Rooftop Cargo Carrier for Car Storage - Large Roof Rack Cargo Carrier - Front Hinge/Rear Lock - Rear Opening Weatherproof Storage - Made in USA - 18 Cubic Ft - 110 Lb Capacity - Aero Design

Used this car top carrier for a cross country trip of over 2000 miles. We went through every kind of weather including high swirling winds coming at us from every direction as the mountain highway twisted and turned, along with heavy rain, some snow and ice, and traveling at speeds in excess of 75 mph for long stretches of highway. This JEGS car top carrier handled it all with no problem, and at our destination, it was still exactly where it was at the beginning -- no shifting in any direction on the cargo rails -- no tie-downs required at all. The only tie-downs I used were to strap a step ladder to the vehicle - as shown, which had nothing to do with the carrier. I used a dense insulation foam (1 inch x 1 inch in size) on the inside on the mounting brackets. I pierced slit-holes in the foam to fit the spacing of the mounting brackets and slid it down over the bracket poles between the inside of the floor of the carrier and the lock-down plate and then tightened down the thumb screws until they were tight and that stopped any leakage into the interior of the carrier from the mounting bracket holes. At the end of the trip, the carrier was perfectly dry inside. We didn't access the interior of the carrier during the trip and the locking mechanisms worked perfectly - held the top secured tightly and showed no signs of shifting at high speeds during the trip (checked it each time we stopped for gas and to stay at a motel) and they were perfectly in place and tight all during the trip and at the end of the trip. --- I can't see how the locking mechanisms could fail unless they were not installed properly or were somehow defective (which would be obvious) from the start - as others have reported losing the top of the carrier at highway speeds. - Quite literally - I don't see how that's possible unless it wasn't locked down properly before taking to the road. -- Also: The locking mechanisms each have a hole to insert a padlock to prevent anyone breaking into the carrier. We used a padlock on each locking mechanism, but even without the padlock, there should be no way for the locking mechanism to come undone. The only flaw I noticed was the bars for holding the carrier open were very difficult to get put in place and did not sufficiently hold the top up far enough from the bottom for easy loading and unloading, and should be made like the brace of a fold-out ladder with a hinge in the middle of two bars that expand out to hold the top of the carrier up high enough for easy access of the interior. Those bars could be made to be easily installed by the user if properly designed and manufactured so the carrier could still be shipped with the top and bottom nestled together. So - if you're going to take a trip and need extra room for your stuff, this car top carrier would be an excellent choice. It's about half the price of the "top name" brands, but every bit as good at the job as those expensive ones -- and holds a lot more stuff than most of the expensive ones. Overall: I highly recommend the 18 cubic foot JEGS Rooftop Cargo Carrier. It's well worth the investment.

I was surprised how flimsy this thing is when I unboxed it. Feels like a milk jug. I was even more surprised at how poorly designed the latch and lock mechanism is. It is such a struggle to get this thing properly seated and locked. I've tested it unloaded and loaded, I've had other people try to lock it - it's almost comical at how hard it is. Someone else posted a photo of the entire top half ripping off the unit at highway speeds. After feeling this thing, I'm not surprised at all. Do not purchase this. The price seems good and the capacity is nice, but it's not worth it.

We needed something for a long trip; after reading dozens of reviews we decided to try this. The most difficulty we had was with locking it. As funny as this sounds, the only way we could get it to lock without issue was when it was empty and someone was inside it to make sure everything connected. My husband was able to get it to work on the trip but he had to really finagle it. I’m still giving 5⭐️ because it did not leak, was built well, fit perfectly on our palisade and made travel easy as we were able to fit the majority of the luggage in it.

Like many others, I'm impressed with how big this box is. It was very easy to install on our existing cargo rack, but had to drill a new set of rear mounting holes since the rails on our CRV are further apart than what was pre-drilled. The floppiness was a little concerning as other have mentioned, but it's solid enough when mounted and closed. Also like others, the lock was a hassle. Mine is rear opening (thought it would be safer as far as the potential for it flying open) and you have to push the back wall in like you're denting it while pushing it closed and gently turning the key to get the lock to engage. Don't crank on the key or you might snap it off and then you'll have bigger issues! Make sure you test that it has engaged or you'll think it's locked when it isn't. I bet it could fly open if the rear isn't locked since the side clip locks are fairly far forward. We needed to carry a small stepladder/stool to reach the box, so that's one extra thing that will take up some space in the car that can't go in the box. :) Anyway, we took it on one trip now - several hundred miles, speeds up to 70, passing trucks, moderate winds in various directions. It flexed a tiny bit when big trucks going the opposite direction passed close (watching it thru the sunroof), but nothing concerning. There was no sign of anything being out of shape or coming loose afterward. It makes a little wind noise and I'm sure it cuts into the MPG. But overall it performed perfectly. I'm satisfied with it, especially compared to the price of other boxes. Now I just need to figure out where this thing will live when not on the car!

Instructions were terrible but I got 'er done. I had to redrill some of the holes in the carrier for the mounting hardware to line up correctly. I ended up mounting the cross pieces as far to the rear as possible and this seems to work better. I used small cheap carabiners for the side latches and a small quality lock on the rear latch for security. I ordered some plastic-coated steel wires with screw connectors intended for luggage tags to keep the lock and carabiners from coming off when not fastened. I recommend packing clothes in small bags rather than luggage as it is much lighter and easier to load and unload. And two people loading and unloading is much better than one.