Which roof box with 20% off REI Rebate

[mhoy]

Well it's finally time for the 20% off sale online at REI. (Use coupon code DVD25 til April 3).
The big question is which box is the best one to get?? Suggestions are welcome!

Currently need to fit 3 skis and 1 snow board, but with two kids growing up fast I figure I'll need another pair of skis/snowboards.

These things look pretty darn big on paper. I wonder if any of these things are large enough for two mountain bikes (sans front wheel and seats) and put it in there too?

http://www.rei.com/category/10445860.htm?

[Art]

The best cargo box will be the one that fits your optimal needs. The Cascade 1100 is only 21" wide and will accommodate up 5-6 pairs of skis. It is likely the box that will take up the least amount of space on your load bars allowing room for other rack accessories. The Evo 1200 is a bit bigger and only 2" wider than the Cascade. Wing profile load bars will undoubtedly limit the amount of available bar space.

Here are pics of the 1200 on forum member Yohuff’s XC.

For sheer cargo hauling capacity, hard to beat the Evo 1800/2100.

[mhoy]

I wish I knew what my optimal needs. I'm thinking 4-5 pair of skis isn't quite enough space for snowboards. Thanks for the link to the pictures, it really help in figuring what how big these things are and what room (if any) is left.

Anyone with a Evo 1200 and snowboards? The Evo 1200 is about the only one that leaves any space for a bike carrier up there. While the Evo 2100 will take all the space but might have room inside for a bike.

[Turchman]

I went with the Yakima Platinum Pro 16s , the weight was almost identical but the rapidfire clamping system is much more user friendly. No U bolts to feed through from the bottom and the clamps fit perfectly on the Volvo oval cross bars.

[lintbrush]

I have the Blacktop Pro 16s, but with 48" crossbars. This essentially means I cannot carry anything other than the box. I'm thinking of swapping in the recommended 58" bars so I can put my Boa bike attachments on outside edges of the bar. This may be ugly, but not sure what else to do. If I had to do it all over again I'd get a longer, skinnier box.

[mhoy]

Thanks Turchman I was looking at the Yakima clamps and thought they might just work prefectly with the wing xbars. Glad someone can confirm.

[Turchman]

No problem, enjoy!

[mhoy]

With the Wing style mounts there isn't a lot of room left even with a smaller box. So instead I got one large enough for the mountain bike, a Yakima Blacktop Pro 21. To fit my mountain bike I removed a wheel and the seat. I think if I had to, I could also get my wife's bike in there but I'd probably be rubbing some of the bike parts together a bit more than I'd want to. At 80 mph, there is more wind noise, but it's not objectionable. Should be really easy for car camping now since there is a ton of space up there.

Installation was as simple as Turchman said. The REI dudes put the thing up on the roof. I adjusted the clamps so that I can open the back hatch without hitting the box. I moved the load bars around a bit, moved the internal clamps to fit and 15 minutes later I was finished. Unless I have some reason to move the load bars, future de/installs should only take a couple of minutes and there is nothing to loose in the mud/snow since the Yakima clamps are so simple to undo.

BTW: If you go with a Thule rack, their quick clamp system will not fit the width of the Volvo wing style bar. There is a T-track adapter that you can get for the Thule. The Yakima system fits beautifully.

[gary]

BTW: If you go with a Thule rack, their quick clamp system will not fit the width of the Volvo wing style bar. There is a T-track adapter that you can get for the Thule. The Yakima system fits beautifully.

Not [entirely] true - I have the Volvo roofbox "Experience" (aka Thule X1) and it has quick clamp system that works just fine with my wing profile bars; no need to remove the rubber strip to expose the T-rack groove. The brackets are wide enough for the wing profile bars. It's possible that other Thule boxes won't work, but X1 should work just fine; it does for me.

[Art]

Just to add to Gary’s comments, Thule’s latest cargo box, the Spirit, incorporates a new mounting system called ‘Power Grip’ hardware. It utilizes claws that attach themselves to the load bars and are tightened by hand via torque knobs located inside the box. It sounds like it would also accommodate the wing profile bars.