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I put the Inno box on tonight and thought I would try it without the T slot adapter. The hooks of the attaching mounts had some room to work so I went with it. But, there is not a lot of room between the bottom of the hook and the roof. I'll have to watch how much the hook drops as i put the gear in. But now that I think about it, i might be better off using the T slot adapter. i didn't completely understand how the adapter worked but it seems a better solution.
Looks to be in an ideal position close to the roof but without worry about scratching, only possible with T-tracks. Please post your impression of the wind noise after some miles.
We just did a 1k km trip along the coast from east of LA up to Morro Bay and Paso Robles. The noise wasn't too bad around 115k but moving north of 120 it started to get loud. The weather was warm so with the air and music blasting the noise was not that noticeable.
This thread has come full circle. I started by complaining about price fixing on big brand cargo boxes and will conclude with first hand experience.
Amazon Canada had a killer deal on my #2 choice for a cargo box to mount on the Whispbars (Skiguard was #1), including free delivery before Christmas. The low-profile Thule 606 Flow will accept about six pairs of Nordic skis up to 210cm long and sits only 11 ¼ inches above the cross bars.
I’d seen this box at a local rack shop last summer. Although non-current, they had a few in stock offered at $50 off MSRP. The sales guy raved that fit and finish was better than newer models and I’d be smart to grab one before they were gone for good. I took a close look at several boxes and came to the conclusion I preferred the gloss black acrylic finish of the 606 over the matte, pebble, and faux carbon fibre texture that covered many new boxes. I also appreciated how it didn’t flex as much as others when raising and lowering the lid, and thought the overall shape nicely compliment the S212.
But the Thule was just too expensive to justify for occasional use, and I found it aggravating that retailers were generally sticking close to MSRP even on this non-current model. I kept hunting and eventually came upon the Amazon sale by Thule themselves. Before pulling the trigger, I called the shop to see if they would price-match. They wouldn't budge so I went with Amazon and saved 25%.
When I checked my Amazon order later that same day, I found that Thule had increased the price back to full list. One can only wonder if the bricks and mortar store made a complaint after my call?
Regardless of which brand, you must pay attention to how the cargo box mounts to the Whispbars as there isn't a lot of clearance between bars and roof. I was fortunate to locate a Thule adapter kit for the 606 which allows their box to mount to the crossbar T-slots rather than using Thule's clamps. You could also scratch-build a T-slot adapter with parts available on Ebay.
LOL, just shows it was more of a "nice to have" than a "need to have" ;-) Made do last season using a Mercedes ski holder from my old W124. Fit the Whispbar T-slot just fine but of course the skis were exposed to the elements.
Here is my Ski Box Comparison in order of MSRP:
Packline NX 215 shipped from Vancouver
Length 215 cm, width 88 cm, height 34 cm
Weight 24 kg, capacity 450 liters, ski length 212 cm
Material high-gloss, ABS twin-sheet plastic
Skiguard 830S shipped from Colorado
Length 214 cm, width 88 cm, height 30 cm
Weight 25 kg, capacity 470 liters, ski length 205 cm
Material gloss fiberglass-reinforced polyester
Whispbar WB754 Lo-Line not available in Canada
Length 230 cm, width 94 cm, height 30 cm
Weight 24 kg, capacity 420 liters
Thule Motion XT Alpine available locally
90 mm clamps fit Whispbars or T-track adapters available
Length 230 cm, width 95 cm, height 33.5 cm (12.25” above bars)
Weight 30 kg, capacity 453 liters, ski length 215 cm
Material gloss acrylic over ABS plastic
Thule 606 Flow available locally
80 mm clamps will not fit 85 mm Whispbars width without modification – use T-track adapter 697-6
Length 226 cm, width 87 cm, height 31 cm (11.25” above bars)
Weight 25 kg, capacity 400 liters, ski length 210 cm
Material gloss acrylic over ABS plastic
Yakima Skybox Lo Carbonite available locally
Length 234 cm, width 91.5 cm, height 29 cm
Weight 23.6 kg, capacity 425 liters, ski length 221 cm
Material matte ABS plastic
Rhino-Rack Z86 Zenith available locally (optionally available T-bolts)
Length 215 cm, width 88 cm, height 37 cm (@ 13.6” above bars)
Weight 23.6 kg, capacity 453 liters, ski length 201 cm
Material gloss ABS/PMMA
Thule 613 Pulse Alpine Low available locally
Length 225 cm, width 65 cm, height 32 cm
Weight 13.6 kg, capacity 312 liters, ski length 211 cm
Material matte ABS plastic
The pending arrival of this box creates two new concerns; 1) how to store it when not on my vehicle, and 2) how to keep it clean while in storage in a dusty parkade. Seen a few YouTube videos adapting kayak wall holders for storing cargo boxes. Also online are bespoke storage covers in Europe but pricey. Anyone MacGyver'd something interesting for either purpose?
I'm in the same situation, the box has been in box it arrived in three months ago.
The plan is to hang it on the wall using the original clamps that are attached to a rod that sits in more hooks. Hopefully the picture gives you an idea. I don't have the ceiling space in the garage for those fancy hanging storage methods.
Not sure if this is good for the box long term but I don't use the clamps and mine will be inside the garage.
I'm going with a product which combines storage and protection. Have on order this nifty full-coverage waterproof bag made by Cover It of the Netherlands, which I intend to hang from a couple of hooks. Because it's internally padded on the ends, I could also stand it up.
Here are in situ pics of the Thule Flow attached to Whispbars via T-slots; a nice fit IMHO. Was at our local Nordic skiing area and a little fresh snow fell making it just a perfect day :-)
09-20-2018, 10:06 AM
