Ody cargo box...suggestions?

Eaglemtn,
Yes, I mounted directly to the factory crossbars. It is a close fit all the way around, (sides, front & rear rails, and opened tailgate) but it attaches and looks really good for a roof top carrier. I notice that Packasport has either merged with or been taken over by Yakima since I purchased mine, so maybe they are pushing the Yakima crossbars. I talked to Packasport at the time of my purchase due to the questions concerning the Honda crossbars. I was told the System 90 Packasport was totally compatible with them. They assured me that the unit was aerodynamically neutral and did not lift and had very low drag. I don't know if anything has changed on the carrier since I purchased, but it sure doesn't look like it. (other than the Yakima name) I may give them a call to see why their stance has changed. I have been pleased with the product, but dislike the different information being given. Also, when installing the Honda crossbars, I used Loctite on all the bolts after spacing and aligning them. My future plans are to manufacture a bracket to clamp over the crossbar and secure it to the rails as a redundant system.

Mike

I was also trying to decide what cargo box with the Odyssey. Starting with an LX, I had to decide whether to purchase the Honda rack and then attachments or a complete non-Honda rack system. I wanted a rack system to carry a long cargo box and possibly also canoes and bikes.

I decided on a Yakima rack system for two reasons

1. The stand-alone Yakima rack systems supported 165 lbs, but a Yakima system on the Honda roof rack would only support 100 lbs (Yakima's stated weight limit). I think this restriction comes from Honda since the manual states that only about 100 (110?) pounds should be placed on the roof rack. Yakima must have determined that their Q tower system which rests between the roof edge and where the Honda roof rack would be attached can support a greater load.

2. Purchasing a Honda roof rack and the appropriate attachments would be more expensive than just buying the complete Yakima rack system.

I purchased the Q towers along with the stretch kit. The stretch kit was required when using the long cargo boxes. The stretch kit increases the crossbar spread from about 24" to 36".

I bought the Spacecase 20 which is 92" long (20 cu ft). The Spacecase fits well on the Odyssey. The hatch can lift up completely without hitting the long cargo box. I haven't tried it yet on a road trip, but I'm sure if I encounter any problems, I'll post them to the forum.

fcatwo,

The Q towers attach to the roof edge above the sliding doors. The roof/door edge is about 1" lower at the front doors, so the Q clips (which attach the Q towers to the door/roof edge) wouldn't work on the front doors.

This limits the crossbar spread to about 24". That's why I had to purchase a Q stretch kit which allows the towers to be about 36" apart but the clips which attach the rack to the van fit within the sliding door opening. I needed a longer crossbar spread to use the long Yakima cargo boxes and to carry long canoes. I think the Thule boxes might not need as long of a crossbar spread (different design?), so you might not need the Q stretch kit.

I'm not sure if Yakima could have designed a different clip so that the front crossbar could attach by the front door opening. Maybe the attachment wouldn't be as solid.

I purchased a Yakima SpaceCase which is designed to attach to the crossbars in the middle of the box. You could probably vary where the box is attached to the crossbars by drilling new holes.

The front crossbar is positioned just a couple of inches behind the front edge of the sliding door. This allows the box to be mounted so that the rear hatch does not hit the box when opened. I think if the Honda rack was used, the box would have to be placed farther back and the hatchback would hit the rear of the box when opened. The Yakima spacecase is 92" long. The shorter boxes wouldn't have this problem - (If you consider the hatchback hitting the cargo box a problem).

Note that the Q tower system does not use the track on the LX that is designed for the Honda rock. The Q towers rest on the roof between the track and the outside edge of the roof. No drilling is required. For the Yakima system, if you install a track on the roof, you don't use the Q towers.

We recently used the rack/cargo box on a long trip and everything worked fine. No noticeable wind noise from the box and the box/rack were solidly attached.

Taking Care of your Box!

I've had a Thule Weekender black box mounted on Yakima rails and towers on my 95Accord that I've used on occasional trips for many years. Here are some notes:
1) Although the Thule box is very nice, I've had some of the rivets to the hinges fail. Never load things too high and then use the box to squeeze them down! I fixed mine with small screws and bolts but it was a pain and delayed a trip departure.
2) My particular Thule box, in my judgement, is very quiet and nice (as boxes go) on the road.
3) If I take the box off but leave crossbars on the car, the crossbars hum very loudly. Crossbars of any sort can definately make a lot of noise.
4) Keylocks on the towers (if you use them) and the box give me a more relaxed feeling when I have to leave the vehicle with things in the box - and those occasions do come up when your traveling.

That's all I can think of! Question: Do any of you guys think the built-in rails (without crossbars) on the recent Odysseys add very much wind noise?

TarHeelGG

..on the general topic of noisy crossbars

The Thule crossbars I mention above (on my Accord) are round. I don't think crossbar shape matters much (although it could be that oval is in fact quieter than square, a little..) I think crossbars (*without* the box, because the box changes the resonance pattern and can tame the hum) are just very prone to hum, witness the popularity of those wind deflectors (usually with a great big Yakima or Thule printed on them) that you see everywhere.

For me, the practical effect of the hum is that it makes me get busy and remove my rack right after a trip. I assume I'll remove the Odyssey's crossbars (If they ever build my Ody!) to reduce hum but first I'll listen, because with all the noise that a big van box moving down the highway will make, I might not notice it!

Hey, do you *get* crossbars on the EX???
-TarHeelGG