Another roof rack question

[Sgrodz]

I know this issue has been talked about a bunch however I didn't see anything with my specific question and didn't want to hijack someone else's post so here goes.

1. Besides the look, is there any difference between the long and short roof rails? Are there advantages to one over the other? I plan on using it to carry my Thule cargo box and hopefully luggage. ( based on what I've read here, it looks like Luggage racks like the voyager are only compatible with the short rails)

2. I've read through almost every post so I know there's a bunch of after market options but I'm wondering if anyone has been able to have both a cargo box and luggage rack up there. I like the cargo box because I can throw all the kids beach toys or things that shouldn't get wet but it would really be nice to be able to have the ability to put suitcases up there as well. Just curious if anyone has this set-up. Speaking of the voyager luggage system or one similar, just wondering how easy it is to take on and off. As i will only be using the roof rack system 6-8 times a year, I like to be able to remove the stuff when I'm not using.

I was originally thinking of going with the OEM cross bars, but because there seems to be so many other better choices, I'm thinking of going this route.

 

[mateored]

As far as mounting a luggage rack AND a cargo box, I think there are 2 possible ways to do it, but neither is great.

1. You could get some long-ass cross bars and mount a luggage rack from Thule or Yakima, e.g. next to a cargo box (probably not a huge box). I have 66" Yakima cross bars that I use when I mount 2 cargo boxes side by side. The bars hang several inches over the side. Not sure how wide the cross-bars would have to be for that to work, but you could figure it out.

2. You could mount a cargo box on top of a luggage rack that has built-in cross bars. For example, you can mount a cargo box on top of the Yakima MegaWarrior cargo basket (http://www.yakima.com/shop/cargo/gear-baskets/megawarrior). However, you will be making a large part of the cargo basket unusable.

If you are using any Yakima, Thule or Kuat products, the short roof rails will work fine. I think you only need the long rails for either (a) a full-roof length expedition rack, or (b) possibly to set up two sets of cross-bars (i.e. 4 bars) to accept more gear.

 

[Sgrodz]

Thanks Mateored. I ended up choosing the black full length bars and Whispbar cross bars instead of the OEM ones. I read a bunch of great reviews on how quiet those cross bars are so decided to give them a shot. As far as the original question, I will look into the luggage rack option you suggested and also maybe at some point upgrading my cargo box from the Atlantis 1600 to the 2100. Main reason for wanting a luggage rack type section is to be able to carry suitcases when we go away. One thing that seems worth looking into is putting a full length voyager rack on and just attaching the cargo box to that ( if it's even
Possible) and then filling in any spare space with the suitcases. We travel to cape cod every summer for a month so we need to take a lot of stuff and I would prefer to not have to tow the luggage on my motorcycle trailer which is what I've done the last few summers.

Can't hardly wait to pick this up in a few days ..the wait is almost unbearable. Thanks to this forum I've been able to get a daily dose of LR4. Thanks to everyone that's made this possible!


shawn

 

[PALR4]

I think the smaller original Yakima cargo baskets will fit beside one of their cargo boxes with 66" round crossbars. If you are going with whisper bar, I would probably get 48" for the cargo box.

There might be enough room to put a cargo basket up in front of the long rail over the sunroof, but you would have to get an additional set of crossbars. As you know from ordering this stuff, it can add up pretty quickly...

The big Voyager type racks are not really practical to remove and replace on a regular basis. With the Yakima, you can just leave the little pods on all the time and put the crossbars on in a matter of seconds... even with the cargo box mounted.