[warrenh]

Has any used a roof top cargo box on an Odyssey or any other vehicle?

I would appreciate any comments, especially regarding the usefulness and impacts on gas mileage.

Any recommendations would also be helpful.



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Warren - '01 GG EX

 

[VTMom]

We used a Thule Weekender cargo top carrier on our Grand Cherokee for years. With the space in the Ody, I don't know as we'll need it anymore! It performed well in snow, rain, never leaked and I never noticed any significant extra noise. The hard part was loading the darn thing. My brother-in-law has a Pack-a-Sport fiberglass(I think) carrier on his Yukon that is fantastic, but it was almost $900!

------------------
Susan
'01 SS EX, cargo tray
'96 Grand Cherokee
'89 Accord LXi
'89 Kawasaki ZX600R

 

[LAS]

We just finished a 1800 mile road trip with our 2000 EX Ody. We had a Yakima Rocket box on the top that we loaded with bulky gear, such as tent, sleeping bags, hiking boots, xtra dog food, camp stove, heavy coats and archery equipment. Even though the Ody has lots of room having the bulky stuff gone was wonderful. As far as mileage goes we figured out that our average was about 22MPG. That was on good highway, gravel patched roads, over a few mountain passes and what I call the heave ho highway (full of frost heaves, just hang on and go for the ride) We also found that we got better mileage using a higher octane fuel. This is the first time that we used the Yakima, it will not be the last. I liked having the open space that it allowed us to have inside.
LAS

 

[jvennitti]

I have used a Yakima Space Cadet (I think is the model) on our Isuzu Trooper for several years. We have like it a lot. As others have said, we have had no leaks, even in rain and snow. The hinges hold the top up securely and the whole unit is pretty solid. As others have said, loading it when it is on top of the vehicle is the biggest issue. We are planning to use it on the Odyssey in the future, but are trying to decide on getting the Honda cross-bars or going with the Yakima bases and cross-bars.

BTW--It is amazing how much those cargo carriers hold even though they are not very tall!

Please post which way you go to let us know.

------------------
Jeff

'01 SS EX
Cassette, Video System, Fog Lights, Splash Guards

See photos at:
http://www.fototime.com/inv/B5EC5C7BC6CFA07

 

[warrenh]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by jvennitti:
We are planning to use it on the Odyssey in the future, but are trying to decide on getting the Honda cross-bars or going with the Yakima bases and cross-bars.
.....
Please post which way you go to let us know.
</font>

Actually, I decided on just renting one. We don't take too many road trips. Also, I don't have much room to actually store it when we're not using it; it's kinda big and bulky. Anyway, I found a local place that rents is for $12 a day. Not too bad for a week long trip.

As for using on the Odyssey, both Yakima and Thule say that the factory bars can't support the cargo boxes. Factory bars are fine for almost everything else it seem, except for the cargo box.

I'll let everyone know how it works out after the trip.



------------------
Warren - '01 GG EX

 

[LAS]

We bought ours used, the guy had used it one summer and stored it in his back yard. Every so often I would type in Yakima or Thule into our daily paper's web site, never expecting to find anything, but one day it was there in the freebie ads.

 

[cmt4]

Originally posted by warrenh:

As for using on the Odyssey, both Yakima and Thule say that the factory bars can't support the cargo boxes. Factory bars are fine for almost everything else it seem, except for the cargo box.

I have a Yakima Space Cadet with factory cross-bars. Yakima told me the same thing: the Honda bars are not strong enough. I called the dealer and they looked it up. Honda cross-bars are rated for 110 lbs. The Yakima bars are rated for 105 or 110, I can't remember exactly. So, Yakima and Thule are trying to get you to spend more money (imagine that): the Honda bars are fine and hold just as much, if not more, than the aftermarket models.