Thread: Roof box or roof rack

one big point is that your roof despite its space is not a load carrying area and shouldnt be viewed as place to store everything not going into the vehicle.

The more stuff on your roof the more your vehicle gravity is altered and handling characteristics change.

If your carrying gear for 4 people l would personally look at buying a box trailer to tow behind using a treg hitch instead of tow bar. Hitch arrangement more important than type of trailer suspension so leaf spring tailer cheap option.

Smaller Items can be stored in plastic crates within the trailer

Individuals can be given their own boxes to store their gear in.

You can pack more into trailer than on roof and impact on vehicle in terms of fuel and handling reduced.

Cost of trailer to roof rack or pod depends on what u buy

If you match wheels of trailer to vehicle need to have different size spares reduced.

Another advantage if exploring areas can leave trailer at campsite whereas roofrack and pod carried all the time on vehicle your away.

Only thing to watch is different states have different legal requirements for trailers so would ensure if leaf type both ends are schackled to trailer

You would still need roof bars to fit the box to - unless you have a D1 complete with bars and cross bars, but unless you have the full length bars you may need additional gutter mounts.

The roof boxes are limited in weight capacity, and as you say finite in volume.

I have a small roof box which I only use for carrying the ski-ing stuff - all pretty lightweight - and then it isn't all that easy to access - still really need steps, unless this box is rear opening.

With a roof rack you are still goverened by what the vehicle specs for the roof are.

I must say out of the roof box, the roof rack - and the trailer - I tend to go for the trailer every time (appart from ski-ing - it's a bugger towing a trailer to Dinner Plain)

I'll second that. I have a full length alloy rack & it is surprising the difference in wind drag with & without it. And a pod will still give you much the same scenario. I plan to take a trailer next big road trip instead.
An uncle with a [cough-80series-cough] has always towed a camper or trailer and recently built a rack and got a real shock at the fuel usage compared to towing a box trailer.

Thanks for the trailer suggestions

Unfortunately I'm sure that a lot of our touring will be in desert sandy regions in the future. Backing down sand dunes with a trailer on is not much fun. The people we travel with won't let us go with them with a trailer. It's not an option I also don't have anywhere to store a trailer whereas I can hang a box or a roof rack under the house.

The roof bars for the box were factored into my pricing. The roof rack and the box are about the same cost, but you have to buy bars for the box, and a bag for the roof rack. Both are similar in price.

The Thule box is fairly strong and has a load capacity of 75kg which is more than I want to put up there.

With roof racks most seem to forget about weights and just put whatever they can up there. We're not going to do that, we only have those three things to put up there.

For what it's worth we have a td5 110. I have used a borrowed pod before and not really noted a increase in consumption. (maybe .5l/100)

What about one of those baskets that you attatch with a few "u-bolts" to the roof racks & then just throw a transit bag into it. Not too expensive & they come in different sizes too. Also easy to store later on.

In that case go for the box. It's as you say a little more aerodynamic, it's lockable - and if you get the matching roof bars they lock as well - and they will even match them up so the same key unlocks the bars as well as the box.

Plus it does keep stuff pretty dry.

My Thule 100 Ocean only carries 50kg - but it's only short so it will fit just on the front roof bars on the D2

Make sure you get a rear opening one - front opening is impossible to use - and I struggle a bit with my side opener.