Question about roof top cargo carriers

[sgtdisney]

We are planning on driving down to Orlando in our minivan. We may end up taking 4 adults and 3 kids, so the van will be pretty full leaving me with the logistics of travelling with 7 people and luggage in a regular wheelbase minivan.. Aside from buying an extended wheelbase minivan, which we may consider since there are some good deals lately, I am trying to figure out how to get everyone and EVERYTHING into the car. A couple people have suggested roof top cargo carriers, and we do have a factory roof rack. Has anyone had any experience with these? I see that there are hard and soft carriers. Which is better. Are they hard to attach to the van? I am afraid I will have a hard time getting everything up onto the roof, I guess you just open the side door and stand in the opening. Any and all opinions on these would be appreciated. I am beginning to think we will have to pack everything in plastic bags and stuff it under the seats, etc. LOL!

 

[Rhonda]

We used to have a hard-sided cartop carrier and we used it one time to drive to WDW. Never again! They cut way back on your gas mileage because of the wind resistance. Also, they make the front tires come up a little bit off the road and bounce, so the tires wear out! We had to stop by the time we reached Georgia and buy new tires!

I would recommend renting or buying a small enclosed trailer. If you don't already have a trailer hitch, you'd have to get one, but in the long run you'd be better off. Besides, a trailer would hold more.

 

[tinaluis]

The wind drag on the soft carriers isn't much better, but I thought the hard top carriers would be better -- I guess not. We had a soft carrier for a trip to the Grand Canyon and you could actually feel the drag. I'm not sure about renting a trailer, though, because what would you do with it, say, when you go to the parks? Or can you leave it at the hotel? and if you do, might someone steal it? Just something to think about.

 

[MMCD]

This is a soft carrier. We love it. It's been to WDW and ski mountains. Don't pull it too tight. Ours ripped. I also bought a rubber maid footlocker that fits inside the soft carrier. The soft carrier was waterproof but we've used it over 7 times and the coating has worn off due to over stretching. We then wrap everything else with garbage sacks.

As for the interior... Don't laugh. We find that the best fitting luggage is not luggage but rubbermaid storage bins. In my Honda Odyssey, 6 - 18 gallon bins fits great. 2 rows of 3 columns. One bin is our standard "condo" bin with electric skillet, rice cooker, paper plates, ziplocs, rain ponchos, spices, dish drainer (everything but the kitchen sink)... 9 of these tubs can fit!!!!

I do get embarrassed when somebody else has to carry our "bins" to our room. But Everything fits. Also it's easier to pack into the cars without being it a jigsaw puzzle.

MMCD

 

[albiats]

I had a full sized '83 Chevy Van with a Conversion package done. Sometimes we had to travel with all or most of the seats filled with people and I had to resort to an external luggage carrier on the roof. I had what I thought was a factory installed roof rack. What it actually turned out to be was a chromed railing that was set on the roof as a decorative enhancement. From what I learned later, a 'factory installed roof rack' is more like a set of rails that will suspend a cargo above the roof of the vehicle.

We had a soft sided luggage carrier and it didn't hold more than a couple suitcases, so of course we got a larger hard sided one from Sears. It would hold twice as much as the first one.

When we first started using the hard sided carrier on a a trip, we thought everyone was being very friendly because they would wave excitedly as they passed us. We soon found out that they were not really waving, they were trying to let us know that the luggae carrier on the roof was bouncing up and down in the wind and the front edge was lifting up. We got more bungee cords, it still lifted. I bought heavy nylon straps that had gripped the rain gutter and would ratchet down to a snug fit.

The end result of using the luggage carrier was that I put a dent in the roof fo the van with my knee as I was climbing up to load it during a blizzard in December. The heavy duty nylon straps ended up pulling on the screws that held the railing in place making two of them very loose with stripped threads. The Van also started making a noise in the back corner when the body would flex going down the road on a bumpy surface.

