We have used a Yakima Load Warrior roof basket for camping for years, but am getting sick of lashing everything down, so I'm looking into a fiberglass roof top box to replace it. I watched a video on Yakima's website and was a little shocked to see how springy they are. Not talking any heavy duty off-roading, but 17 miles of Forest Service road that's everything from smooth gravel, to dips, rocks and washboard (you know what these things are like). Not going to load it with a ton of heavy stuff, mostly soft gear like sleeping bags, clothes, camp chairs. Has anyone used one for drives on long fire roads? Will they hold up, or will the fiberglass shell self destruct at the mounting points to the rack?

Only downside of a rooftop box is you’re limited to its size and dimensions. You won’t have the flexibility as you would if you were using a basket style rack + ratchet straps/bungees.

You could go with a cheap Harbor Freight rifle case, but those aren’t exactly all that big.


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I think all the stuff we put in the basket will fit in a medium size box, but easier to toss in and maybe a little less wind drag.

I love my ROAM box, and they come in multiple sizes. I use mine primarily for off road recovery gear and remove it when not needed.

Not sure how great a fiberglass box will be. Odd it was flexing or springy?

It is a box so and not very aerodynamic, but it works great and now there are mounting options.

Great looking box, but might be just a little too low profile :-(.

That's the low profile one. They have a lot of larger ones, probably can fit 2 body's in them. 95L or 128L would be more what u are looking for.

Rugged Cases - ROAM Adventure Co.

The Yakima boxes are plastic, not fiberglass. They hold up just fine as long you don't put a bunch of heavy stuff up there and you pay attention to how the load is distributed.

I've only seen one break. It was probably 10+ years old and my buddy thought it would be a good idea to carry bundles of firewood in it. It wasn't a good idea.

Mine bounce around like a wet noodle. But they've never broken or cracked. They are much nicer than a basket for things that fit nicely inside. As other have said - the big limitation is the size and shape. Benefit is that the stuff inside is contained easily, easy to access, and clean and dry. And it's easy to lock up and keep secure. I've owned 3 different boxes and I prefer Thule over Yakima. It's a lot of little parts, but the Thule ones seem to be more durable in the hinge mechanism and the latch/lock mechanism I like better. But the differences are not huge and I'd go with whatever is a better deal at the time probably.

If you want the best deals on them - I've bought two of mine at REI garage sales for about $100 each.

Good luck.

Here is something to consider: Amazon.com

I own two Yakima roof boxes a Old Rocket box that fits the Suburban and the 16 pro for the 4Runner. go into my albums and I show how the pro fits on the roof you will need to get the Yakima cross bars and towers for a easy install.
The week point is the hardware especially the locks. I had a key stuck in the lock and could not get it out. Finally used some graphite spray lube and it works fine . So you will have to lube them occasionally. I have never had any breaks or cracks seems to be working well for many years.

I have a Yakima carbonite skybox 19ft it rubs the rear hatch when opening. But have made several cross country trips as well as camping trips and it's held up great in all kinds of weather.

ive run 2 rifle cases up there on my offroad trips and they've held up fine, and im talking about really horrible washboard trails for days on end (i.e. mohave trail), and ive been on snowboarding trips where wind was insane going into the mountains.

Problem is, they have also almost been broken into once in a parking lot when someone took a bolt cutter to my locks. Luckily, they couldn't get in still, so be aware of your surroundings if you have anything made of plastic mounted to your roof, or put some massive beefy locks on them. I've also seen someone stole those fiberglass yakima like roof boxes too. They stole the entire thing and the rails.

So now i dont leave them on, but rifle cases are very versatile.

Same experience here. I picked up a Yakima box several years back and have no complaints with it. Able to position it on my Front Runner rack without it interfering with the rear hatch (barely). Have probably had it mounted on vehicles in all sorts of weather (including sub freezing with snow) for 15000+ miles easily (multiple ski trips, a cross country run and more).

Only complaint is the MPG hit I take with it mounted up, but that's to be expected.

Check link out.
I use the Atlantis model, I think.
It fits great. Just enough to the back, no interference to the shark fin and only about a third over my sun roof.

Cargo Carriers | Auto Accessories | AutoEq.ca

For your stated usage and the things you'd be carrying, consider a soft roof cargo bag. I have a Yakima one and it's super easy to put on/off and folds very small. Dont' trust the waterproofness ratings of these things, but you can place stuff that shouldn't get wet in large plastic (trash) bags to protect them from the rain.