Pntblnk

We are planning to drive the ML home for Thanksgiving and Christmas this year and the wife wants to take the dog with us along with both kids. I tried to tell her the dog could come but the kids had to stay home....that didn't work out very well. So short of renting a bigger SUV I have come up with the idea of putting a roof top cargo box for the luggage and the dog can ride in the back.

Where are you all purchasing your MB accessories / parts for best price and service? I appreciate all links for reputable sources.

fabbrisd1

From your dealer - the MB cargo box made by Thule - check most MB models will open from either side - which is a BIG plus.

jnejah

I find rack attack to be true experts.
http://www.rackattack.com

They always have parts available and have vast experience installing roof mounted accessories. Although I want to support OEM parts, MB's accessories are a generation behind the newest and greatest from the wide array of manufactures that make the products.

Madjackdog

I recently purchased a set of Thule square bars, and had to take them back because of the howling noise they made. Next time REI has a sale, I'm going to try the Thule Whisper Bars. They're supposed to be quite a bit quieter. Has anybody tried the Whisper Bars?

jnejah

Going a bit off topic from pntblnk's original question here but the Whispbars are made by Yakima. The AeroBlade is made by Thule. Don't know about the "Whisper Bars", pretty sure you mean Whispbar. Although the Square Bars are noisy, they are galvanized, plastic coated and therefore very durable. They are also available in more variety of lengths. I have all three plus the 2013 MB OEM Basic Carrier (which is the old Thule Aero but two generations old). I heard somewhere that the "new" MB OEM crossbars (aka Basic Carrier in MB lingo) are closer to the new AeroBlade but I have not seen one to confirm this.

If you have no accessories attached to any of the cross bars, I think the Whispbars and AeroBlade are very comparable in terms of noise and significantly more quiet than the Square Bar and MB Basic Carrier. Once accessories are attached, I think the wind noise for all three become comparable. In my opinion, there's no way to get away from the wind noise of an otherwise very quiet MB when attaching accessories to the roof. I'm not sure what pntblnk was trying to carry on his MB but the new Thule Hyper and Thule Sonic cargo boxes are as "quiet" as I have ever experienced in the past 25 years. The MB boxes are again made by Thule but not the newest models as far as I know. If you are carrying bikes, I highly recommend the Thule Sprint - very quiet when left on the AeroBlade. I personally think the MB OEM bike carrier (really really old version of a Thule) is inferior to almost any other rack available today. The only roof rack accessory available from MB that I think is as good as any is the ski and snowboard rack. It works just as well as any other in my opinion. The Thule Hullavator that I use to load kayaks with is the best lift assisted carrier I have ever owned.

As for pricing, Rackattack seems to always have both Yakima and Thule for 10% off of MSRP. Also, bakcountry.com has 40% off one full priced item sales a couple or three times a year. My MB dealer gives me 15% off MSRP on accessories. I want to support my MB dealers but most of the other retailers will let me try stuff and give me a year to exchange it. Also of significance to me is the fact that I can never get any parts for my MB roof accessories. Thule, Yakima, Sportrack, etc., all seems to have replacement parts readily available.

Pntblnk

I ended up with the MB 13 cubic foot (Medium) box direct and MB bars from my local dealer. I talked to Rack Attack and found out that they drop ship the Thule boxes which can take 1-2 week plus $100 freight. My local MB dealer had it shipped from the regional warehouse in 2 days which was key as I procrastinated a bit before the Christmas holiday trip.

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.