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euroford
Mar 4, 2007, 8:43 PM
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i've stuck my partner with driving on the last several road trips, but now i've got my car paid off and i want to give it some TLC for its neglected maintance concerns and get it whipped into shape for use as a good roadtrip machine.
on the upside, it has a great stereo, but on the downside is that it takes up half the trunk. as it is, there is just no way i can get a bigwalls worth of gear in the car.
so for step one on that i'm adding a yakrack and doing a full bolt down rail system so i can use wide bars and outfit it for carrying two bikes and a larger cargo box.
so any recomendations on a good box to get? something big enough to hold two haul bags would be perfect. i know that looking on the sites you can get dimensions of the boxes, but i thought a little practicle experience from you fine folks would go a long ways.
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reno
Mar 4, 2007, 10:12 PM
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1. What kind of car?
2. Does it have a tow hitch?
There are these flat racks that mount to a trailer hitch. Big enough to hold a couple large Rubbermaid bins, or a bin and a cooler, etc. I saw one at a Off-Road/4x4 shop here in Phoenix, but I'd wager they could be found on-line, too.
Just another idea, that's all.
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euroford
Mar 4, 2007, 10:33 PM
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no place to keep a trailor. i live in downtown chicago and street park, so this would need to be a permanent addition to the car.
otherwise, that would be a great idea!
2002 ford focus sedan w/ 6spd and svt motor, no hitch.
(This post was edited by euroford on Mar 4, 2007, 10:34 PM)
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caughtinside
Mar 4, 2007, 11:21 PM
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sorry, no helpful advice here, but a question. Could your rack system tolerate the weight of two bags, even if you find a box big enough to hold them?
That seems like it would have to be a giant box, and really kill your gas mileage.
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euroford
Mar 4, 2007, 11:24 PM
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yeah that is a worthy concern, and one of the reasons why i'm asking!
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reno
Mar 4, 2007, 11:47 PM
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euroford wrote: no place to keep a trailor. i live in downtown chicago and street park, so this would need to be a permanent addition to the car.
First, I apologize... seems I didn't word things well.
I was trying to describe one of these:
http://www.etrailer.com/c-cc2.htm
You attach it to your car via the trailer hitch. Removable, so you can store the thing inside if you wish. I'm looking at getting one for the back of the Yukon.... that way, I'll be able to sleep in the cargo area, and still have my gear secured.
Though, since your car doesn't have a hitch, I guess it's a moot point. So, like, never mind. 
Sorry I wasn't much help.
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euroford
Mar 5, 2007, 12:05 AM
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hey now those are actually pretty cool, adding a hitch to the car is always an option, but i need the roof rack for the bikes anyways, so i should at least put that to use.
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climbinginchico
Mar 5, 2007, 1:39 AM
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I like the Yakima Skyboxes. They are generally cheaper than their Thule counterparts, and stronger. They come with locks preinstalled and have a super versatile clamping system.
What bike mounts are you going with? And for what types of bikes?
I sell both Yakima and Thule at my store, so I'm pretty familiar with them.
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euroford
Mar 5, 2007, 1:54 AM
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i plan to go with the yak high rollers, the new high end wheel-on mount. i have several bikes, from road to XC to full on freeride, so with the 20mm axle fork mount is kind of out. i know i can get an adaptor, but it sounds like a PITA.
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hhelbein
Mar 5, 2007, 1:56 AM
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I like the Yakima stuff a lot. The Raptor bike mounts work great for mountain bikes. They are lockable and you don't need to remove the front wheel. I agree the skyboxes are nice. Both Yakima and Thule have more aerodynamic box options today than the big clunky Sears cargo boxes of the past. Check out both Yakima's and Thule's web site as they have pretty neat online builder wizards that step you through options for your car make and model. By the way, you end spending an extra $100 or so for misc clips, lock cores, etc. The stuff does add up but you have to look at it as an investment. You can often get core lock sets a lot cheaper on Ebay. I do work at a shop that sells Yakima but I am a customer as well.
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dr_feelgood
Mar 5, 2007, 2:17 AM
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hhelbein wrote: I like the Yakima stuff a lot. The Raptor bike mounts work great for mountain bikes. They are lockable and you don't need to remove the front wheel. I agree the skyboxes are nice. Both Yakima and Thule have more aerodynamic box options today than the big clunky Sears cargo boxes of the past. Check out both Yakima's and Thule's web site as they have pretty neat online builder wizards that step you through options for your car make and model. By the way, you end spending an extra $100 or so for misc clips, lock cores, etc. The stuff does add up but you have to look at it as an investment. You can often get core lock sets a lot cheaper on Ebay. I do work at a shop that sells Yakima but I am a customer as well.
Speaking of roof racks... I have a 2 door tacoma(no extendacab), and am wanting a rack for my kayak that will fit... do Yakima and Thule make a rack that'll work for that?
Thanks
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hhelbein
Mar 5, 2007, 2:33 AM
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Checkout the DryDock from Yakima which can fit on a trailer hitch. You can use it in combination with a single bar on the cab roof for a kayak. PM me if you want more info.
