I thought it might be useful for owners to consolidate pictures and information about their roof racks into one thread so that others may benefit from the available options. So if you got a rack, storage box, whatever on the roof show us a picture or more and share some information!
Roof rack options thread
- Thread starter dipan
- Start date
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Finlayforprez
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Awesome dipan! ougrad (and some others) suggested we created a "sticky" to post some off-roading pictures. It would be great to also create a sticky where we can show off our LR4 accessories, discuss, etc. I need to figure out who is an administrator so I can have them (if they will) post these stickies at the top so they are easy to find and update.
I will be updating this thread tomorrow (hopefully) when I get my Voyager rack, ladder, and tail light guards installed. I am hoping to get the head light guards installed next week. Stay tuned!
Thanks for starting this thread! I am really looking forward to some great LR4 pictures.
Regards, David
I will be updating this thread tomorrow (hopefully) when I get my Voyager rack, ladder, and tail light guards installed. I am hoping to get the head light guards installed next week. Stay tuned!
Thanks for starting this thread! I am really looking forward to some great LR4 pictures.
Regards, David
Finlayforprez
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Hey mateored!!!
I LOVE your LR4 - awesome pictures and background.... Thanks for posting...
-David
I LOVE your LR4 - awesome pictures and background.... Thanks for posting...
-David
Well, so much for the Yakima SkyBox. My wife was driving back from the Sierras this weekend in a heavy wind storm and the top of the Yakima box exploded in half and flew off the car. Lucky it didn't cause a serious accident. She insists it was closed properly, and I believe her. The only thing I can think of is that the box is not well sealed and the wind caused the air pressure to build up inside the box. Seems weird since presumably its designed to drive at highway speed winds anyway. However, if they were driving directly into the wind, which was probably gusting up to 60-75 mph, then maybe it was just too much for the box if air was leaking inside.
Anyway, this presents a problem. We need 2 boxes on the roof for the ski equipment and luggage (since we have 4-5 people and 2 dogs inside the car). The ski gear goes in the Packasport, which I've had for 15 years and is rugged as hell. The Packasport is fiberglass and is hinged in the front and well sealed, so no air gets inside. However, they are heavy, expensive, and only 12 inches tall. My box is 16 cubic feet.
The Yakima SkyBox Pro 21 is (was) 21 cubic feet, and we need all that room for the second box. I'm reluctant to get another one (I don't think Yak is going to replace it since I bought it from a guy off of Craigslist (only used twice before, though and looked brand new). The Thule design seems nearly identical (and, since the Thule is stiffer plastic, might be even more prone to cracking, if anything).
The problem is that there aren't any other good options out there that I'm aware of. I prefer a cargo box over an expedition rack for weather, security and convenience packing for ski trips.
Any ideas?
Anyway, this presents a problem. We need 2 boxes on the roof for the ski equipment and luggage (since we have 4-5 people and 2 dogs inside the car). The ski gear goes in the Packasport, which I've had for 15 years and is rugged as hell. The Packasport is fiberglass and is hinged in the front and well sealed, so no air gets inside. However, they are heavy, expensive, and only 12 inches tall. My box is 16 cubic feet.
The Yakima SkyBox Pro 21 is (was) 21 cubic feet, and we need all that room for the second box. I'm reluctant to get another one (I don't think Yak is going to replace it since I bought it from a guy off of Craigslist (only used twice before, though and looked brand new). The Thule design seems nearly identical (and, since the Thule is stiffer plastic, might be even more prone to cracking, if anything).
The problem is that there aren't any other good options out there that I'm aware of. I prefer a cargo box over an expedition rack for weather, security and convenience packing for ski trips.
Any ideas?
sorry to hear about your ordeal. that's pretty scary. glad to hear there were no accidents. I thought about getting the skybox for a while now, but after reading this i am having second thoughts. i guess you could have used some sort of latch to secure the body as a safety measure?
Spoke to Yakima customer service today. Learned a couple of interesting things:
1. apparently the latch system on the box has been re-designed and beefed up, which could help with the integrity of the box. I guess my box is older than I thought. Looked brand new, but was at least 3 years old. I still think it had only been used a few times at most.
2. storing the box by laying it on its side or end in the garage could cause the shape of the box to deform a little, which would create more space for air to get inside the box. I was storing this one its end, leaning against the wall. They believe that if there is an air gap in a strong cross-wind, the air pressure builds up inside the box until it forces the lid to blow off. They recommend storing the box by hanging it on the wall by the attachment hooks. Also, they recommend wrapping the box with a ratcheting tie-down strap if driving in very heavy winds (which we were).
I'm going to go to the rack store and carefully inspect the Yakima and Thule boxes for latch design and air-sealing. We need another big box, so I don't really have much choice here.
BTW, they said that this happens to a very small number of the boxes they sell, and almost all of them happen on the same very windy stretches of road in Colorado and California.
1. apparently the latch system on the box has been re-designed and beefed up, which could help with the integrity of the box. I guess my box is older than I thought. Looked brand new, but was at least 3 years old. I still think it had only been used a few times at most.
2. storing the box by laying it on its side or end in the garage could cause the shape of the box to deform a little, which would create more space for air to get inside the box. I was storing this one its end, leaning against the wall. They believe that if there is an air gap in a strong cross-wind, the air pressure builds up inside the box until it forces the lid to blow off. They recommend storing the box by hanging it on the wall by the attachment hooks. Also, they recommend wrapping the box with a ratcheting tie-down strap if driving in very heavy winds (which we were).
I'm going to go to the rack store and carefully inspect the Yakima and Thule boxes for latch design and air-sealing. We need another big box, so I don't really have much choice here.
BTW, they said that this happens to a very small number of the boxes they sell, and almost all of them happen on the same very windy stretches of road in Colorado and California.
