Luggage box vs box trailer

Hello,

I prefer the pod on the roof to a trailer but weight is the killer. Most racks only carry about 60kgs so everything needs to be as light as possible. I have a pod on one side and a half basket (no sides) on the other for a spare tyre without rim to save weight. I seem to be able to fit a fair bit in. How much does a kayak weigh?
You need to know the weight capacity on roof for your vehicle and the racks you buy.

Mike

Depends a bit where you want to travel. Some places it is either difficult (4wding) or expensive (ferries) to take a trailer. I'd go for the roof solution if the amount you want to carry is fairly small.
I have been sticking with a roofrack which has a roofrack bag, spacecase and BW tent separate ... but it does get to be a pain packing it up and strapping it down. So now I'm considering a trailer or a simpler roof packing solution (eg. one big roof rack bag instead of multiple things).

Yeah maximum weight capacity is going to be your main limitation with a pod on the roof. Plus it will be noisy at highway speeds (depending on the car) and in my case puts a dent in fuel economy but probably not as bad as a trailer would.

A trailer you can load right up and you can get ones now that are fully weatherproof and lockable so security shouldn't be an issue, it just depends on whether you want to lug a trailer everywhere.

An alternative is - provided you have a reese hitch - to use one of those luggage rack things that plug into the standard reese hitch receiver.

We had the same issue and opted for the roof storage. On reason being, is that we often travel to the Fraser / Moreton / straddie islands by ferry. A trailer on the Moreton island ferry costs as much as a car ($180).

BTW, with the new baby expect the amount of stuff you take to quadruple.

R.

Went through the same thing a year ago. Opted for the trailer option and for $1700 got a brand new 7x4 with high sides and solid roof. No stuffing around with ropes and fitting stuff into roof top bags. Things are more easily accessible in a trailer and you can bring bulky items like the pram, but you do have the added cost of ferry travel and lack of flexibility offroad. Not sure what kind of a boat you have, but my trailer has racks for carrying a tinny. I found fuel usage to be similar to my previous setup of having a roof cage + 80 odd kilos of stuff up top.

What about a combination of both ?

POD trailer comes in it $2500 ..

POD Trailer

Only weighs 250 Kgs empty .. plenty of room and the possibilty of upgrading later tp their camper unit ..

Just like mine

Cheers

Mandrake

A lot depends on what the tow vehicle is, where you drive and how often.

Eg. loaded up 4by with roof box doing a steep traverse ... no thanks.

We went through this about 20 years ago.

When my first child came along I sold the motorbike and convinced the wife that a 4wd was a good thing.

My first was a MQ shortie with the most amazing roof rack I have ever owned. I had no fear and loaded it to the hilt. Tent, spare wheel, jerry cans of fuel and anything else I could think of. Our first trip to Lakes Entrance in Victoria was pretty simple. Pulled up made camp and sat for a week. Life was good. On the way home we went up through the mountains along the Snowy and I started to think about all that weight up high. I was feeling it.

The roof rack was also good for building materials and stuff like that. But off road I always had concerns about centre of gravity.

We did Fraser Island just after the second child came along. Scooting up the beach all was good until I went into the soft stuff to avoid a spot where the water was washing well up the beach. The car wallowed into another vehicles wheel tracks and all that weight scared the socks off me. I took it really easy from then on. The other problem was unloading and loading all that stuff up above my head every day.

Anyway now I tow a camper trailer. I can carry all the gear for 5 of us. We have been through the push bike and tricycles, prams, boogie boards even carried a boat on top of the camper on one trip.

I went from an hour to make camp and an hour and a half to break camp down to 15 min to make or break camp. I travel at the same speed I would with the roof rack and use about the same amount of fuel. The biggest problem is finding a parking spot in town.

I have never been limited in where I have gone by the trailer but the roof rack and Westfield don't mix. I have taken my trailer to plenty of places I was advised not to take it. In 1999 I was in the third group to cross the Jardine on Cape York and yes I had the camper with me.

There are pros and cons for both. Read all the information and don't let money have the final say. I paid $12000 for a brand new Trak Shak which owes me less than $1000 a year now. I have loaned the TS to a number of friends with big roof racks because it is just that much easier.

Duncs

Hi Mitza

We have progressively moved through the whole range as we have gone from no kids, to one , to two, and as of 3 weeks ago 5 - I think I've almost worked out what causes it now! - at least I hope I have :)

We started off with an old Magna station wagon with our first child, but quickly realised that if we wanted to keep camping would need to move to something a bit more robust, able to carry more and able to get us away from the summer crowds.

Enter the NJ Pajero. Plenty of room in the back (with a cage) and then with roofracks and a canvas rack we were able to stow away even more. In my opinion the canvas rack sacs are more flexible (wrt size) than the roof pods on the roof.

Child number four meant we lost the back of the Pajero for storage and we bought an O'Briens off road butterfly top trailer. It was even better than we expected it was going to be, as it is always setup and ready to go with a full kitchen on one side (great for those late arrivals at the campsite and the need to deal with hungry kids, getting dinner and putting the tent up), heaps of storage on the other and is fully lockable. Being a bushwalker prekids, I prefer to have a separate tent to set up where you want it - which can limit you sometimes with a camper trailer.

Child number five has meant a new (for us), bigger 4WD, and with our aging family tent being damaged in gale winds on our last trip through Broken Hill, we tossed up between buying a new tent (a Blackwolf Turbo Plus 300 or a Freedom tourer) or bringing forward the move to a camper trailer (we are hoping to do the trip around Australia in a couple of years if we can stop having babies!). We have just purchased a second hand Trak Shak (after advice from this forum) and are now looking forward to camping again in the Christmas holidays in our new 'sanity maker' (our O'Briens trailer is for sale in the classifieds, but I won't push it as I think it is above your current price range).

So my advice would be have a think about what the future holds wrt to the number of kids and what type of camping you want to do (we very quickly moved from caravan parks to bush camping when we started - but I do prefer to get away from crowds). Then look at your budget and be comfortable with the thought that whatever way you go, you will most likely update to bigger(?) and better(?) as the years go on - particularly if the bug bites.

cheers
portlester

Thanks for your feedback! It was really hopefull to hear your opinions.

First my car is a 2WD wagon, and I plan to keep it for a number of years, until the kids will be a bit older so I can take them 4WDing.

We mainly go to Cparks and campsites with amenities, and because at 10 am we have to vacate the site, towing a trailer lead to problems in finding a parking spot near attractions and in shopping centres.

We decided for the POD for above considerations, and I will get my roof racks fitted (permanent ones, 100kg load rate) next week for around $460 (Rhino). The next step is to buy one of this luggage boxes and then in future supports for a double kayak.

The thing is that the pod will stay all the time on top of car with the tent, matress and other things in so we will be ready for weekend getaways in minutes.

Thanks again.