Hard shell vehicle rooftop luggage carrier recommendations

[Up1911Fan]

Looking for recommendations for a hard sided, lockable rooftop cargo carrier for my wife's crossover. We're planning a 2,000 mile round-trip vacation in September and her vehicles gas milage sounds a lot better than my trucks. We have two kids under 5 and will have our 50 pound Lab in the back, so need some rooftop storage. I've already added the rooftop crossbars for mounting.

[Paul D]

I have an older version of the Thule Pulse L for my Toyota Sienna. It is great for storage, rain proof, minimal wind noise and easy to mount. Warning: The only crappy thing is the keylock. It can be difficult to turn open/close if there box is full with upward pressure on the lid from the contents. I could see snapping off the key. The lock looks like you could put it on one of those Sentry lock boxes. I would shop for a more sturdy lock design. Otherwise, it is great.

[Up1911Fan]

I have an older version of the Thule Pulse L for my Toyota Sienna. It is great for storage, rain proof, minimal wind noise and easy to mount. Warning: The only crappy thing is the keylock. It can be difficult to turn open/close if there box is full with upward pressure on the lid from the contents. I could see snapping off the key. The lock looks like you could put it on one of those Sentry lock boxes. I would shop for a more sturdy lock design. Otherwise, it is great.

Thanks, I was considering the Thule Force XT or the SportTrack Vista XL at close to half the price. SportTrack worries me as it says water "resistant" , not proof. The Thule says the same about the locks as you.

[Paul D]

Thanks, I was considering the Thule Force XT or the SportTrack Vista XL at close to half the price. SportTrack worries me as it says water "resistant" , not proof. The Thule says the same about the locks as you.

I've driven it through the rain and the contents were dry. The top lid has an overhanging lip. There is no rubber seal to make it water-tight. For this container, I packed only duffle bag type luggage and would shove the bag in a garbage bag if I needed that extra peace of mind. All important things that could not get damaged stayed in the car.

[JHC]

We're very pleased with the Thule we recently bought to fit both our Outback and a new CrossTrek. It's the smaller of the two sizes the dealership offered and it shocked me how much stuff it could swallow up. It's the 13 cu foot model.

[Wake27]

I have two Thule Motion XTs. We’ve had one for probably about a year and used it a few times for trips up to the mountains. The second, we bought right before driving cross country to move from CO to NC. Tells you how much I like them.

My wife’s is actually still mounted even though we got here two weeks ago. Part of that is because we don’t have anywhere to store it yet, the other part is that it’s not at all noticeable when driving so it doesn’t bother either of us to leave it up.

I’ve had zero concerns with water proofing and appreciate more than I expected being able to open it from either side and the locking mechanism that tells me if it’s fully closed or not.

If you have specific questions, I’d be happy to answer.


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[okie john]

I had a Thule for a while. Good solution, especially for packing a rifle. Use silicone lubricant on the lock--they can freeze in the winter plus they fill up with road dirt and spray.

Be advised it will make your vehicle about a foot taller than you're used to, which can be a problem in low-overhead situations.


Okie John