Roof Top Cargo Container?
 

Hi,

Does anyone have the MB cargo container that sits on the roof rack? I am looking to buy one and was wondering if anyone had any opinions on the factory one vs. aftermarket (e.g.- Thule).

In favor of the factory one:

- It is an MB accessory, so if you really want to have all "factory" parts, well, there you go :-)

- The price from some of the specialty shops on the Interweb for the factory unit is around $405 for the small one, and $615 for the large. This is not outrageous compared to the aftermarket ones.

- I would assume (yeah) that MB would warrant it since it is a genuine part.

- I would assume (yeah I know) that it will attach better to the factory roof rack cross bars that I purchased from MB. i.e.- some of the aftermarket ones attach by fabric straps the the roof rails or cross bars. I kind of am imagining that the factory one would have a sturdier latch that mates up exactly to the cross bars. Can anyone confirm? The fabric strap mounts on the aftermarket ones are probably more than adequate since this sort of container has been around for ages.

- The MB brochure said the finish is a matte silver that can be painted to match the car. But I doubt I would ever spend the $$$ on painting...


In favor of the aftermarket ones:

- I assume that a company like Thule that focuses on these units would make a better product than the factory. (However, I also would guess that MB has subbed their cargo containers to a company exactly like Thule, so this may be a wash.)

- If I get a different car in a few years, I could use a universal mount container on the new car.

- The price on the aftermarket ones seems to be slightly better, but the cheaper ones could also have less features. The aftermarket companies have several product lines with cheap and high-end ones. I don't know exactly where the MB ones would end up in terms of comparison to the cheap or expensive aftermarket ones. It may be that MB is offering a relatively cheap one at high-end prices (i.e.- you pay for the MB logo).


Some questions I need to research:

- Do the MB ones fully seal? Do the aftermarket ones? Thule seems to offer covers for their cargo carriers, which makes me think they may not be fully water tight. I can't think of anything worse than arriving at a vacation destination to find 3" of water sloshing around in the bottom of the container, with clothing awash. Or is this a case of offering a non-necessary product for those who want belt AND suspenders, just to make sure?

- How do the MB ones mount onto the cross bars? Is it the same fabric straps as the aftermarket ones?

- Does anyone have any personal experience with either the MB or aftermarket ones (other vehicles should be OK since Thule ones are universal).

Your thoughts would be appreciated!

I think I have narrowed the choices (for me) down to 3 or 4 models:

MB small size (11.5 cu ft., $405, shipping extra):
http://www.mbpartsexpress.com/partlo...catalogid=5525

Thule smallest size (8 cu ft., $235, free shipping):
http://www.amazon.com/Thule-682-Side...2578375&sr=8-5

Thule not quite so small size (13 cu ft, $333, free shipping):
http://www.amazon.com/Thule-667ES-Excursion-Rooftop-Cargo/dp/B00152TUcQ2/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=automotive&qid=1282578375&sr= 8-4

Yakima smallest size (15 cu ft, $296, free shipping):
http://www.amazon.com/Yakima-RocketB...2578740&sr=8-1

These were all I could find in the smaller size range.

Most of these are 54 - 58" (4.5' - 5') long, and about 15 - 18" tall, so the difference is mainly in width, varying from 24 - 35" wide.

I am looking at this sort of smaller container since the next step up gets you to more like the 6 - 7 foot length range, and that is way bigger than I need.

Also, it is possible that certain models of the longer ones may sit too far back on the cross bars to allow the liftgate to go all the way up without hitting the cargo container. (Check this before buying if you see this post and decide to go with a longer/bigger cargo container.)

A couple of reviews I read also pointed out that the smaller sizes like these may also allow you to add bike carriers, but I didnt do any research into that to see if it looked like this would work on the GLK. It might be possible to add bike mounts alongside the cargo container, but I am not sure if the factory GLK cross bars are wide enough for the wider ones I linked to above. It may be possible to add additional aftermarket cross bars with bike mounts in front of the cargo container on the factory cross bars, but without measuring this I think not.

These all seem to have good mounting systems that clamp around the factory cross bars, and their web sites say they will work with most any factory cross bars (but double check with the mfrs).

I like the idea of having a silver or light-colored one such as the MB or Thule Sidekick, so as to limit the cooking my gear will receive, as compared to a black one that will soak up the rays (like the Thule Excursion or Yakima Rocketbox).

Not sure which or if any will fit through my garage door while mounted on my GLK. I am pretty sure it will not, but will check when my wife gets home with the car. Our garage door is a standard 7' high (wish I had thought to ask the builder if an upgrade overhead door was possible when our house was built). It would be nice to be able to pack the cargo container while the car was in the garage, so as not to advertise that we are going to be away from home for the weekend...

