cmarshack

I recently took a road trip up to Northern CA. Brought the wife, newborn and an 80lb Chocolate lab. With the stroller, the bags, the dog and all of the christmas gifts I knew that I would not have enough room without pileing everything to the roof and stacking the empty seats with stuff-which I am opposed to because loose objects in a car become projectiles in even the smallest of accidents.

So, do I get a rooftop carrier or a hitch mounted one? I chose the Rola Adventure System hitch mounted system. There are a lot of reason I did not want a rooftop carrier and wind noise is just one of them. The Rola is a swing away system and looks as if it was designed specifically for this car when open. It swings to the same side as the barn door and works flawlessly! It has a ton of room inside and allowed for me to pack everything we needed and not have anything stacked up high inside the car.

I also chose this particular swing away because the box itself can be taken off and then the tray can be used to carry large objects, or even become a table to tailgaiting-GO CHARGERS!!!.

One negative-and this is a big one. I did not notice until too late but my exhaust tip ends about 4 inches from the swing arm and blows directly onto it. At my first gas stop I noticed that I had melted the wiring harness complelely off! And to make matters worse, by the end of my road trip I had basically baked the powder coat right off. So, I purchased a coil-type wire harness that does not run the length of the swing arm and that solved that problem(it's the yellow coil in the pics). But as for the future exhaust problems, I think that I will have to have an insert made that I can put into my tailpipe that diverts that flow downward when I am using the cargo box.

The good news is that I had not actually purchased the box yet...I was renting it from RacknRoad in Costa Mesa CA. I am giving them a plug because the customer service could not be any better. They not only took the Rola back, but they are going to send it back to Draw-tite to get the swing arm replaced as they feel that the powder coat chould not have come off.

None the less I am very happy with the system and wanted to share my experience with all.

cmarshack

Next pic...

cmarshack

Last one...sorry none of the door open.

Salvator

Nice setup! We just completed a trip with our Thule rooftop box... we already owned it (we also use it on our BMW wagon (the vehicle we actually purchased it for)) and decided to try it out on the GX... Surprisingly, wind noise was almost non-existent... even gas mileage did not suffer... I placed the box as far back as it would go, and it appears that the wind tended to hit the windshield and go over the box for the most part... Of course, your system is much more convenient to access and carries more, but the roof box worked well for some of our lighter weight items... we stored all of the items that we needed easy access to (strollers, playpen, etc) in it, since the rear of the GX was loaded with Xmas presents... (it was a multi-stop trip)... Anyway, on the Rola system, but if you have a rooftop box available, give it a shot, you might be surprised... (One big downside of the rooftop box... there is no way in heck you are able to get into any parking garage... I calculated we were about 8 feet tall with the box on the roof! )

SilverLady

Thanks for the detailed report and pix!

What hitch do you have on the GX? Have you decided to buy the box, and does it have other attachments available (such as bike holders)?

GS3Tek

iTrader: (8)

I remembered he had one from the 4runner, but forgot the towing capacity.

Thanks for sharing cmarshack.The additional brake lights are nice
This rear attachment seems better than adding anything to the rooftop, less of a height issue and wind drag. The gx is tall enough already

I forgot to compliment you on your wheels

cmarshack

SilverLady:
-Yes I did decide to buy the box-just waiting for Draw-Tite to replace the swing arm.
-The Hitch is the small hitch; GS3Tek is correct I bought it off of a 4-Runnner owner
-Yes! This is the only system of it's kind that has a bike attachment. It can hold up to three bikes. See website: http://www.hitches4less.com/duposybm...FQn7YgodaTzpRQ

GS3Tek:
-Thanks for the compliment on the wheels...really dirty in those pics though .

pump142

can someone find the box dimensions? I cant seem to

cmarshack

Designed to fit 2” receivers (For Class III/IV receivers only)
Swing-Away feature provides easy access to trunk or rear cargo space
Lockable, storage pod offers 13.5 cu ft of space
Useable tray surface area 21” x 49”
250 lb load capacity
High density polyethylene construction
Complete with tail lights
Optional license plate light available #59117
Tilt option available, ROLA #59110
Optional bike carriers available, ROLA #59114 and #59115
Bumper Pack Measures:53"L x 27"W x 19" H
Bumper Pack on Tray Measures: 53" L x 27"W x 21.5"H
Tray Measures:53" L x 27"W x 5.4" H

You will need a receiver riser to raise the whole thing up about 4". I bought one off of eBay for about $30 bucks, otherwise you will melt the powdercoat right off of the swing arm mechanism...I know because this happened to me. Other than that it's a great product and works very well with our barn door.

LexusBob

Salvator, do you have a pic of your Thule rooftop box? I'm looking for one myself. I have a Thule hitch-mount bike rack on the back already but need something up top. Tx!!

Salvator

We have this one: Evolution 1600



http://www.thuleracks.com/product.as..._id=29&sku=672

We got ours at REI... If you have an REI local to you, you can order it sent to the store, and save yourself shipping costs (they will ship it to the store for free! )

LENELSA

Thats a sweet set-up !

LexusBob

Thanks! I've seen this type on other vehicles.

Salvator

I only ran it up there that one time last year, so I don't have any pics of it on my GX... But it fits nicely up there, pretty much runs the length of the roof from just behind the top of the windshield to the back door... I attached it directly to the cross beams on the Lexus roof rack, no need for adaptors... Good luck with your search!

pump142

anyone seen or used the stowaway 2? looks similar to ROLA but doesnt do alt racks (which I dont need).
Also shows a size larger.

anyone know laws on needing plates on the back of there in CA and AZ?
http://www.stowaway2.com/