Cargo Carrying Options for 2010 Toyota Sequoia

Question:

I have 4 teens. Week long winter trips are cramped. I have an old Thule Mountaineer rooftop box. I need to maximize our cargo capacity. Can I put two boxes on the the roof side-by-side? Do boxes open on both sides? What boxes will fit side-by-side?

asked by: Thomas B

Expert Reply:

Most rooftop cargo boxes are sized such that two will not fit easily on the same vehicle roof. In truth, even if you did find two boxes that could fit side-by-side on your Sequoia roof rack by the time you deducted the two empty box's combined weight from the vehicle roof capacity you would have little left for the weight of your actual loaded cargo.

For a more efficient way to transport cargo weight you may want to consider one roof carrier like # TH629907 and then a hitch-mounted cargo carrier. If you are towing a trailer then you can install a front-mount hitch, part # 31198 from Curt, and the use a hitch-mounted cargo carrier. Installation requires no drilling. As a bonus, a front-mount hitch makes moving your trailer around a lot easier.

You can then use a cargo carrier like # C18151. This has a 500-lb weight rating, like the hitch, so once you deduct the carrier's weight from the hitch capacity (500 - 54 = 446-lbs capacity) you still have a very substantial weight-carrying capability. The combined cost of the hitch and carrier is well below that of another rooftop cargo box. You can then load your heavier items on the hitch carrier and use the rooftop cargo box for large-volume items that don't weigh as much.

expert reply by: Adam R