Thule Motion 3 Rooftop Cargo Box - 18 cu ft - Titan Glossy

Video Transcript for An In-Depth Look at the Thule Motion 3 Rooftop Cargo Box

Hi, everyone, it's Evangeline here at etrailer. Today we're taking a look at the Thule Motion 3 rooftop cargo box. This is gonna be the XL version, or the 18 cubic foot box, that will protect your cargo, but also has a bunch of different features to make that process a lot easier for you. We're gonna take a look at some of those features, and I'll also show you how to get this set up for your vehicle and your cargo right here. If you need a carry around cargo, but you want to make sure it's protected from the elements, a big question is, how well does it protect it Well, your box is gonna be made of ABS plastic, and you have your glossy lid, whether glossy black or glossy gray, and then you have your more textured bottom base. Both of them are designed with different angles and different design features to them to make it more low-profile, sleek, and clean.

You'll notice that it's tapered both in the front as well as the back just to help out with wind drag and resistance, but also to make it more versatile for more vehicles. This box weighs 51 pounds and has a weight capacity of 165 pounds. However, that weight capacity, you do have to check your crossbar capacity and your roof capacity first. If any of those numbers are lower than 165, go ahead and follow whichever is lower, and that will help you figure out how much cargo can you actually carry. For the length, it's gonna be 85 inches and 1/8 inch long.

Your height is going to be 16 inches and 15/16 inch tall. And as for the space will take up on your crossbars, well, that's be 35 inches wide. These measurements are important if you wanna carry around something else on your roof as well as your box. Pretty standard dimensions for your rooftop cargo box. Where this really shines is once you start getting it onto your roof and how easy it is to clamp down, as well as the different features to make it easier to load things up into the box.

So let's go take a look at that process as well as those different features. When your box arrives, it's going to be ready to go out of the box. All you need to do is grab a second person to help you get it onto your crossbars. Not so much because it's heavy, but just because it's on the bulkier side. Once you get it onto your bars, you can then fine tune its position to match your vehicle and your needs.

This has a good range of crossbar spread that this can accommodate. All the way from a minimum of 21 5/8 inches, all the way to 35 7/8. Now if you need to, you can push the box back and forth on that crossbar to get the best fit on your vehicle. What you're aiming for is further back, but still have hatch clearance. A good way to measure for that too is if you have at least 51 inches and 1/8 inch from your front crossbar to the top of your back hatch, then you'll have clearance for the full box. Remember to measure at its highest position, but also if it comes really close, a good thing is that the back of the box is tapered to give you better luck with even the smaller crossovers. But one of my favorite things about these boxes are the PowerClick clamps. So these simply fit into the track over your crossbar, and then they first click into place to show that they're seated, but then you also tighten them down with this easy-to-turn knob, and then you tighten it until even the knob itself also clicks. This shows you that you have enough tightness and enough torque around your crossbars. It's a good way to check real quick if everything's still tight down. (clamp clicks) This is also a dual-access box, which means you can open it on both sides. This helps you organize cargo more strategically, having easy access items towards the side where you might put your box, or you can have it centered, if that makes sense on your vehicle. This also helps out when clamping down the box just because you will have to open both sides to access both sides of the clamps. But once everything is secure, this is gonna be a great time to load your cargo up. Now on each side of the box, you're going to have hinges, and these hinges are very helpful because I've noticed that they do support a good amount of weight, but they don't bind up when I lift everything up. You also have the hinges making sure that things close properly once it's time to latch down your box. The box has security features too. Both sides lock. And you do get two keys. They are keyed alike. So when you turn your key into the unlock position, you are then able to activate the latch. I like the latch. That was a quick and easy squeeze. And then I can then use two hands to lift the lid up and then get access to my cargo. When I need to bring the lid back down, I have this pull string that brings the lid into a more easy to reach position. And then we have this really wide ledge. That's nice because we need a good amount of leverage to make sure that the box fully closes, and you can double check if it closes or not by that red indicator. So here, it's not actually fully closed, and I can check that by not being able to remove the key, use that ledge to really bring it down. And now I can grab the key and go. So if your key is in hand, that helps you know that your box is locked. All these measurements and features and dimensions are there just to explain the versatility of the box, because really, the most important thing is will it even fit your vehicle And the answer usually is yes. So after that, your next question is, will this fit all the cargo that I want to carry With this being the 18 cubic foot box, you're gonna have a good amount of space for a lot of items. You're also gonna have a little bit of extra height compared to your low-profile boxes. To maximize your 18 cubic feet, you also have different features in there to help you really store your items. One of the features are the six anchor points and the three cam buckle straps included with your box. This helps cinch down your smaller things or longer things to prevent them from sliding around. You also have different grooves on the bottom base, as well as areas where water can pool, and that makes it easier to just mop right up. The height of the box for interior dimensions is 13 inches and 13/16 inch, but that is measured from the top ridge of your base. So you might be able to get a little bit more height throughout the box, but good rule of thumb is please don't carry a suitcase or bag that's taller than 13 inches. So let's take a look at some of the things you might be able to carry. For skis, this can carry skis up to 200 centimeters, which is very impressive for a roof box. This is also a great example of the ridges on the base to prevent the skis from sliding around. You can also carry snowboards. And our description explains how many skis or how many snowboards you can carry. But the perks of this style is you can put your skis off to one side and put your bags to the other. So this is what's gonna look like once you have different types of cargo in there, you have your larger dry bags, you have your skis held in by their own strap. You also have your sleeping bag and your chairs. With the dimensions given for height, as well as length. This is very versatile, enough to carry gear for about four people, per Thule. Of course, the amount of gear you might have will be different, but hopefully, you are able to see just how much height you have for larger objects, but also how much you have, especially for those longer skis. If you're comparing roof boxes, I have this big video out there choosing a roof box, which goes over all the different roof box options, but the closest option to a Thule Motion 3 is gonna have to be the Yakima SkyBox NX. This is also available in an 18 cubic foot box size. And when it comes to the dimensions, they're pretty similar, with a Thule being about a quarter inch taller when it comes to height. The Thule though is going to outperform when it comes to longer items, like your skis, with having up to 200 centimeter long skis, while the Yakima is in the 192 centimeter range. Another difference is gonna be the gloss. The Thule is extremely glossy, which I usually don't like 'cause I leave hand prints on glossy roof boxes, although this hasn't seemed to be retaining those hand prints as much as their old design was, while the Yakima SkyBox NX has that textured matte, but also glossy finish, which I think is more forgiving of scratches and scuffs. But those are all looks. When it comes to Functionality, the main difference is gonna be, do you need to carry those longer items and do you like the more sleek look that the Motion 3 has Or do you want maybe a taller box all throughout with the Yakima SkyBox and that textured finish If you're looking for a box that will protect your cargo as you transport it to your adventure destination, this is gonna be a great option for you. Especially with all those extra features in there, from the lower lip that makes it easier to load cargo up to the handle that makes it easier to secure the box and that easy method of installing and uninstalling the box, everything works well. Where you don't really have to think about if your box is gonna fit or not. Now, you do have to think about your cargo and if this will fit in the box. 18 cubic feet is pretty good for most types of things, but we also have other options here at etrailer if you need to carry something else. If you're only carrying skis, this is available in a low-profile addition, the Motion 3 XL low-profile. You can also get this in in larger version of up to 21 cubic feet with the XXL, and they're all gonna share the same features and the same design. It's simply a matter of which one will fit you best. But today what we saw was the Thule Motion 3 XL rooftop cargo box at etrailer.com.