Looking for quality cargo box or bag ideas

[Mahukaawe]

Has anyone put a Thule or Yakima cargo box on top of their van with a aluminess cargo basket?
We have a cargo basket with a solid deck much like the one Kcrain has.
We were thinking we could remove the clamps that normally hold it to a regular rack and bolt it to the deck of the basket but are wondering if there is another type out there that might work better. We could always go with a cargo bag but the boxes seem more secure and aerodynamic.
Just wondering if anyone has done something different or has better idea.
The one thing we have found with our smb is the lack of storage when travelling with 2 adults and 2 kids and. The basket is great with lots of room for bags & such as long as you aren't driving through Sacramento on I5 last week in a downpour.

[Greg In Austin]

We have used a cargo box and a cargo bag but with a yakima bar system. Both worked well and were waterproof. I would not want to permanently (or semi perm) mount a cargo box. Could you find a way to temporarily mount a cargo bag?

,,,,but in the past I had a cargo tray on another vehicle. When weather was going to be bad we would break out the dry bags. We have a variety of sizes of dry bags, small to reallty large.

Would that work?

[daveb]

Yes I have a cadet pod (rocket box) on top of mine but had the rack built to my specs so the slats allowed it to fit. While discussing this with Dave at Aluminess I mentioned "what if my pod breaks and they make it with different dimentions". He said he could make up a bar that will bolt up to my rack. It would have to sit a few inches higher. You might give him a call.

[Aldercrest]

I've had good luck over the years with my Thule box on Yakima cross-bars. Before buying the van, I bought a Yakima Sky Box for the car. Hated it. Heading down I-84 east of Boise at 75mph, the POS opened up. Fortunately the top didn't come completely off, and because I have this thing about putting everything in a bag, we didn't lose anything. It made the rest of the trip with extra straps to hold it shut, and I eventually returned it to REI (100% satisfaction guaranteed). Unless you want to strap it down every trip, I'd avoid the Yakima Sky Box. I've seen many other cars on the road with straps over their Sky Boxes, too. I've never seen it on a Thule. Never had any water intrusion issues on my Thule either, and we get 80" of rain a year here.

[surfgeek33]

We had an Aluminess rack with a Thule Cascade 1100 Box. I was very satisfied with our Thule Box. We totally appreciated the box when it kept our stuff dry when it rained on the road or while at camp.

Ray

[Mahukaawe]

Ray,
That is exactly what we want. I hadnt thought about the cross bars though. What kind are they and do they fit the side rails of the rack without modifying them?
We have the same rack it looks like but with the solid deck. Even have solar panel mounted in the same way.
Is the thule 1100 one of the larger boxes?

[surfgeek33]

Regarding the rack:

There are a few ways you can mount cross bars. I had Aluminess weld 2 permanent crossbars because I anticipated putting a surf rack and our Thule Box. You can either have Aluminess fabricate removable cross-bars or purchase something like this from Thule. It is called "Crossraods" rack sytem. You can purchase this through REI.


Regarding the Thule Storage Box:

We opted for Thule Cascade 1100. This particular box was narrow enough that we can still strap our surfboards beside it. Don't let its size fool you. This box actually holds lots of stuff and equipment.


More pics:



Ray

[Aldercrest]

That's the same Thule box we have. Same positives as Ray. No complaints.

[webbmac]

We have both the Thule Cascade 1700XT and the Thule Atlantis 1800. Both are excellent. We use one on our 'yak trailer and one on our rooftop mounted on Thule bars with tracks. I agree with Ray that the Cascade is narrower and the mounts seem to be a bit sturdier than the Atlantis', but the Atlantis' shell is significantly sturdier. That is especially important when you're opening it on the roof as I've had to wrestle the Cascade to get it open as it is flimsy and the edges catch, so you have to jimmy it a bit. That's not fun, especially when there is a bit of snow or ice on the roof.

I would also agree with the sentiment that the Thule's stay shut better, as there is a mechanism in the lock that retains the key until the box is properly latched.

Hope that helps.

[Mahukaawe]

Will the Thule bars attach to the side bars of the Alumminis rack?
Our rack does not have cross bars just the side rails. Can the Thule bars mount to them going left to right then attach the box to them or does the b ox need to mount to bars going lengthwise?
I've never used one of the boxes guess I gotta check out their mounting sys...