We just took the family wagon ('08 Highlander) for a week long beach vacation. It was great - but we realized how woefully small our Highlander is for a family of 4 (even with two little ones).

So we're considering our options to expand our cargo carrying capacity without having to trade in to a bigger vehicle. Does anyone have any opinions on the roof mounted cargo carriers (like a Thule) vs the hitch mounted cargo "tray"? Important to note - we have neither a hitch, nor the cross bars for our roof rack - so we'd have to get those as well.

Thanks in advance!

The crossbars will be cheaper, probably ~$200, unless you go with a cheap uhaul hitch or something like that, which I wouldn't recommend.

We don't have a hardtop carrier, but a soft carrier. It's a rubbermaid brand and pretty cheap. Got it at target for ~$30 I think. Not as neat looking or anything as the ones made specifically for your car, but it holds a lot of crap. We fit suitcases for 6 people including two little kids for a weekend trip in ours and threw it on top of a tahoe. I don't trust the straps and clips that were sewn into it so I use ratchets straps, but it's very handy. Only drawback is it's not waterproof so if there's a possibility of rain i put each bag in a garbage sack to protect it. I've made about 20 trips in it with probably 80-100 hours with it and it has held up great.

I've had both and to add to what was stated above, with the trailer rack your stuff is susceptible to road grime being kicked up by the vehicle on dirt roads or rainy streets. Plus if you really load it up it puts a lot of weight well past the rear axle causing some squat and slightly unloading the front end and the loaded rack blocks access to the rear hatch.

I have limited storage in the garage so I went with a permanent roof rack on my stock bars. $150 on sale at the time. You can get a water-resistant or a water-proof bag if you know it's going to be raining. Me, I generally keep the stuff on the roof that can get wet if I can.

There are some draw back to carrying on the roof. Loading is harder, I use the rear tire as a step so it's not a problem for me. You lose mpgs on the trip, there's wind noise if you have a sunroof and like to keep it open.
But it sure does free up a lot of space in the vehicle.







[This message has been edited by p_bubel (edited 7/18/2011 10:02a).]

I was worried about MPG. I keep a close watch on it and only 1 trip did I notice a difference. That trip was during a front blowing through which pushed me all over the road. Other trips I've seen no difference. There is a little more wind noise though, but not so much that it really bothered me. Anyway, I just showed mine as a very cheap option. There are probably bags made specially for that car, and waterproof and all that so shop around.

No worries. Just adding some other thoughts.
I would have gone with a simple bag like you posted but the stuff I generally carry up there generally wouldn't fit in one of 'em.

The more people I talk to about this, the more people seem to recommend something on the roof...

So - in using a "bag" like that (this seems to be the cheapest way, as opposed to a solid plastic box) does it require the cross bars? Or does it just rest on the roof and tie into the existing roof rails?

Also - we won't be using this often - maybe a half dozen times a year - so I don't mind putting something on and taking it off after a trip.

Thanks again for the input!

My bag specifically stated that it needed the crossbars for the front to back stability, not just side to side. I usually use two ratchet straps one over the bag and front to rear over the bars. Another one over the side bars. That way I get full coverage and there's no way it's going to slip off the back or fly forward in a suddent stop or something.

Your crossbars really should only be about 200.

Cool. So do you have anything under the bag itself? Or does it just rest on the roof?

mine just sits on the roof, but the make foam pads that you can slide undere there to protect your paint if you want, or just make your own.

The soft rooftop bags are cheaper and more flexible so you can put odd shaped things inside and stuff them full. Most aren't waterproof so you have to put things inside trash bags or put stuff up that can get wet. I use some extra bungees crisscrossed across the top as an extra measure. Wind noise from loose tie down straps can be annoying so you need to tape the straps if the excess is long. We've used a small cable and lock through the zippers when overnight just to keep people honest.

The hard Thule and other carriers cost more but keep things dry, are more aerodynamic and are lockable. You are limited to what goes inside not what you can necessarily stuff in because of the rigidity. They tend to crack/shatter if hit by rocks, etc coming the other way at highway speeds. During vacation season, you start seeing the remnants people leave behind on the side of the road once they are compromised and the lid wont shut, etc.

Hitch carriers are nice if you have a hatch window you can access inside the rear area instead of opening the whole hatch which can be blocked. Easy loading since you aren't lifting things to the top. Things get dirtier, can squat your vehicle, makes things easier to grab (for you and others at the hotel overnight).

We use a soft top on long haul vacation trips and the hitch carrier when hunting/camping closer to home to carry coolers and things that can get dirty/wet, etc.

Hitch all the way, so long as you arrange it so the door is accessible. I bought one for $60 at Harbor Freight a couple years back, and then bought a giant heavy duty footlocker that fits in it, one with roller wheels and a flip out handle. You can lock the locker to the carrier, and lock the locker, and easily access the contents. If you need in the tailgate, pop the window, or simply move the whole footlocker off the carrier.

Much easier than screwing around with a couple or three hundred dollars of unaerodynamic roof rack baggage that is a pain in the ass to access frequently, and more versatile too, because you can use the carrier for ice chests, firewood, and all kinds of other stuff.

I find people will go out of their way and waste a ton of money trying to make their roof racks useful, when the truth is about the only thing they really are neccessary for is carrying your kayak, because it won't fit anywhere else more conveneient.

I might add if you OFFROAD over rough terrain, it is better to go roof despite the general inconvenience. If you're on fairly smooth ground, the receiver rack is much more flexible of an option IMHO.

We ran one to Glacier and back, and over dozens of miles of unimproved road, and it held our travel locker and icechest just fine.

We have a thule cartier on my wifes van. it has been good to us. Traveling from Colorado Springs to Breckenridge many times, as well as riding up and back down the Alaska Highway. One other thing not mentioned here that we have found is that it makes the sunroof unusable and the satellite radio only works when traveling north.