attach. I was able to open and close the panaroma roof several times without any issues. I do think I will need to convert my Thule roof box mount to use the rail mount (via Thule XADAPT10 Adapter product) instead of the current bottom clamp brackets to eliminate any potential interference with the sunroof.

Good luck!

wamochi

Sounds great. Do you have any pics of the bars on your GL ?

tfinan

here you go wamochi.

amazon product description is "Whispbar Rail 910 & 970 Mixed"

tfinan

Pictures with box installed. Using thule kit mentioned above which has bolts in rail rather than clamping under bar.

The second photo shows clearance to panoramic roof in highest vertical position (vent).

medphreak

Thanks for the great post. Really saved me a ton of time!

cyclrder

Those look great! Guess I will bee baying my Thule racks!

finalwish

Since Mercedes has their own out now, is there any benefit for the Whispbar vs Mercedes OEM?

fabbrisd1

Whisper Bars are reported to be "lower wind noise" due to their design than the OE crossbars - that said, personally I have not had any new gen GL owners report noise issues with their crossbars, and they keep cross bars in place 24/7 for everyday driving when they pull their boxes off.

finalwish

do you have clearance from the bottom of the cargo box to the antenna?
Not sure how large the cargo box you have in the picture, but would it the bars be high enough for a cargo box to go above it if pushed back that far?

finalwish

FYI, amazon and backcountry.com is having the Whispbar on sale for $260.

Steve Maislin

My Whispbars are perfect for the low profile Yakima ski racks. Since I only use these for the ski racks, I remove the bars instead of the racks at the end of the season. I never take the racks off of the bars. These things come on and off very easily. If I needed to put on other roof options, I would probably buy another set of bars just so I didn't need to redo my ski racks. :-)

cyclrder

I bought the whisperbars too.

You have to be careful where you mount the front one as it will interfere with the pano-sunroof if in the wrong spot.

Also, if you use any clamp style accessory around the bar (like the typical box installation, the clamps wrapping around the bars will make the problem worse...so don't expect to use the pano roof while the box is attached at all.

The solution is to use the designed method of attaching stuff and that is with sliding attachment bolts down the track that is in the middle of the crossbar. Then things work as they were designed with the whisperbar being a very low profile bar.

For me, the bars being so unnoticeable makes them easy to just leave on all the time thus far more usable for skiing,carrying lumber, or whatever.

finalwish

Bought one. Now pondering the idea of yakima skybox 16s cargo box. On a ski trip recently and with 5 ppl supply, the car was fully packed. Would have been great to get some extra space.

cyclrder

I have a Thule Spirit that I really like... It is an older model but has a swoopy look that works for me. It has since been replaced with a newer model.

Once you go box... You never go back!
Here is a shot on my old GL

finalwish

what is the size of the box, 16 cu feet? Is the length 90.5 in?

cincy8

I'd like to buy the Whispbar S55 for my MY14 GL550. According to Yakima, I need the Whispbar K468 Fitting Kit. But looking at the picture, I'm not sure why. Do I need it?

finalwish

I bought a set of these and didn't use any fitting kit for GL350.

It is very low so when I mount the cargo box on, I have to put a blanket down to prevent the clamps from scratching the car.

cyclrder

You don't need the kit.

But remember..... The front bar will interfere with the sunroof unless you keep it far enough back.

cincy8

In case this helps others... At some point the Yakima boxes changed to work with Whispbar rails and older ones don't fit Whispbars. Mine won't work with it. You don't need the Whispbar box, just a newer version of any of their cases. They can advise you from a picture.

We'll put ours on another car that takes the older round bars. Nicer drive for us anyway!

terp97

Should they be placed directly behind the sunroof and behind the black piece or in front of the black piece on the side rails? Also do people install favoring the passenger side or centering the cargo box? thanks