I also looked at a couple of cheaper cargo containers from brands I hadn't heard of, such as the SportRack Explorer Roof Box at $136, but the reviewes tended to have a lot of negatives comments such as too flimsy, latch came open while driving down the highway at 65 MPH, no struts to hold the box open, etc. So I narrowed my list down to the ones I linked to above.

You can also get soft-sided cargo bags that strap to the roof rack, essentially large duffel bags. Some of these such as the Thule one should hopefully be fairly weather resistant, but I am not sure completely weatherproof. Also, I would be worried that since these don't sit on the cross bars but rather on the roof itself, that there may be some rubbing and associated paint damage. But the price is about $30 - 80.

Can't think of anything else decision-wise at the moment, but please let me know if you have any thoughts.

I will post here once I decide on one and have a chance to install it.

thule makes them for mercedes you know.

One more thing to consider: one review I read said that the longer cargo container blocked the satellite antenna on the roof, which could be a distinct possibility on the GLK.

Other reviews noted that installing any brand/model of roof top cargo carrier is going to decrease gas mileage by 2 - 3 MPG or more.

I also saw noted that most any type of roof box is also going to affect the sail area and wind movement.

I haven't found anything comparison-wise to say which of these have the least wind noise.

Thanks, that is good info. I suspected that one of the big names in these boxes probably did.

I picked up the Mercedes cross bars and a Yakima SkyBox Pro 16. I went with the Yakima as the comparable Mercedes one (size wise) was $1000ish+. And the Yakima opens on either side where the Mercedes one only opens from one side.

It clears everything - tailgate and gps antenna.

Thanks for the info n8nu!

I was about to say... aftermarket and MB ones come from the same place

I would go for non-MB, better variety and lower price for the same product. Thule or whatever brand will have warranty as well. Go on GL or ML forum I'm sure that has been discussed there.

pics?

Not great pictures and the carrier is all packed up for the season. With the tail gate completely open there was at least 5" of room left between the gate and cargo carrier.

The front basically stopped flush to the top of the windshield.

http://www.n8webs.org/misc/cargo.jpg
http://www.n8webs.org/misc/cargo1.jpg

Looks great, thanks n8nu!

are those the original MB crossbars?

Yes, I picked them up from Mercedes. By the time I priced other bars that also locked they were getting pretty close to the same price.

They lock and have a little torque wrench to tighten them onto the car

Just wondering, but what are these containers for? Just for an additional storage room?

Wind noise
 

Is there appreciably more wind noise with the sunroof open and with one of these things on?

The small ones are for dwarves or small, yet troublesome children. The larger ones like mine are for insolent teenagers or transport of the odd old person you have laying around. Our city refuses to pick them up, resulting in our needing to take then to the recycling ourselves. With the two of us plus our two children in the back, we find it rather handy.

Subscribed for later...

Realize I am adding to old thread. But what I wanted to mention, was that all Thule boxes are not created equal.

While travelling in USA this winter, we found the GLK needed more cargo space. I bought a set of roof rack cross bars from an on-line MB dealer (Asheville NC). About $240. They had the MB boxes, but not the size I wanted and besides shipping to my location on coast would have been expensive.

I was in the Myrtle Beach area, so checked out local stores. I found that Sears and Dicks Sporting goods both had Thule Evolution roof boxes. They both also carried boxes by other manufacturers.

I ordered a Thule Evolution on-line for pick up at the Sear Auto centre. But when I got there, they didn't have the stock that on-line site said they had. Apparently there were three, but all broken. They offered me another make, but I didn't like the look of it.

I went over to Dicks, and they had one new box in stock so I bought that.

In researching these boxes, I found that the cheaper Evolution boxes that I was looking at had very cheap clamps. Two parallel steel plates with bolts spaced about 4" apart. The MB bars are 2" or less in width. Same box but different vintage had a U-bolt type clamp, but also 4" wide. The Dicks version had the crude plates.

More expensive Thule boxes (which look same externally) had a lobster claw type of clamp. You open the claws, set the box on the cross bars and then tighten the claws around the cross bars. Much easier to do. There is another intermediate type of clamp that uses u-bolts but avoids need to tighten nuts on inside of box.

I ended up going to Lowes and buying 4 u-bolts that just fitted around the bars. I slipped some clear plastic tubing over them. I cut some 1" thick wooden strips and placed them on inside as well as a metal plate. At first used wing nuts, later handwheels to tighten from inside. Probably spent another $50 on tools and parts :(

From what I found, the main difference between the $329 Thule box that I bought and the more expensive Thule and OE boxes is the type of clamp used.

So when buying, check out the clamping device. It is a long reach to get up there and tighten the box down so you want something that is easy to do.

Although it's laudable to have all MB parts, the cargo carrier box I can almost guarantee is made by Thule, with an MB badge.

What type of clamps does the MB box have?