Cargo, Motorcycle and Boat Carrier Options for 2002 Suzuki Grand Vitara

Question:

I am planning on doing some traveling and was wondering about a possible way to carry cargo, a small motorcycle, and small boat. I would like to know what are the different types of rooftop cargo boxes, carriers, racks, and trays available for my 2002 Suzuki Grand Vitara. I have the factory installed front to rear racks installed. Could you please give me the prices, pros, and cons of each type? Also, what is the load capacity for my roof top with these types of carriers? I would also like to know about rooftop boat carriers and if you know where I could locate a rack for the front of my vehicle that would carry a small motorcycle, say a 350 Honda. Finally, what options do I have to also tow a small trailer behind. I could either tow the motorcycle, the boat, or the cargo but I still think the best bet is cargo on top, motorcycle in front, and maybe the boat behind. Thank you,

asked by: David F

Expert Reply:

We can definitely help you explore various cargo solutions for your trip.

I was not able to find an online copy of the owners manual for the 2002 Grand Vitara but I was able to confirm the towing capacity - 1500 lbs. You will want to confirm the combined weight of your specific boat and trailer to ensure it is within the 1500 lb limit. Please note that there are no front-mount hitch receivers available for your Grand Vitara, so carrying your motorcycle on the front of the vehicle is not an option. You should review your Vitara owners manual to confirm the roof weight carrying capacity. The lowest-rated component of your roof/rack/cargo box system will determine the overall weight limit for the roof.

Since I do not know whether you have the 2-door or 4-door Grand Vitara, or whether you already have a rear hitch receiver and trailer wiring installed, I will include recommendations for all possibilities.

We will start off with the roof rack. We offer the ultra-quiet Thule AeroBlade Traverse Roof Rack, consisting of parts # THARB53, # TH480R and # THKIT1181, which features 53-inch aerodynamic crossbars and includes locks. Please see the linked video for this product.

There are several types of cargo carriers: soft bags, metal baskets and enclosed plastic cargo boxes. Since the enclosed type offer large volume capacity and will protect your cargo from weather, this is what I recommend. You might consider the 8 cubic foot Thule Sidekick # TH78GC. In either case the weight you can load into your cargo box will be the roof weight limit (from the owners manual) minus the weight of the cargo box itself.

For a rear trailer hitch receiver I recommend the Curt 2-inch Class III hitch, part # C13517. You will also need a ball mount, hitch ball, hitch pin and clip; those parts are # AMSC2, # 19247 and # PC3. If you do not already have trailer wiring in place I recommend the Curt T-Connector, part # C55372, which is a plug-in harness that requires no cutting or splicing of wires and terminates in a 4-pole flat trailer connector. (If your trailer uses a different connector we offer a variety of adapters.)

Since there are no front-mount hitch receivers available for your Vitara, your option for transporting your motorcycle is a rear-hitch-mounted carrier. Please note that the recommended Curt hitch is the highest-rated available at 350 lbs tongue weight. This means that the weight of the carrier plus motorcycle cannot exceed 350 lbs. The heavy duty yet lightweight carrier that we offer for 2-inch hitches is the etrailer # e98873, which is 58 lbs. This means you can use this on the rear hitch as long as your motorcycle weight 292 lbs or less.