Thule cargo box

Hoezay97 · Oct 25, 2021

I knew i was a full blown dad when i got excited about storage capacity

TMac · Oct 25, 2021

I hear you on that. A couple of weeks ago, I took my daughter, son-in-law and three grandkids all to Universal Studios. We were packed, but managed to fit everything inside. On the way down, I noticed several suvs traveling with tow hitch mounted racks. That looked very interesting. Anyone have experience with that type of carrier? The roof mounts look cool, but the extra difficulty of mounting, wind resistance, and getting things in and out at that height makes me wonder whether the other approach wouldn't be better. Thoughts?

twin001 · Oct 25, 2021

Nice! I've been searching FB marketplace for one.

Dale5403 · Oct 25, 2021

TMac said:

I hear you on that. A couple of weeks ago, I took my daughter, son-in-law and three grandkids all to Universal Studios. We were packed, but managed to fit everything inside. On the way down, I noticed several suvs traveling with tow hitch mounted racks. That looked very interesting. Anyone have experience with that type of carrier? The roof mounts look cool, but the extra difficulty of mounting, wind resistance, and getting things in and out at that height makes me wonder whether the other approach wouldn't be better. Thoughts?

The one downside of the hitch mounted rack is that access to the rear cargo area could be kind of a pain.

Hoezay97 · Oct 25, 2021

I actually had a rear mounted storage tray and i used to toss all my stuff on there inside of a waterproof bag.
the downside I’d say is that the bag gets pretty filthy, and you can’t really access your cargo quickly. Also you add like 3 feet to the car which can be a factor for parking purposes.
i plan on leaving the roof box year round so i don’t really have to install/reinstall

but if you don’t care about the parkint or storage then the rear back is probably just as functional and probably significantly cheaper

TMac said:

actually

TMac said:

Jshaffer3819 · Oct 25, 2021

Hoezay97 said:

I like it. I have the same one but in gray. I used it all over Europe and it was great. We had enough room in the vehicle if you packed properly but putting everything on top made packing so much easier.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

GearHead_1 · Oct 25, 2021

Hmmm... a thumbs down for a very generic observation/question? I did say that I meant no offense.

I personally don't think it would be a lot of fun hauling that around all the time and an easy target to leave anything of real value in. I think it's a super tool for a vacation and whatnot. Sorry if that was offensive.

Hoezay97 · Oct 26, 2021

Hahaha no worries, i live in an apartment and park on the street hence why I’m not driving an expedition or a suburban
Not convenient to install/reinstall and don’t have a garage to store the box. It works pretty well for me to have the extra storage available whenever we decide to pack up the kids the dog and sometimes even a grandma. Living in the city we tend to road trip a bit

ZeroGravity · Oct 26, 2021

Roof boxes are very useful. Our family has had one on our SUVs for many years. The attachment / clamping systems have gotten so much better. The two photos below show an old 15+ year old Thule that was a giant PITA to take on and off. When we got the new Explorer ST to replace an ancient year 2000 4Runner we also upgraded to a new Yakima that has a slick tool-less clamp system (I'm sure the new Thules do too). We live in central PA about 30 minutes from a nice family ski area so the roof box for us is seasonal where it goes on for the winter months and skis are constantly kept up there. Makes it very convenient. Pro-tip, line the bottom of the box with a moving blanket or two to quiet down skis or other gear that jostles around. The box definitely creates wind drag noise - especially on an ST that can go a lot faster than our old 4Runner. But the utility of the extra storage is worth it if you have the need for that extra storage.

ZeroGravity · Oct 26, 2021

GearHead_1 said:

I leave thousands of dollars worth of skis and snowboards in my roof box all winter and I don't worry about it. Everyone else in ski country with a box does. The built in locks are really solid and you can't remove the rack without getting through the locks and opening the box. You can't break through the locks unless you could steal the entire vehicle and put it in a garage to get to work on breaking into the box or drilling out the locks. Highly unlikely anyone could get away with breaking into the box if the car is parked outside a home, or in public somewhere. In almost all cases those boxes can't and don't get broken into

ranjel · Jan 17, 2022

Hoezay97 said:

It looks great! I'm needing the same Cargo Box. Could you send me the link and reference of the box and cross bars?

Thanks!

Cmaximst · Jan 18, 2022

Now, if they come out with an Expedition ST……..

Big Turk · Jan 18, 2022

Hi,
I use a trailer hitch rack to carry things I do not want to put in the ST (or minivan). Usually gas and diesel Jerry cans. Works fine for me, but you definitely need to turn off the emergency reverse braking. The St jammed the brakes on the first time backing up. I just leave it off all the time now. Even with the gas cans on the rack, the tailgate still goes up unobstructed and the plate is visible.
Cheers,
Ron

KegsBdry · May 6, 2022

What aero-style cross bars did you buy? Link?

Greyghost · Feb 13, 2023

ZeroGravity said:

Roof boxes are very useful. Our family has had one on our SUVs for many years. The attachment / clamping systems have gotten so much better. The two photos below show an old 15+ year old Thule that was a giant PITA to take on and off. When we got the new Explorer ST to replace an ancient year 2000 4Runner we also upgraded to a new Yakima that has a slick tool-less clamp system (I'm sure the new Thules do too). We live in central PA about 30 minutes from a nice family ski area so the roof box for us is seasonal where it goes on for the winter months and skis are constantly kept up there. Makes it very convenient. Pro-tip, line the bottom of the box with a moving blanket or two to quiet down skis or other gear that jostles around. The box definitely creates wind drag noise - especially on an ST that can go a lot faster than our old 4Runner. But the utility of the extra storage is worth it if you have the need for that extra storage.

View attachment 8265
View attachment 8266

Looks slick, I know this is the Thule thread but I think the Yakima roof cargo bin is a much better design

Sperez · Oct 29, 2023

ZeroGravity said:

Roof boxes are very useful. Our family has had one on our SUVs for many years. The attachment / clamping systems have gotten so much better. The two photos below show an old 15+ year old Thule that was a giant PITA to take on and off. When we got the new Explorer ST to replace an ancient year 2000 4Runner we also upgraded to a new Yakima that has a slick tool-less clamp system (I'm sure the new Thules do too). We live in central PA about 30 minutes from a nice family ski area so the roof box for us is seasonal where it goes on for the winter months and skis are constantly kept up there. Makes it very convenient. Pro-tip, line the bottom of the box with a moving blanket or two to quiet down skis or other gear that jostles around. The box definitely creates wind drag noise - especially on an ST that can go a lot faster than our old 4Runner. But the utility of the extra storage is worth it if you have the need for that extra storage.

View attachment 8265
View attachment 8266

Did you get the 16 or 18 on the Yakima?

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