I did not consider any other crossbars mainly because I didn't know there was option. I take the carrier and the cross bars off as a unit and hang in the garage when not in use and don't have it on but for long trips. It's awkward getting on and off, but one person can manage.

As for wind noise, I do have mine mounted back a bit further and with the sunroof cover closed didn't think the noise was excessive. I've got five kids too, so a bit of wind noise may not register with me as it would with others. And no Pano roof...

 

Capt - How far back do you have yours mounted - where does the furthest point of the front of the container line up with in terms of the front sunroof????

I also did not know there was another option in terms of crossbar finish - chrome. Not sure the benefit (if any) of paying more for chrome finish. I can't see leaving these on without having the container or ski/snowboards on them and thus I'm not sure what finish you can see anyway. I think what you are paying for (as opposed to the Thule and other makes) is the MB logo on the sides of each of the rail and how well they are constructed. The finish seems to match well with the existing roof rails and the black finish of the container goes extremely well with the black color of my GL63.

 

I have it so the nose of the carrier is just forward of center of the sunroof. The rear cross bar is just behind the support for the rails

 

I moved the roof container back so the rear of the carrier is just a bit in front of the satellite antenna (as to not interfere with it). That move had a tremendous effect on wind noise. I don't hear a thing now - so if you are experiencing any wind noise then you have your roof container too far forward. Move it back a bit and see if that helps.

 

Posted on the ML sub-forum and planing to use the same set-up our GL350 due in February. (Hoping the roof rails with fit either )

Medium Cargo Box 13 cubic feet MB # 000-840-01-00 $625
Basic Carrier (Rails) MB # 166-890-13-93 $300

We opted for the MB model over Thule for the simple reason that we needed the box within 5 days and could not get the Thule unit within that time period. That said, I'm glad we went with the MB unit as in the end it cost me ~$100 more than getting the comparable Thule unit through Rack Attack with shipping. Rack Attack did not have the 13 cu ft unit in stock and said it would drop ship from Thule with a 10-14 day delivery time. The regional MB warehouse had the unit in stock and shipped to our local dealer in 2 days.


Fit / Finish is outstanding. We opted for the matte silver to match our iridium silver ML. The box has a slight carbon fiber look to it under the silver paint. Cool effect for sure. The rails are very nicely designed but a rather tight fit on the roof bars. So much that the SM thought the parts department ordered the wrong set. The back went on fairly easy but the front ones were a real bugger to get in place. The locking mechanism of the bars is a great design. The clamps act like a ratchet and click freely when you have reached maximum pressure by turning the small handle. The whole assembly has a high quality feel when using which was a pleasant surprise

Functionality is stellar and option of opening from either side is very handy. I loaded from a single side but midway through out trip needed something from the opposite side. Simple unlock / flip up, grab and go operation. The mechanism is pretty slick and works equally well from either side. This may be a standard feature for other boxes but this is the first one I've owned so wouldn't know. I should also share that most of the trip north was in heavy rain followed by temperatures in the 20's. The box was bone dry when we unpacked. However both locks were frozen shut when we went to repack a few days later. I had to use a hair dryer to thaw and spray WD40 directly into the lockset to displace the residual water. I need to find a better low temp lubricant to use on future trips north! The lock sets should really have some sort of rubber cap or something to prevent water from penetrating the cylinder.

Wind Noise is acceptable. Sure it makes some noise but I found that with the sunroof cover closed it was minimal. I also believe that the cabin of our ML so quiet anything out of the norm seems obtrusive. We had the box mounted back so that there was ~3" of clearance with the tail gate open. This put the front tip in line with the front side of the sunroof.

Cargo Capacity was more than enough for a family of four on an 8 day holiday trip. (The rear cargo area was filled with Christmas presents and our 85lb lab.) We picked up 4 cheap 24" duffle bags from WalMart @ $12 each vs the ~$300 MB branded box luggage. This left us with the front ~1ft for misc items.

Impact to MPG was minimal. We made the same trip at Thanksgiving without the box and averaged 21.6 MPG over 1300 miles. Average speed was 70MPH on highway with ~100 suburban miles. This trip with the box averaged 20.2 MPG over 1385 miles and total average speed of 55 MPH. This trip involved about ~200 suburban miles and a good bit of warming up in the mornings. Highway only return trip was 20.6 MPG with average speed of 69MPH - cruise was set at 80 MPH for 80% of trip.

 

I initially order for Roof Box 400 but that was looking shorter proportionately to the size of my GL350. I then returned back the same and have ordered for Roof box 450 which is well proportionate to the size of the vehicle. But I am little worried about the wind noise and if anybody has any experience with the noise level with Roof Box fitted, kindly share with me. Will this noise disturb the inside passengers also. Also whether this would reduce my fuel efficiency. Can anybody answer these questions .

 

yes, I have the coffin too, it's great

 

Anybody tried a Thule Sonic XL cargo box? It looks like it may be couple inches longer than the MB OEM Large box.

 

Re-opening this thread to ask if anybody had tried the Sears X-Cargo Sport on the MB OEM cross bars? I have one lying around from my old truck and I'm not sure if there are any issues with this cargo box. I don't want to spend extra on a thule or yakima if this one works for now. Looking at using it for a trip in the next 2 weeks....

 

Sears sux!! Don't give them a dime. I have a basic rack carrier for sale (OEM) if you want to PM me....off my 2011E550

 

If you have a large cargo box, can you tell me how long it is? Or give me the model and I can look it up! I'm looking to determine how long I can go on a Cargo box and still allow the hatch to open.

I'm hoping to get the new Thule Motion XT in XL - 86 Inches (215cm).

I also plan to get the Thule Aeroblade (53") witht the 450R feet. If you have are using that, I would like to know if how that is going.

Thanks!