Luggage rack for top of car??

[gardendame]

Our family of 5 will be driving down in October - a 12 hour drive. We have an SUV, so lots of leg room but no place to comfortably put luggage. I thought we would be better off storing our bags on top, then leaving room inside for a cooler for snacks, activity bags (times three - one for each kid), pillows, etc.
I have not purchased the thing (name?) that goes on top of the car. I see that they come in soft sided now instead of hard shell. How durable is the soft sided type? Is it rain/water-proof? How much luggage will it hold?
Sorry for all of the questions! I could stuff duffle bags behind the third seat and on the floor at the kid's feet, but I know that the more comfortable their ride is, the happier we will all be

Oh, and I would like to purchase one of these at a bargain-price. Any ideas??

 

[tiggger1]

I also wanted to get one of those but hubby refuses to. He says to raises your gas intake making you spend almost twice as much on gas....so we arent getting one.....

 

[Jacksmom99]

We haven't used the soft sided one. I have seen them advertised at target, I think around $50.00?? They claim to be water proof, and people on this board (and the transportation board) have talked about using them and that they are waterproof. We borrow my dad's hard sided one from Sears. It's areodynamically shaped and we were able to put a lot in it. I think they are about $129.99 on sale. We have a minivan and I did not notice any drag from the wind, and I drove around with it on for over 2 weeks before and after the trip, until I could return it to my dad. I also did not notice any difference in gas. Could it really make that much of a difference? It's not like your pulling a trailer or anything.

We also use duffle bags for luggage. They fit perfectly in the cargo area of the van. In fact, we made my MIL buy one when she drove with us 2 years ago. Also, what about using space saver bags in the luggage? You may be able to cut down on the number of bags.

As for finding a carrier at a bargain price, my dad found his at Goodwill. Maybe check yardsales or your local paper?

 

[phorsenuf]

Is there a way to secure these to the roof (the soft sided ones) if you don't have a luggage rack? We usually just stuff the car full but are considering getting one of these. Unfortunatly we don't have a roof rack. Does anyone know?
Thanks!

 

[DianaPrincessofWales]

We bought the hard sided luggage rack at Walmart about 4-5 yrs ago, for about 100$. I love it! And we've for sure got our money's worth out of it already, using it at least twice a year. We drive a mini van and our family of five appreciates the comfort of having that extra room. My husband doesn't like it as much because of the extra work for him. He has to get the luggage up and down, etc. We drive north west to Canada every year and yes it most deffinetly(sp?) does "pull" with driving against that wind. But not that much that I couldn't afford a little extra gas! I can't believe someone's cheaper than me!! Right after I bought ours I saw Target came out with the soft sided wheather "resistant" (not wheather or rain "proof") ones for half the price. I think I would have purchased that instead, but too late now. Now I occasionally see it for sale around 25$! We have a luggage rack where we strap or bolt ours down but I know I have seen vehicles with the straps running through their doors to keep them secure. Two thumbs way up for my luggage rack!

 

[Tigger&Belle]

We have a Sears hardside carrier that we bought years ago that we use when we have to. Last April we went to Orlando and didn't use it, but we packed every nook and cranny of our van (there are 6 of us so lots of people and lots of stuff). We took out one of the seats to put the plug-in cooler and still everything was very tight. This April we will use the carrier--so much easier than stuffing everything in the van. We'll still have the plug-in cooler and all the stuff that the kids need, but can have our luggage out of the way. I'm sure the gas mileage isn't quite as good, but I don't think it's too bad.

T&B

 

[pcottrell]

We also have a hardsided one that we purchased form sears. We do not notice a drag when we use it---seems pretty aerodynamic to me. I have not noiticed a big jump in gas usage either. We had one of the soft ones that we bought from target and used it one year to pack our camping gear in and it rained while en route to our destination and when we got there our stuff was wet. This is why we decided to buy the hard shell carrier!! The soft carrier has straps that you use to hold it down to the luggage rack and the hard shell attaches to the rack with screws and bolts. I would spend the extra cash to get the hard shell, given my experience with both.

HTH,
Paige