Thule vs. Yakima?

[acadiaphile]

I promised myself, my 2 daughters (ages 6 and 3 yrs.) and our dog that we wouldn't go on a road trip in the Prius again until we get a car top carrier. Our 18 hr. trip from MD to ME became an internal roadwar with everybody fighting for space. <_< I'd like to be able to offer the dog (a 25 lb. mutt) some room in the cargo area and put the remainder of our gear on the roof.

While our gear currently consists of the usual assortment of clothing, toys, etc., I'd also like the option of hauling skis and/or bicycles. We have a Thule Mountaineer car top box (about the size of a coffin) which I've been told by the gearheads at REI is too long for a Prius. They recommended that a Yakima will offer a better fit than the Thule but admitted it's a personal preference.

Do folks have specific recommendations regarding Thule vs. Yakima? Boxes vs. bags?

Does the drag from boxes negate the fuel economy such that it'd just make more sense to drive our Sienna minivan?

TIA for your advice!

[JSH]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Acadiaphile @ Sep 10 2007, 01:40 PM) [snapback]510158[/snapback]</div>

I promised myself, my 2 daughters (ages 6 and 3 yrs.) and our dog that we wouldn't go on a road trip in the Prius again until we get a car top carrier. Our 18 hr. trip from MD to ME became an internal roadwar with everybody fighting for space. <_< I'd like to be able to offer the dog (a 25 lb. mutt) some room in the cargo area and put the remainder of our gear on the roof.

While our gear currently consists of the usual assortment of clothing, toys, etc., I'd also like the option of hauling skis and/or bicycles. We have a Thule Mountaineer car top box (about the size of a coffin) which I've been told by the gearheads at REI is too long for a Prius. They recommended that a Yakima will offer a better fit than the Thule but admitted it's a personal preference.

Do folks have specific recommendations regarding Thule vs. Yakima? Boxes vs. bags?

Does the drag from boxes negate the fuel economy such that it'd just make more sense to drive our Sienna minivan?

TIA for your advice!
[/b]

I would just drive the minivan. You will never make back the hundreds of dollars to buy the racks and cargo box with the fuel savings.

I have Yakima racks for my bikes and skis. I haven't had them on the Prius but when driving with loaded racks with our previous SUV and Truck we got about 20% lower fuel economy.

Also from an aerodynamic standpoint if you do get a box the round end should go towards the rear of the vehicle and the blunt side towards the front. This is opposite of conventional wisdom and what I see on top of vehicles. The reason for this is because aerodynamically the rear of a shape is more important the the front. If you take a brick and round only the front you will reduce the drag about 33%. If you take a brick and round only the back you will reduce the drag about 66%.

[Swanny1172]

I just got back from a 1,400 mile round-trip to the beach with my Yakima SkyBox 16s on the roof of the Prius and was very pleased. Of course, the car took an MPG hit with the cargo carrier, but the 37 MPG I averaged was a far cry better than what we would have gotten in our SUV. The 37 MPG was obtained by averaging a speed of between 70-75 MPH for the trip, which is about how fast I drive. Normally, I would get in the 48 MPG range for a trip on the same kinds of roads (very hilly).

The SkyBox 16s is a bit shorter than most of the other Yakima boxes, so it fit perfectly on the top of the Prius. The rear hatch opened fully without banging into the cargo box at all. The only thing I had to remove was the antenna. No big deal there, as we listened to satellite radio the whole trip anyway.

Adding an extra 16 cubic feet of cargo space was great, as we needed the extra space. Without it, we would have been forced to take the SUV. I managed to fit a set of golf clubs, a stroller, three kites, and two duffel bags into the cargo carrier, and could have squeezed in even more.

[bobdavisnpf]

Inno has a box that is a far better fit for the Prius or any other short-roof car. I'm very happy with the Inno box but would get the Thule feet and either Thule or Inno bars (they're the same), or maybe the Thule Aero bars (the Inno bar-clamps will fit the Aero fine).

A rear-hitch cargo basket can take a lot of bulk out too.

The rear "cargo" space behind the back seats is our "doggy zone" for a pair of 20 lb dogs. Trips up to 1800 miles have worked great with 3 adults plus 2 dogs but are still a bit tight for 4.

[Tadashi]

I prefer the Thule Spirit Box. It is only 16 cu ft but sit low to the car (lower than the Yakima), aerodynamic, locks on both side and can be opened from both sides. Also the feet are adjustable so you can slide the box up so it does not hit the rear hatch. Also the feet clamps can fit any bar, oval or round.

And I disagree with the way the box should be facing. The more air that is disturbed the more air drag. Having the box facing backwards would disturb more air and thus add more drag. Most air drag depends on the frontal cross section. What was described above may be for low speed drag.

If that was the case then most vehicles would have a big square front end. The latest research on Big rigs suggests making their front ends more aerodynamic (cone shaped) to reduce drag to save fuel. Not to mention race cars would have big brick front ends. It has been 12 years since my last aerodynamics and fluid dynamics classes but I do not think I slept through them that much to miss that point about drag. :P

[Swanny1172]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tadashi @ Sep 10 2007, 10:39 PM) [snapback]510398[/snapback]</div>

I prefer the Thule Spirit Box. It is only 16 cu ft but sit low to the car (lower than the Yakima), aerodynamic, locks on both side and can be opened from both sides. Also the feet are adjustable so you can slide the box up so it does not hit the rear hatch. Also the feet clamps can fit any bar, oval or round.[/b]

Based on your description, the Yakima SkyBox 16s is exactly the same size and offers exactly the same features.

[Tadashi]

Yes it is exactly the same size but it sits lower than the Yakima. I have yakima bars and the front wind breaker would not fit on but I did not notice any noise so I guess I did not need it. Although I did not realize it slid back and forth like the Thule. The other issue for us is that my wife has Saris racks for her Prius and the Yakima guy said we would have to pay extra for the lock cores and for the feet adapters to grip the elliptical Saris bars.

Instead of removing the antenna I put on the shark fin. Looks great. I almost put my XM radio antenna under it also but figured I would be in trouble if I had to replace the XM antenna for some reason.

[Tadashi]

Yes it is exactly the same size but it sits lower than the Yakima. I have yakima bars and the front wind breaker would not fit on but I did not notice any noise so I guess I did not need it. Although I did not realize it slid back and forth like the Thule. The other issue for us is that my wife has Saris racks for her Prius and the Yakima guy said we would have to pay extra for the lock cores and for the feet adapters to grip the elliptical Saris bars.

Instead of removing the antenna I put on the shark fin. Looks great. I almost put my XM radio antenna under it also but figured I would be in trouble if I had to replace the XM antenna for some reason.

[PA Prius]

Our family of four did a 7,500 mile cross country camping trip this summer in our Prius and averaged 49.7 mpg (actual). We have the Saris rack, which is great, that we got used on eBay and the Thule box in the picture. However, for this trip we packed everything that went onto the roof into dry bags and layed them on a pad directly on the roof, tucked between the racks front and back and between the bike rails on either side, also tucked under the air deflector on front. A great solution if you don't mind the extra effort in packing.

PA P

[PA Prius]

Our family of four did a 7,500 mile cross country camping trip this summer in our Prius and averaged 49.7 mpg (actual). We have the Saris rack, which is great, that we got used on eBay and the Thule box in the picture. However, for this trip we packed everything that went onto the roof into dry bags and layed them on a pad directly on the roof, tucked between the racks front and back and between the bike rails on either side, also tucked under the air deflector on front. A great solution if you don't mind the extra effort in packing.

PA P