CORRUGATIONS!!! - Any Thule Roof-Box Stories to Share?

Hi Barney
beware March/April can still bring late cyclones and the Gibb Road is closed when wet.
The corrogations are worse on the Kalumbaru turn off to Kununurra section.
We have seen some biggies!
I have not used a Thule box but instead Rola Roof racks with a bolt on wire bread box accessory with has worked well.
What ever you do on badly corrogated sections particularly with your gear in a trailer due to the harsher suspension, is to ensure that every piece of gear is individually wrapped in rags/bubble wrap/cardboard - because your gear will rub/vibrate against everything and things get bent/destroyed in no time at all.
Good luck Peter.

Oh for the old gutter mount racks but for some they are gone forever!
As for packing one of the best is a few cheap high density foam sleeping mats cut to size, they are tough & resilient & can be bought for $5-10 each

Hi Barney,

We did the Gibb River Road in July/August last year. We found it relatively simple. The corrugations on the gibb river road itself are nothing compared to the Mitchell Plateau track and some of the Kalumburu track. The corrugations as mentioned, are worse towards the eastern end of the Gibb.
I found the worst part of the Gibb road was the road to Bells Gorge.
We used an Opposite Lock alloy rack and still holding firm. Heaviest weight we carried on it was about 70kgs.
After doing it I'm under the impression that once upon a time it was more challenging but when you see a normal sedan towing a caravan from the opposite direction it makes you wonder.
Obviously it differs over the seasons with deeper crossings earlier in the year.

It's a good trip but lacks the amount of 4x4ing that we had assumed would be on it. I think now it's more a thing for 'some' city people to get home and say they conquered the Gibb to their friends over a glass of wine.

I think you'll find like most ARB sales reps they have never done the treks themselves or it's been a long time since they have been on them.

I would personally think that you'd be alright with the Thule under light load. Just cruise at a sensible pace on the corrugations and you should be right.

Regards
chris Nice southerly coastal fishing trip someday.
Chris

Barney, we did the Gibb River Road with a Thule Roof Box about 18 months ago and the road was very bad back then. The Thule didn't miss a beat it was dust free and as you will no doubt already know, makes almost no difference to fuel economy. The only think I found was each night I would go round and tighten the mounting screws on my Thule roofrack as some of them would work loose over the corrugations. I had 7 punctures on that trip but no problem with the roofbox.Here's Mud in your Tyre

Hi Barney,

I have the basic Thule Box (No internal steel frame), and have used it on many thousands of klm of bad corrogated tracks. No problems whatsover ! Dust Free & Water Tight.

As my Thule is rear opening with a single lock, I use a lightweight strap around it, just in case it pops open. I generally store 4 self inflating mattresses, 4 sleeping bags, Shower Tent, Gas Stove (not the bottle), blankets & clothes.

Phil P

We travelled for 6 months last year (wife 3 kids and myself) in a Prado with Camper Trailer etc. All our clothing was kept in a Black Thule Roof Coffin.

We did all of Cape York, all Gulf and the Gibb from start to finih - we never had a problem, not even a crack and I can honestly say that I beleive that I was at least 75% (if not a 100%) over the recommended 75kilos load rating.

I found the coffin to be dust proof, water proof and a bleep load easyier than having all the crap that 4 females carry on a 6 mth trip stuffed all over the cabin.

I have heaps of photos of the rig doing it all!!

Let me know if you want more info.

Bear
0414522295
BEAR