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climbinginchico
Mar 5, 2007, 2:45 AM
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Yakima also makes, in addition to the DryDock, a system called the Outdoorsman 300.
http://yakima.com/Product.aspx?id=68
It can be used either single with a bar on the cab, or doubled up.
You'd be looking at a single Qtower on the cab and something for the stern of the kayak. Then you'll be looking at either hullraisers, kayak stackers, or a hullyroller/mako saddle combo depending on your likes.
The Highroller is pretty sweet. I've installed plenty of those for customers. (I'm kinda our rack specialist here...) I'm getting the Sprocketrocket for my road bikes.
The lock cores are definitely an investment. If I had a dollar for every time I recommend to a customer to get cores to protect their investment and they come in later minus all or part of their $400 rack system, I'd have literally about $20 by now... They learned their lesson and bought cores the second time around.
Yakima by far outsells Thule at my shop- mostly because it tends to be a bit cheaper and easier to work with.
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dr_feelgood
Mar 5, 2007, 3:19 AM
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Will the outdoorsman system work if i have a plastic bedliner?
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kjohnnytarr
Mar 5, 2007, 3:23 AM
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The problem is that you have a stereo that takes up your whole trunk.
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qwert
Mar 5, 2007, 11:43 AM
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get rid of your too big stereo.
youre a climber and not a G (at least i hope so) 
i have a thule box and it works fine. when empty this thing is shaky as hell, but if you fill it youre fine.
i have a VW golf station waggon and it takes 100 kg on the roof and still makes 180 without too much complaning, so your focus wich is quite simmilar (albeit nearly ten yours younger then mine) should do just fine too.
qwert
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kevinheiss
Mar 5, 2007, 2:25 PM
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Why don't you just take out your sound system (sub and amp) that way you have more room.
You can also get a box to put on the roof.
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euroford
Mar 5, 2007, 4:37 PM
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trunk is not that big in the first place, i think i'll need additional room even still.
why on earth would i take the stereo out? its nice to have tunes. proper roadtripmobile supplies quality tunes. duh.
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euroford
Mar 5, 2007, 10:32 PM
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so does anybody have some experience with the yakima skybox 16s? realistically how much gear does that jobber hold?
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euroford
Mar 7, 2007, 2:49 PM
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rack on the car, um, mostly....
those yakima plusnuts are cool, but the tool they supply sucks arse. i broke two, and will need at least two more. its bolted on good enough to hold itself, but not yet ready for cargo.
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glowering
Mar 7, 2007, 10:01 PM
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The skybox 16 holds... 16 cu. ft.
I'll probably pick up a skybox 16 because it is the shortest box that will hold real skis. I have an impreza wagon and I want to be able to lift the tailgate and not hit the box. On a sedan you'll want a short box as well.
Best price at first look: http://autotruckpart.com/product.php?productid=347414
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laurajpetersen
Mar 7, 2007, 11:04 PM
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I've had a Yakima Spacebooster on top of my car, a VW Golf, for the past 5 years and it's been great. It's about 16cu ft and can fit a ton of stuff... even my crashpad! Sell the ghetto box and use the money for the car top box. You won't need to have the bass thumpin' when your out climbing.
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euroford
Apr 11, 2007, 8:05 PM
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i ended up going with a Thule 15 cuft box. more than anything the difficulty was finding something that didn't look rediculous on the small car. its only been in service for a couple of weeks but i've been very happy with it. gas milliage dropped from 26mpg to about 24mpg, so i can live with that. wind gusts will take a bit of getting used to.
all in all, i'm incredably happy that i decieded to go through all of this trouble.
but of course, the car has a streak of bird shit down the door...
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mawk
Apr 13, 2007, 5:00 PM
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You said your looking for a 'good roadtrip machine'. I lived in a 2-door Toyota Tercel for a summer in Colorado so I think I might be able to make some suggestions.
I had a bike, climbing gear (not for aid though), backpack, some tools, cooler, etc. Here's the trick. Remove the front passenger seat and, if possible, the back seat. Cut a piece of plywood to form a bed platform where the passenger seat was. Make it level. I had a nice piece of 4" foam for the 'mattress'. A couple of ground pads would work also.
When you need to stop and sleep you will be very comfortable. A passenger can still sit in the back, legs stretched out, even wearing a seat-belt; or sleeping comfortably.
Cold weather was no problem. When it was hot, humid and buggy I had to come up with another idea. If desparate you can run the air cond. but for a number of obvious reasons thats not always a good idea. I wanted the windows down but the challenge was keeping the bugs out. So I cut some netting and used strip magnets to hold it in place. Adhesive back velcro would probably also work. Weak magnets won't hold if the wind picks up so be sure to get some ceramics or neodymiums.
I also did a 2-month road trip in this set-up. Loved every minute of it. Even today I wouldn't do it any other way.
Hope that gives you some good ideas.
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euroford
Apr 13, 2007, 6:08 PM
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thanks for the tips, but i guess my version of 'road trip' machine is slightly different. no living/sleeping will be done in the car. it will be used strickly as high speed cross country transportation for 1-2 people and associated wall climbing gear.
the focus actually suits this pretty well. being cormfortable, fairly fuel efficiant and capable of maintaining 110+ for the long haul.
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