My advice - don't get a luggage carrier unless it is designed for use on your van with your roof equipment. They also make them more streamlined than they did almost 20 years ago.

You could also consider getting one of those external cargo extensions for the back of the van. They attach to a trailer hitch and extend a couple feet to the back. They don't cause a drag in the wind becuase they aren't even as tall as the back of the van. They don't effect the handling much because they don't have tires on the ground. They could effect the handling if the vehicle didn't have adequate rear springs because it could change the weight distribution, making the rear sag and the front lift up.

hope that helps

 

[SNOWBOARDER]

You will never get all the luggage in your van for 7-people, not even an extended caravan. I have a similar set-up, ('98 Dodge Caravan) and have never had a problem with the X-Cargo from Sears. Just buy the correct mounting h/w, which is essentially u-bolts that fit over the rails. Drag wasn't noticeable. A snowboard buddy of mine has one made by Thule. It's very low-profile, and long. It looks like you can fit quite a bit of luggage in it. (It fit 4 pairs of skis and 5 snowboards!) You shouldn't have any problems. Remember the golden rule of packing light. Pack everything you think you'll need, then take out 1/2 of it!!! Hope this helps!

 

[sgtdisney]

Thanks for the helpful tips. For those of you that do have the hard sided carriers, how hard are they to get up onto the van? Do you leave them on when you are on vacation or take them off? I think my biggest concern is getting that thing up on the roof and loading and unloading it. At 5'9" tall, I am not a giant by any stretch and on more than one occassion I have pulled out a ladder to wash and wax the roof of the van, in order to reach it. I don't want to have to travel with a ladder to Orlando

I did just found out today that Sister in law and her son would only be riding down with us and flying home as she doesn't have as much time off. I am trying to hint that she just fly both ways and we will pick her up at the airport. I know, I am terrible

MMCD, I really liked your suggestion on the 18 gallon storage tubs. I had never thought of that before! What a good idea! We usually fly to Florida, (we have a 6 month old and my wife won't fly this year) and so we usually rent a van. It is true, trying to squeeze the big bulky suitcases into even a Grand Caravan is like putting a puzzle together. Stackable tubs may work, at least for what we are able to squeeze into the car.

 

[albiats]

I read about this on another board -

Here's a link to a cool site that has rooftop carriers and the Stowaway Cargo carrier that goes on the back of your mini van or suv. They also have DVD players and video screens for rent:

http://www.survivethedrive.com/

 

[StilesMom]

MMCD - We bought the Axius from Target but we haven't used it yet (we leave in two weeks). Thanks for posting your advice! We were wondering just how waterproof it was (the box says water resistant - not water proof). I'm going to pack some plastic garbage bags just in case.... and now we know not to pull on it too tightly.

Again - thanks for posting!!

 

[Jacksmom99]

I travel to Maine quite often in our Windstar and find that the rectangular soft sided duffle bags work quite well. They stack nicely on top of each other in the cargo area, and I can pack DH and myself into one bag- sometimes DS if it's summer clothing. We are driving to WDW in August with 3 adults, DS 3 1/2, and TBA baby 2 1/2 months. We made MIL go and buy a duffle bag and told her whatever didn't fit wasn't coming with us. Last summer she packed the largest size suitcase for just HERSELF for one week in the summer and we had a washer and dryer!!!!! My advice, give each guest a size limit whether you are using the totes or not, especially adults who tend to stay cleaner than children and not need as many changes. I like the idea of the totes for all the baby stuff I will need this year...I may try it.

 

[MdmMim]

May I make a little suggestion? I have traveled I-95 several times from NY to FL. I've seen many rooftop carriers that have opened up (unknown to the driver) with all types of clothing, etc. left in/by the road. I can't imagine how the owner of these items felt when they arrived at their destination! Please secure the carrier before starting out on your trip to avoid losing your possessions or possibly causing an accident.

