Swing Away Rola Cargo Carrier-Pics
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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.:D |
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Last one...sorry none of the door open.
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Nice setup! :woot: 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, :thumbup: 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! :yikes: )
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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)? |
Originally Posted by SilverLady
(Post 2332971)
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)? Thanks for sharing cmarshack.The additional brake lights are nice:thumbup: 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:p I forgot to compliment you on your wheels:D |
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:( . |
can someone find the box dimensions? I cant seem to
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Originally Posted by pump142
(Post 3131402)
can someone find the box dimensions? I cant seem to
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. |
Originally Posted by Salvator
(Post 2331432)
Nice setup! :woot: 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, :thumbup: 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! :yikes: )
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Originally Posted by LexusBob
(Post 3133017)
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!!
http://www.thuleracks.com/images/products/672.jpg 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! :thumbup: ) |
Originally Posted by cmarshack
(Post 2331195)
Last one...sorry none of the door open.
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Originally Posted by Salvator
(Post 3133335)
We have this one: Evolution 1600
http://www.thuleracks.com/images/products/672.jpg 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! :thumbup: ) |
Originally Posted by LexusBob
(Post 3135685)
Thanks! I've seen this type on other vehicles.
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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/ |
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