So I’m going on a 9 day road trip with my wife and two kids in car seats in a few months.

I have a 2016 Rx 350 and I’m looking for ways to add additional storage whether it’s roof mounted or hitch mounted. Does anyone recommend any items?

I do not currently have a hitch but I’m willing to get one installed. My car has the silver roof rails and I’m assuming those are designed to attach roof rack mounts?

Any suggestions, insights, or recommendations are welcome! Thanks in advance!

 

pano roof or no ??
(the rails are different, and offer different options.)

 

no, just a standard sunroof.

 

Years ago, we used rooftop storage (turtle shell from Sears in those days). You will need the roof racks in that case. It worked well for us as we drove from NJ to FL a few times when my kids were toddlers.

 

Thule roof rack storage or any other roof top storage is a great way to add more storage.

 

A number of years ago we bought an X-Cargo Sport 20 rooftop cargo carrier from Sears and it has served us well. At the time we bought it, it was significantly cheaper than similar offerings from Thule, Yakima, etc. It attaches to the factory roof rack cross bars of every car we have. I haven't tried it on my RX yet, but I did get the factory cross bars so the RX is ready if we need it. Now the local Sears stores are closed and I'm not finding much about it online anymore, so it may not be available anymore but it's worked out great for us.

 

Pretty sure I had that exact one.

 

Has anyone purchased/used a car top carrier on a RX350? We have a new 2021 and wondering if there is a well built carrier for use on a RX350 - something that would be fairly streamlined, easy to mount, and securely fastened so as not to worry on long trips.

Note: One of the negatives during the pre-purchase research phase was cargo volume - our 2010 Acura MDX had much more usable space. We purchased our RX350 for long distance trips and would like an option for more storage if need be.

Thanks

 

We used a thule. Looks and worked great for our camping.

 

love the setup. How's the wind noise? Also, MPG? Thank you

 

Increased wind noise for sure but nothing intolerable. Music in the car helps for sure. Cannot comment on MPG we only used it for trips(2 hour drives). I do think it would affect it. Increased weight and increased wind resistance.

 

Which Thule model do you have? I'm not questioning the value of a Thule but I noticed they're quite a bit more expensive than much of the competition. Did you look at other brands?

Also, are you using the Lexus car top carrier "cross-bars"?

Thanks

 

It's the motion XL. I looked at yakima skybox. I preferred the look of the thule.

The cross bars are also thule (aero edge). The RX has the panoramic roof so could not use the lexus one.

 

One thing I forgot to ask... does your RX fit in a garage with your Thule cargo box installed? To me this is a deal breaker for any roof top cargo carrier - It would be a pain/inconvenient to have to load/unload and install/uninstall outside in bad weather. I've measured around 16"-17" from top of factory rails to lowest point of opened garage door. I don't know how high the cross-rails would be above the factory mounting rails - haven't bought anything yet.

 

Have you considered a cargo carrier? Wind noise is definitely less of a problem, and, depending on the garage, parking in a garage may not be a problem either.

Aluminum Cargo Carrier



BTW, I have one (not the same model). We haven't had the need to use if for travel, but for hauling things that we don't want to be inside the vehicle (e.g. steer manure).