roof racks

[never2L8]

Hi all-We are traveling down from Long Island in a few weeks and we will have an extra passenger with us. Although we have an Expedition that has the 3rd row, we may not have enough room for all the luggage and stuff. We are scaling down what we bring and we will be able to do laundry but are considering a soft roof rack. Has anyone used these? What do you do when you stop overnight to sleep? Do you leave everything in there or do you empty? My husband thinks I'm nuts to worry about it but I don't feel comfortable leaving my stuff out like that and he won't empty it until we get to our destination. Any advice?
Thanks
Laurie

 

[kweaver]

We've used a hard rack (borrowed from a neighbor). I haven't researched them too much...but it seems like there would be a way to lock it to the vehicle and lock the rack itself. Maybe this makes more sense on a hard rack?

We'll need one someday soon, I think. Even with the minivan. It's not too bad if we're going to WDW...but going to the beach is a different story. Add friends and we're definitely out of room!

 

[Doctor P]

Great questions. I will be interested in seeing the responses you get. You might also try posting on the Community and/or Transportation board to get a larger number of opinions.

 

[Poohs Pal]

I can't help with the roof rack, but i am buying a product called stowaway 2. It hooks up to the back of your suv or van via a trailer hitch. You can purchase wheels and detach the stowaway and take it into your room at night while on the road. Check out stowaway2.com Susan

 

[DrBond007]

We went with the:
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?BV_UseBVCookie=Yes&vertical=AUTO&pid=02872000000

Reasonable price, and storage has a lock on it. It's not a strong lock, I actualy wrap a bycicle cable lock around it for a little extra security. But we leave stuff in it overnight. It cannot be unscrewed from your expedition car rack. We put it on top of out town and Country minivan, and it works great. However, at DVC Vero Beach it will not fitin the parking garage, we have to leave our van outside. The soft side seemed much to easy to just cut a strap or cut a bag and take things. The hard storage is more secure, not secure, someone could certainly get in it with a strong enough desire, but I guess they could also break in your car window. I'd like to get a DVC decal for it.

For storage, I have a few pullies and ropes mounted to the ceiling of my garage, and store it there, up out of the way.

Good luck.

 

[never2L8]

We did look into that a few years ago for our old expedition as the 3rd row did not fold flat but then we did not need it after all as everyone took separate cars. Now we have 2 teens, grandma and DH and me. Hubby wants soft as it is easier to store when not in use. Only have a 1 car garage, that houses the restored VW, and space is limited. I don't think we'll need it for too much as 3rd row is 60/40 split. So one kid goes in the middle and one in the back. Both can see the DVD from either space. May just have to put empty cases in the car to make sure beforehand.

Thanks anyway for the input.

 

[DrBond007]

We did look into that a few years ago for our old expedition as the 3rd row did not fold flat but then we did not need it after all as everyone took separate cars. Now we have 2 teens, grandma and DH and me. Hubby wants soft as it is easier to store when not in use. Only have a 1 car garage, that houses the restored VW, and space is limited. I don't think we'll need it for too much as 3rd row is 60/40 split. So one kid goes in the middle and one in the back. Both can see the DVD from either space. May just have to put empty cases in the car to make sure beforehand.

Thanks anyway for the input.

OK:
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/prod...Car+Top+Carriers,+Hitch+Carriers+&+Bike+Racks
Might be worth the extra space during the day for travel. Take it off and put it inside the expedition at night.

 

[AFMom]

We've used an open safari raack with our luggage etc just strapped down. We've stayed overnight all over the US on raod trips and have always left our things on the roof overnight. We do tend to park right next to our room if we can, but we've never had a problem. I understand your concerns, but we just make sure that the camera's, jewelry, etc aren't in the bags on the roof!

 

[Pluto4Pres]

We have used the soft cartop carrier on several trips. I always unload it for overnight stops. I prefer the soft version because you can take it off, roll it up and put it in the closet when you get to your destination. One trick I have found is to use a couple of plastic storage bins that are approx the width of the carrier in the front and back, then place the suitcases in the middle. This makes for a less messy look and the bins are great for the non-perishable items on your grocery list. Good luck!

 

[kingj]

We have also used the hard "bubble" from Sears. It has a lock and I have never had a problem with it. I actually use a couple of orange bungee cords to help hold it own (not they really needed). Incidentally, it is really easy to spot your car in a large parking lot when you use the orange bungee cords.

Good Luck.

 

[disney junky]

We've used a hard bubble top for years. I say hard, but if someone wanted to break into it, they certainly could. We never take it off over night if we are on the way somewhere. And we never empty it until we reach our destination. It has two extremely small locks, but hardly enough to deter someone wanting to break in. As an earlier poster stated, we always park right outside the hotel room. Usually the only things in it are clothes, which could be replaced (check your auto insurance policy). I wouldn't say it could never happen, but I don't recall ever hearing of anyone having things stolen from their roof rack. Maybe someone will post here that it has happened....

 

[TCPluto]

We did just this for our past two trips. I bought Yakima roof racks for our car for our summer trip, and used a soft pack. While it worked well enough, two notes.

We went thorugh a hard rain storm in north FLorida, everything got soaked in side. I mean color running soaked (very heavy downpour).

Taking it on and off was very difficult, particularly at night when stopping a midpoint, before arriving at WDW. I would not recommend leaving a soft pack/bag on your car in a hotel parking lot overnight. That's just inviting a theft of all your underwear.

For our December trip, I bought a Yakima hard top carrier. It easily locks onto the roof rack bars (which also lock onto the car) with quick connect mechanism. It opens from either side, and both latches do lock. As stated before, if someone wanted to break into it, they could. But they would cause quite a ruckus doing so. With a soft bag, just cutting it open or cutting the straps off would be accomplished simply and quielty. And there goes your panties.

We did leave the hardcase carrier loaded on the car for our hotel stay on the trip down. Again just clothes and such.

I would definately recommend a hard case.

 

[Daname]

Hi,
We have a soft roof rack, used to go camping, skiing and whatever. We have a Yukon XL, would think we have enough room, not. We usually take down and bring into hotel room, has handles on the sides, so husband and son take down from top and carry in. They actually have alot of room in them and they are WATER PROOF. As previously stated, I put the bulky items on the outside and soft items in the middle. Can roll up and put under bed.

Have a safe trip.
Tell Mickey I said hi and hope to see him at Christmas
dd

 

[SaratogaShan]

We used the 20 cubic foot hard top model from sears on our Christmas Saratoga springs trip. Roomy enough for luggage for 4 adults and a child! We left ours mounted the whole trip. We did go offsite to Universal Studios 1 day and we had plenty of clearance in the parking garage. One thing to keep in mind....the instructions warn you not to travel faster than 50 mph when the case is empty (might fly off??) We put our car jack in the empty case when we took our luggage out. It doesn't weigh 50 lbs but it must have been heavy enough as we never had problems.

Shan