# Rooftop Cargo Boxes



## sabatoa (Jan 18, 2011)

I leave my boards up there for days at a time sometimes, I'm more concerned about the day-to-day jostling than I am about them getting stolen. I have a Thule, I'm happy with it. I tried to balance the right size for cost. I don't have the most low pofile or the most storage, but it's exactly what I needed it to be and I got the best price (new) that I could for it.

It's one of those things that sucks to buy up front, but once you have it you're really glad you have it. I use it in the summer for camping, and in the winter I never take it off my jeep.


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## Argo (Feb 25, 2010)

We have thule, Yakima boxes and some thule snowboard racks. The best and most secure feeling of them all is the yakima. The one we have is the carbonite, its on a volvo xc70 and looks good on the car but its too long for our crosstrek or scion. 

The convenience of the box is awesome, its my sons car and he just leaves everything in there. Snow gear in winter, climbing, biking, longboarding, basketball, gym stuff in the summer. Then his car stays clear and doesnt get the musky/moldy smells.


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## MMSlasher (Mar 18, 2016)

sabatoa said:


> I leave my boards up there for days at a time sometimes, I'm more concerned about the day-to-day jostling than I am about them getting stolen.
> 
> It's one of those things that sucks to buy up front, but once you have it you're really glad you have it. I use it in the summer for camping, and in the winter I never take it off my jeep.


You're right, it sucks up front, but once owned it will be utilized often enough to justify it. Is the jostling of board that bad, i.e. have you noticed any damage?



Argo said:


> We have thule, Yakima boxes and some thule snowboard racks. The best and most secure feeling of them all is the yakima. The one we have is the carbonite, its on a volvo xc70 and looks good on the car but its too long for our crosstrek or scion.


I saw your post on racks a while back and ever since then, I have been anti-rack. I'll check into that Yakima.

Thanks guys.


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## sabatoa (Jan 18, 2011)

No, no damage. I live in the city, so it's a lot of stop and go, turns, and general rough driving. I hear them shift sometimes- typically if I'm only carrying like one board or something. If I have a bunch of stuff up there it's pretty solid.


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## Argo (Feb 25, 2010)

MMSlasher said:


> You're right, it sucks up front, but once owned it will be utilized often enough to justify it. Is the jostling of board that bad, i.e. have you noticed any damage?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I don't remember what I said about it but racks have one good use, short trips to the hill. We live 20 minutes away so it is ok. If we lived further it would be boxes only, 2 of our vehicles have racks. I have used them for long trips and the boards just get beat down with grime, ice and sun. the nasty ass grime all over them is the worst.

my truck I just put them in the bed, my wifes crosstrek and our extra car, scion tc, have thule racks. We had a thule box but it was kinda flimsy.. I found the Yakima carbonite on craigslist, used once, for $250 so I had to grab it. As for damage in the box, we have seen no problem with up to 4 boards in there. put a pad on the bottom and it helps with sliding, like yoga mat type of pad....


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## f00bar (Mar 6, 2014)

One thing to keep in mind is if you utilize a garage you'll want to keep the height in mind. My Outback with a Yakima fits into the garage, but brushes the rubber gasket, so just barely. That's actually the reason I opted for an outback over the slightly taller forrester.


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## sabatoa (Jan 18, 2011)

f00bar said:


> One thing to keep in mind is if you utilize a garage you'll want to keep the height in mind. My Outback with a Yakima fits into the garage, but brushes the rubber gasket, so just barely does to just barely. That's actually the reason I opted for an outback over the slightly taller forrester.


This is true- my Jeep/box won’t fit under my garage door.


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## MMSlasher (Mar 18, 2016)

Argo said:


> I don't remember what I said about it but racks have one good use, short trips to the hill. We live 20 minutes away so it is ok. If we lived further it would be boxes only, 2 of our vehicles have racks. I have used them for long trips and the boards just get beat down with grime, ice and sun. the nasty ass grime all over them is the worst.


You and others mentioned the nasty grime and road debris from long trips. I have a nearly 2 hour drive, so I'd rather them just be in a box and not deal with that other stuff.


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## mojo maestro (Jan 6, 2009)

I love my subie..........with her sweet rack.......and........nice box..........


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

Old Yak skybox of CL for $50 on old Volvo v40, works great and can bring a quiver. Not worried about stuff getting stolen because there are tons of cars with boxes and you can't see in them. Got it cheap because the seller could not get it opened...no key. Anyway took 10min to drill the rivets and then drilled a hole to do a combo lock. Thus when at the hill, I just put my keys in the box, lunch, beer in the box...and others have access to the car and box by knowing the combo. That way I don't loose my keys on the hill.


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## smellysell (Oct 29, 2018)

wrathfuldeity said:


> Old Yak skybox of CL for $50 on old Volvo v40, works great and can bring a quiver. Not worried about stuff getting stolen because there are tons of cars with boxes and you can't see in them. Got it cheap because the seller could not get it opened...no key. Anyway took 10min to drill the rivets and then drilled a hole to do a combo lock. Thus when at the hill, I just put my keys in the box, lunch, beer in the box...and others have access to the car and box by knowing the combo. That way I don't loose my keys on the hill.


I need to find a deal like that. 

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## t21 (Dec 29, 2010)

As foobar has mentioned,take consideration of your garage door height unless you have no garage. I almost bought a regular size cargo(next size up)yakima roof box but lucky my neighbor mentioned that garage door height and i ended up buying the Skybox.


