Roof Mounted Cargo Bag for 2007 Honda CR-V with Roof Rack and Crossbars

Question:

Hello, We have a factory installed roof rack from Honda with ~25 inches space between the horizontal racks. It is a 2007 Honda CRV and as I look at some of the sizes of these cargo bags it looks like many of them are longer than that. My question is does the size of the cargo bag impact how well it will be secured? Are there recommendations on the cubic feet or exact specifications LxW which should not be exceeded for our model? I was looking in the range of 12-15 cubic feet bags. When I use the what fits your vehicle link, I am seeing the 2 recommendations and their specifications seem large. So I am looking understand if/how it matters with the relatively short distance between the racks. Thank you for your time.

asked by: Jay

Expert Reply:

Ideally, you would want to choose a cargo bag that will fit in between the crossbars on your CR-V and sit flat on the vehicle roof. However, since all of the cargo bags we offer in the 12-15 cubic foot capacity would be too long to fit in between, you can have the bag sit behind the front crossbar and overlap the rear, if you wish. With a soft sided bag your best option would be to have the bag sit on a cargo basket like part # C18115. The basket would provide a flat and stable mounting point for a bag like the Rightline Ace 2 Rooftop Cargo Bag part # RL100S20. The bag is highly weather resistant, but I would strongly recommend packing the contents in plastic to protect them from moisture.

If you decide to use a cargo bag that sits directly on the roof surface, the Rightline bag mentioned above would work great for you. Just make sure that the bottom of the bag and the vehicle roof are completely clean and free of grit before installing. A protective pad like part # RL100650 would be a good addition.

Have you thought about a cargo box? The SportRack Vista XL, part # SR7018 offers a full 18 cubic feet of storage space, and will attach to roof crossbars that are between about 25 inches apart, measured center-to-center. Although the cargo boxes do a good job of excluding rain, snow and dirt, just like the cargo bags, wrapping the contents in plastic is recommended.

Finally, you might be interested in a tire mounted step like part # HE4040, which would make accessing your roof-mounted box or bag easier.