[lnichols]

Got the box on this morning. This is a Thule Excursion 13 cf box that I bought through Mazda for the wife's MPV. The mounting hardware was specific for the MPV, but I was able to reuse for LowRider racks. I will probably by the regular install parts that Thule usually provides with this box in the future, but it seems like it will work very well as-is.

 

[lnichols]

Back

 

[lnichols]

Side

 

[lnichols]

Side Rear Hatch Open

 

[lnichols]

Sunroof Fully Vented

 

[lnichols]

View from Inside with Sunroof Open

 

[Enforcer]

Just out of curiosity, what does it do to wind buffeting inside the cabin with rear windows and sunroof?

 

[lnichols]

Enforcer, I haven't taken it for a spin yet with the box on. I will probably take it out today just to make sure everything is good for my trip tomorrow. I will open the sunroof during the test and check the wind situation and post later today. I doubt that I will vent the sunroof while driving with it on at any time since the air would be deflected straight to the bottom of the box, maybe putting too much force on the bottom of the box.

 

[lnichols]

Went on the test drive with the box. The wind noise increased dramtically. Also with the nose of the box just over the back quarter of the sunroof, a lot of wind gets forced down the sunroof, which is the cause of a lot of the noise. I don't consider this to be too much of an issue since I plan to have the A/C and roof closed since I will be at highway speed.

I think that no matter what box you go with you will have a lot of wind noise since wind will be forced through the small area between the box and the roofline. A more areodynamic box should be better but I still think will have this same issue. I am using this box since I have it for the Mazda MPV.

If I were buying a new box, I would look into the wider, lower height boxes that are available. But I bought this box for $220 and it has fit my needs pretty well so far.

 

[Enforcer]

Great post Inichols! Thanks for the info. I'm sure it will do great. Have a safe trip, keep the shiny side up!

 

[lnichols]

Update after trip

Just got back from my trip. The box and bar combo worked great. I will probably still order a couple of parts from Thule for the regular Excursion mounts, but I had zero problems and did not have to tighten anything during the trip.

Gas mileage did take a hit with the box. I averaged about 19 mpg from Leesburg to North Myrtle, most of this on I-95. I was driving about 75 - 80 mph on I-95 so this didn't help. Wind noise with the all windows and sunroof closed could still be heard so I may look into the suroof wind deflector to create a fairing-like effect to see it will reduce the noise.