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## offthewallds (Dec 16, 2016)

$50 is a GD steal. Shop the used marketplaces such as CL, FB Marketplace, OfferUp, etc. No need to pay new since cargo boxes aren't high wear items.

Low-pro isn't a necessity. TBH you can spend waaaay too much time obsessing over the perfect box online and have a different experience with it on the road. Crossbars add noise on their own, a fairing may or may not help reduce noise once you mount your box. 

There are so many combinations of rooftop kit that it really comes down to a case-by-case basis.

That being said, I copped a Yak Sybox 16 for my Focus, had to change out the hatch struts to shorter models but I could fit a quiver and a couple cases of (healthy choices) beverages. 

Get what's cheap, used, and can fit a few boards. ?
View attachment IMG_20180417_161106_1543747027385.jpg


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## chomps1211 (Mar 30, 2011)

If you're an REI member, chech their Garage Sales as well. I picked up a Yakima Skybox18 for $78. (...lock was broke & only opened on one side.)

It was a bit of a monster on my Focus, but it fit. :blink:


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## t21 (Dec 29, 2010)

chomps1211 said:


> If you're an REI member, chech their Garage Sales as well. I picked up a Yakima Skybox18 for $78. (...lock was broke & only opened on one side.)
> 
> It was a bit of a monster on my Focus, but it fit. :blink:


$78!! damn,i bought mine from REI about 3 seasons ago but i did not know anything about their garage sales. They had one new for sale on their website for $450+ so i bought it then,but when i went to pick it up the sales lady somehow unintentionally deleted my invoice in their computer(lucky i have my printed copy with me) and she cannot figure how to get it back in their computer.I was there for about an hour waiting and finally the manager came up to me and apologize for the mess, she gave me a another discount for it. I think i ended up paying $300-330 for it,that was nice.

Forgot to mention, i bought the Skybox Lowpro so it fits under the garage door cuz the wife wants her Veracruz IN the garage at all times


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## f00bar (Mar 6, 2014)

REI tends to alternate 20% off either thule or yakima fairly regularly. Garage sales are great if you luck out and something is there. While I may wait a month or so if I knew one was coming up just to see what is there I wouldn't expect to walk out of one with an item I wanted.

As for the stuff banging if you think its an issue you could take the time to put some thin 1/4" foam rubber padding in or if you remember to take it out some sort of towel/blanket. You don't want to leave in anything that absorbs water though unless you do a super good job cleaning your stuff off. It only takes a day or so of sitting in high humidity to develope surface rust.


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## chomps1211 (Mar 30, 2011)

f00bar said:


> REI tends to alternate 20% off either thule or yakima fairly regularly. Garage sales are great if you luck out and something is there. *While I may wait a month or so if I knew one was coming up just to see what is there I wouldn't expect to walk out of one with an item I wanted.*
> 
> As for the stuff banging if you think its an issue you could take the time to put some thin 1/4" foam rubber padding in or if you remember to take it out some sort of towel/blanket. You don't want to leave in anything that absorbs water though unless you do a super good job cleaning your stuff off. It only takes a day or so of sitting in high humidity to develope surface rust.



Oh ^this^ for sure. I definitely just happened to luck out on that deal. And it was a springtime garage sale also. I just meant it the way you suggested it. 

_IF_ you're a member,.. and _IF_ there's a sale coming up? It's worth checking. 

Or,.. if you need rails or mounts etc. Those sales can be good for finding that stuff also. :shrug:


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## kalev (Dec 17, 2013)

I have a Thule box and the thing is as solid as a tank 

Drove across Wyoming fully loaded in 50 mph cross winds and the thing didn't budge 

Definitely pricey up front, but worth it in the long run


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## Craig64 (Jul 16, 2015)

We had a gloss black Thule Atlantis 200 for a number of years but wanted something a bit longer mainly as my daugthers skis are 171 (180 bagged). Was able to unload the Atlantis for a great price. So looked into a new Thule box and ended up grabbing a gloss black Thule Motion XL. They have a new push button lock system which is an absolute must have. 500L, Highly recommend. Couldn't live without a roof box for the snow. Heaps of people have them in Australia. I see families without them loading all their gear in the boot of an SUV and it looks like a brothel inside.








































Thule Motion XL










Thule Atlantis 200.


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## Karpediem (Aug 29, 2007)

We got a Thule Force XL and it's worked great the times we've used it. It's listed for around $580, but when looking for it on Subaru dealer sites, the dealers were usually selling them for a discount around 25% off. Just find the best deal around you. I also bought this pulley system to store it in the garage when not using it. I also bought this pulley system to store it in the garage when not using it.


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## san210 (Jan 8, 2019)

Yakima. 4 quick snaps - setup in less then a minute. Opens on both sides.


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## smellysell (Oct 29, 2018)

Add something else to the list that's out of stock everywhere.... 

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## tanscrazydaisy (Mar 11, 2013)

Yakima Skybox 16 carbonite, I've had for a few years, now on my large ski car.

Untitled by thisistan, on Flickr


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## smellysell (Oct 29, 2018)

tanscrazydaisy said:


> Yakima Skybox 16 carbonite, I've had for a few years, now on my large ski car.
> 
> Untitled by thisistan, on Flickr


Just bought a very similar, of not the same one for $50. It needs some parts replaced, but couldn't be more stoked for the price! (it's going on a different car, that was just to get it home)









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## Manicmouse (Apr 7, 2014)

Skybox 16 represent!


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