100 owners, show me your rooftop cargo box (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Jan 24, 2012
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Location
Abq, NM
I am in the process of starting to prep for the summer road trip season and I am in the market for a Yakima/Thule rooftop box. I would like to see what makes/models the 100 owners are using, if at all. I know the overlander way is to lash gear to the top of their rigs reminiscent of The Beverly Hillbillies, and the use of an aerodynamic cargo box is probably frowned upon here. That being said, if you do use one, tell me which model and even drop a pic here, lets see how they look mounted to your rig. Thanks in advance!
 
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Older Yakima...pain to mount/dismount but I like the white and the $100 Craigslist find. Plenty of room...made a huge difference for family-of-5 road trips.

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I've had a great experience with the fairly inexpense Sears model.

Rooftop cargo box

Holds a ton and very easy to mount on cross bars. Also, didn't change gas mileage either.
 
That is a great Craigslist find. And I'm just like you, I have 5 plus a Golden Retriever. The 3rd row is deployed and I need an alternative for cargo. That Sears one looks intriguing. How big is that Thule?? I think the website says the Alpine is 12 cu. feet, was wondering if I need more space than that? Appears both companies go up to approx 21 cu feet of space. I have heard the Thule is made well.
 
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Don't buy into the "overland" hype. Roof boxes are UBER functional and for my family of 5 they open up massive amounts of room inside our 100 series when road-trip camping. In our box we usually fit:
  • 5 Sleeping Bags
  • 5 Sleeping Pads
  • The Mrs. memory foam topper for her sleeping pad
  • Our 6 man tent (roughly 10'x9')
  • 5 camp chairs (granted 3 are kids chairs)
  • Tarp and lines for rain
  • 5 pillows
That is a lot of bulk we remove from our cabin. It stays dry, it stays locked, it packs up quick without any forethought or straps or tie downs.... they are a total win. Don't let the nay-sayers convince you otherwise. FWIW, all our bedding gets stuffed into ONE dry sack each pillows in one, the sleeping bags in another... that makes them easier to haul than individually bringing each one from the rig to the camp.

I got mine free from a friend since it was damaged by running it into the garage, I patched it up, painted it and I have run it for over a year. Only on road trips though and ski trips.
 
I don't have a pic, but we've been running the Yakima Skybox 21 on all family trips for about 2 years. Other than the slight hit to gas mileage, I don't even notice it's up there. It's quiet and has kept all of stuff dry through a few serious downpours. It's huge and doesn't even look too big on top of the 100.

When additional cargo room is needed, I use one of those aluminum hitch-mount carriers. It works, but doesn't keep everything locked up and dry.
 
I've used an old Yakima SpaceCase and a Stowaway 2 (Max) on the LX470. I used a UHaul 6" spacer to mount the Stowaway (because the standard mount would not fit in the LX's receiver), and put a cooler on a home made rack between the Stowaway and the tailgate. With six adults in the LX, the rear sagged, and I needed an airbag system to alleviate the sag. The SpaceCase would not mount far enough forward with the factory rack to allow the Lift gate to open completely, but it worked, and I did a 650 mile round trip with this system without issue.

LX cargo.jpg
 
I've had a great experience with the fairly inexpense Sears model.

Rooftop cargo box

Holds a ton and very easy to mount on cross bars. Also, didn't change gas mileage either.


I've used this same model several times - seems flimsy at first but works fine.
 
Dont have a pic but we use a Thule box. Picked it up off craigslist 5yrs ago for under $100. We use it all the time. We did a 7k mile road trip last year with 3 adults and 2 kids and didn't notice a change in mileage. It is also nice when all the camping gear is wet just pack it up and toss it in. Keeps the interior clean and dry. To many pluses not to get one. They tend to be on my local Craiglist often.
 
You guys are great, thanks for the submissions. I was 99% sold one one personally, I just needed to confirm how these cargo boxes have been working out for people out in the real world on top of a 100. The conundrum is picking out the right size I guess as even the biggest one (Yak 21) will fit nicely on top of a 100. Hearing a lot of good comments on the quality of the Thule. Heck, even the Sears one gets it done I guess. Maybe a 15 (cu.ft) is all I need?? We are 5 strong with a dog like a lot of you so I have been of the thinking that the bigger the better.

REZARF and Madbodhi, do you know the capacities of your Thule??
 
One thing to keep in mind is how the cargo box attaches. The Thule and Yakima versions have a "quick" release cam that makes install and removal MUCH easier and quicker. The Sears version and others have U-bolts that you fit from underneath (4 corners), a drop plate and 2 wingnuts that you screw on from the inside of the box tray. You do that every time you want to install or remove the box. To me, the convenience of the easier install via quick release makes the Yakima and Thule versions no-brainers. Of course, finding one on Craigslist is FAR cheaper than buying new.
 
Old Sears cargo box. Probably about 10 yr old. Still in good shape and keep things dry. It is stored in a garage when not in use. We have taken this box everywhere. We also use a box attached to the hitch, just like what @SgtMoonracer have above, but I do not have a picture of it.

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One thing to keep in mind is how the cargo box attaches. The Thule and Yakima versions have a "quick" release cam that makes install and removal MUCH easier and quicker. The Sears version and others have U-bolts that you fit from underneath (4 corners), a drop plate and 2 wingnuts that you screw on from the inside of the box tray. You do that every time you want to install or remove the box. To me, the convenience of the easier install via quick release makes the Yakima and Thule versions no-brainers. Of course, finding one on Craigslist is FAR cheaper than buying new.

Thats excellent insight; something I didn't know. On Craigs I have found nice shape Yakima Skyboxes in 15, 16 and 21 sizes for around $300-350--thats for the "excellent condition" ones. The Thules seem harder to find and typically cost more, even on the secondary market.
 
CL deal here too last year on a Thule Atlantis 1600XT, if I recall $250. Discontinued model.


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Mine is a big Thule, I am sorry I don't know the model, but if I am at the local REI or sporting goods store it compares with the largest models out there. I don't notice any drop in mpg when mounted far enough back to keep the aerodynamics in place from the windshield.

I've got paint to color match it to the rock river green mica on the cruiser. Its a project for this summer.
 
To me, the sears one was totally worth it for the price (under $200 new). Mounting only takes 10/15 mins. I went one size smaller than the largest one they had. My 2 cents.
 

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