Two Cargo boxes? (1 Viewer)

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sdnative

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I am going on a week long trip later this year, and am looking for additional storage space. 2 adults, 3 kids. No aftermarket roof rack or rear bumper.

I have a Yakima Skybox 16, and a set of round load bars on Rail Grab mounts. I don't think that will be enough for all of us, so am looking for additional storage for the lighter bulky stuff.

I am considering a second cargo box, or a small basket like the Skinny Warrior.

Anyone run two cargo boxes? Any issues? Good or bad experience? Pictures?
 
Sounds like an epic trip coming up.

As another option, what about a Pelican style long and narrow rugged case? It's not going to have as much room but may fit well alongside?
 
I am going on a week long trip later this year, and am looking for additional storage space. 2 adults, 3 kids. No aftermarket roof rack or rear bumper.

I have a Yakima Skybox 16, and a set of round load bars on Rail Grab mounts. I don't think that will be enough for all of us, so am looking for additional storage for the lighter bulky stuff.

I am considering a second cargo box, or a small basket like the Skinny Warrior.

Anyone run two cargo boxes? Any issues? Good or bad experience? Pictures?
I run multiple boxes all the time. I have a Yakima Skybox 21 and an ancient Rocketbox. Buy long Yakima bars and it will work fine. No bad experiences for me other than a very slight hit to fuel economy and the fact that I cannot fit into most parking garages. Super small price to pay for the added room.
 
Sounds like an epic trip coming up.

As another option, what about a Pelican style long and narrow rugged case? It's not going to have as much room but may fit well alongside?

It should be! Going to the White Rim in Canyonlands and hopefully Yellowstone later in the year.

I have a Pelican 1650 but it is pretty heavy and not much space compared to a cargo box.
 
I run multiple boxes all the time. I have a Yakima Skybox 21 and an ancient Rocketbox. Buy long Yakima bars and it will work fine. No bad experiences for me other than a very slight hit to fuel economy and the fact that I cannot fit into most parking garages. Super small price to pay for the added room.

That's good to hear. Thanks for the feedback!
 
I haven't done it on my Cruiser, but did similar to @stonepa with a Skybox 16 and an old Rocket box on my old Tundra with cap. It was a pretty nice set up for a cross country trip. Also ran the same setup on a 4Runner.
 
Yeah I’ve run 2 boxes. Needed the extended bars to fit both. One was an old school Yakima space case and a narrower new Thule.
Worked well cuz Thule can open from either side. Couldn’t open both boxes at the same time as they’d collide. Had to have some of the clamps on the outside part of the bar which was sticking out past the mount part in order to fit them side by side. Which was kinda sketchy.
Check your boxes and how tight the fit is at every gas’s station stop. I would not do this on a factory crossbars as it is not as beefy as the aftermarket crossbars.
 
I think this is said above or at least implied - you can get aftermarket crossbars that clamp to the factory rails to extend the width. I have some Thule bars that work like this that I’ve used on multiple vehicles for wider loads.
 
It should be! Going to the White Rim in Canyonlands and hopefully Yellowstone later in the year.

I have a Pelican 1650 but it is pretty heavy and not much space compared to a cargo box.
Just FYI, Yellowstone was a complete zoo last summer. The later in the season you can go the more you guys will enjoy it. We can do day trips from Idaho Falls but anymore it’s just not worth the hassles. Absolutely no parking anywhere. If you do have to visit during the peak, go super early in the morning or late evenings. It’s an amazing place but it was completely overrun last summer.
 
Thanks for the replies everyone.

I am still planning and taking measurements. If I used a Yakima 16 and Yakima 12 I would need at least a 60" bar. Any wind issues with the boxes hanging that far off the sides?

I would need to get a small ladder or step stool as standing on the running board or tire wouldn't work with the box so far out.

Another option would be a Yakima 21 and a SkinnyWarrior. I think that would allow the box to be mounted inboard of the factory rails.
 
For future reference, @digitalmarker is running dual boxes on a 100 series in this thread

 
As mentioned above, Pelican has a new line just for root top with mounting brackets.

 
Thinking about using the Yakima RailGrab mounts that I already have and getting some 66" round bars. Anyone have direct experience with two boxes on RailGrab and round bars? How is the wind noise? Is a fairing pretty much required?

In general, are the cargo boxes more susceptible to wind damage hanging that far off the side? Per my measurements the edge of the box will be about in line with the door handles. Yakima doesn't mention anything about that configuration on the website.
 
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I have a skybox 16 and 21. I run both from time to time when we have to trave far for ski races with speed skis and >6 pairs. I have the 78” round bars on a rail grab to the OEM rails. I haven used both on at the same time for 2 years so sorry no pictures. I use the 16 with a skinny warrior basket to carry fuel cans and/or fire wood (in a water tight tote). That is a nice combo if you have enough gear to go up top that dosnt need to be enclosed.
 
I have a skybox 16 and 21. I run both from time to time when we have to trave far for ski races with speed skis and >6 pairs. I have the 78” round bars on a rail grab to the OEM rails. I haven used both on at the same time for 2 years so sorry no pictures. I use the 16 with a skinny warrior basket to carry fuel cans and/or fire wood (in a water tight tote). That is a nice combo if you have enough gear to go up top that dosnt need to be enclosed.

Perfect thanks!

Any damage to the boxes from wind when they are hanging that far off the side of the roof? When centered on the roof the windshield diverts the air up and over the box, not sure what types of forces are present when the boxes are offset that far.
 
I’d also look into a rear cargo tray that goes in the hitch. It’s great for a yeti and other bulky items.

no manufacturer is gonna say okay to the dual setup. But I’ve done it for years and it’s been fine.
I would say the main concern is the boxes could slide laterally and since one foot will be on the outside side of the mount it can potentially slip off the cross bar and be a disaster.
The Thule square crossbars i have do have a rubberized texture so I never had slipping but I check the boxes at every stop.
but after acquiring the LC200 I put my skybox that has only plastic surfaces on the attachments I found that is slid side to side on the metal cross bars of the LC200.
In the past Ii never ran a fairing and noise was minimal. You get more whistling and noise when it is just crossbars and you get the wind whistling over the bars.
Im sure a fairing would help with gas mileage.
 
I've only had Thule boxes and have never had one slip, whether they have an attachment point outside the rack or not. I used to carry a canoe and a xl Thule box at the same time, and to make them fit, the box has to have the outboard feet beyond the factory rack. I wouldn't hesitate to run two boxes at the same time with a longer crossbar.
 
My Thule box has rubber on the jaws that close.

My old school Yakima contact point is just the plastic of the box on the cross bar with a plastic bar that goes underneath the cross bar.
I’ve never had it slip before. And Ive run it on different cars with no issues. Just noticed with the LC bar seemed stiffer and harder and there was slipping. I snug the screws pretty tight but I also worry about the plastic bars snapping too.
next time I’ll probably put a little square of rubber or nonslip foam between the box and cross bar.
 
Perfect thanks!

Any damage to the boxes from wind when they are hanging that far off the side of the roof? When centered on the roof the windshield diverts the air up and over the box, not sure what types of forces are present when the boxes are offset that far.
No, even when I only run one box I off set it to the side. That makes it easier to load and unload. A step or small step ladder can be helpful for some people/scenarios.

To add to the outside mount discussion. I use these crossbar ends, work better then the “hammer in” ones figure it could help things not slide off when I outside mount.

image.jpg
 

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