 

[MMCD]

I do lock the zippers with a luggage lock so the zippers don't glide/slide open. I do recommend this!! Or use a twist tie. I prefer a lock just because we may stop at a restaurant and the van is unattended.

More helpful hints:

When you have excess strap after you've tightened it down, weave it back into the tie down straps. When you go 70 mph, you may hear it slapping the car. How very irratating (SP)!!

Practice on the floor how you plan to load everything. Make sure you can totally zip the carrier closed. It gets tiring holding your arms up and guess where things should go.

I used the thick lawn and leaf (construction) garbage bags for the big items like for the portable crib and duffle suit cases. Sometimes the kitchen trash bags get snagged by sharp edges and produces a hole.

When wrapping in plastic, pack the folded end up like an upside down letter "e".

I hope this helps!! We've travelled in rain, ice storm, snow, tornado, and excellent dry conditions.

Our last trip consisted of 4 adults. 2 kids, and a 3 mo old. That means 2 car seats!! Our other vehicle is a suburban that seats 9. We would have more elbow room in that car but we chose to have the pull down DVD system when travelling 24 hours from Dallas to Salt Lake City. I let my 2 older boys to choose: room or video. Video won!!

MMCD

 

[LucyStorm]

I am 5'2" and never had any trouble getting my Sears XCargo on the top of my minivan. I also never had any trouble with it lifting or doing damage to my roof rack. I usually did put all the lightweight stuff in it, and leave the heavier stuff in the van, mostly because I didn't want to try to pick up the heavy stuff off the top of the van. I still have the carrier, it outlasted my van.

 

[Pammy jo]

We just bought a roof top carrier to put on top of our Odyssey. It was easy to install and worked great for our trip from D.C. to Hilton Head. No complaints here. DRiving was easy too. Good luck!

 

[MMCD]

How fortunate. It's either $26 or $29 this week. I don't quite remember.

MMCD

 

[sgtdisney]

The idea of the soft sided, square duffle bags is a great idea too. See, I have the oposite problem of Jacksmom. My MIL will be traveling with us, but she always travels light. It is my wife who tends to pack about 2 times more clothes than we need. My MIL has already volunteered to pack our suitcases, duffle bags or storage bins for us. My wife also told me that my SIL doesn't want to travel in the car with her son who will be 16 months at the time, bless her heart. She told my MIL and wife that she will fly and meet us there. I really don't blame her as my nephew really doesn't like to be in his carseat. I have a 5 year who is a little easier to entertain wit Gameboy and a 6 month old who I expect to sleep alot. Anyway, now we will have a little more room to play with. I like the advice about laying everything out in advance, I will have to do a dry run before we go this summer see if I still need one of those AXXIS bags from target for strollers etc, or a cargo carrier. I hope to get everyone in the 'pack light' mode and fit as much in the van as we can. Thanks again for all the tips.

 

[Cosmic_Charlie]

Sgt, Dont forget to leave room for a cooler so you can take home all the goodies the park has to offer like Mickey Bars, Cakes, Pies and Cookies!!!!

 

[sgtdisney]

Originally posted by Cosmic_Charlie
Sgt, Dont forget to leave room for a cooler so you can take home all the goodies the park has to offer like Mickey Bars, Cakes, Pies and Cookies!!!!

That is a great idea. I noticed yesterday at Target that they carry those portable cooler/warmer things that you can plug into the car lighter socket, or into an electrical outlet. I think I will pick one of those up too!

 

[Cosmic_Charlie]

BTW Sgt, you had asked me earlier about the Mcdonalds, well, at Epcot they now sell Mcdonalds in World showcase so you can address your big Mac crazes there.

 

[albiats]

Cosmic_Charlie -

I was at Epcot on Sunday 4/21 and I couldn't find the McDonalds place, but didn't really give it a good try.

The Epcot guide map thing said you could get drinks, fries, and Chicken McNuggets. I was assuming it was like the large cart they had at the Magic Kingdom and that it had a very limited menu.

Do you know if it has Big Macs or not?