What Roof Top Cargo Bag Will Fit a 2005 Honda Accord Coupe  

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I have two solutions for carrying a roof cargo bag on your 2005 Honda Accord Coupe. If you are making a trip of any distance I recommend installing an economical roof rack system such as the SportRack Semi-Custom # SR1002 with the Short-Roof Adapters # SR1116, which enables you to carry a cargo bag without issue. Due to the size of your roof and only having 2 doors, this kit comes with a short roof adapter that enables you to carry cargo securely. By using crossbars, you achieve a more secure mounting point that helps prevent the bag from sliding.

Ideally when choosing a cargo bag with a roof mount rack, you would want the bag to fit in-between the bars for optimum ability to tie it to the bar. With your roof being of a limited size, all of the cargo bags are larger than the recommended 24 inches, which means that the bag will overlap the crossbars, but the bars will still provide a safe and secure structure to attach the straps of the bag. Although this is not an ideal situation, it will still be impossible to tie down a cargo bag to a roof mount rack.

The second option is attaching one of the cargo bags directly to your roof. The first step is to measure the amount of room you actually have on your roof. When measuring, take into account that with a 2-door coupe vehicle, both tie down straps will have to go through the door jamb on each side of the vehicle. When you attach a cargo bag to a naked roof, you will have to run the straps through your vehicle.

The two issues that arise when traveling this way is the straps create a gap in the window area so if you happen to travel through a rainstorm you may encounter some water inside your vehicle and the other issue is that when running the strap through your headroom is reduced.

Since cargo bags are not vehicle specific, you just need to determine what size cargo bag would best fit your needs. The largest one I recommend is the Rightline Sport 2, 15 cu ft, # RL100S20 which measures 44 inches x 36 inches x 19 inches. The next size down is the Rightline Sport Jr., 9 cu ft, # RL100S50 is 36 inches x 30 inches by 16 inches.

Whenever traveling with a cargo bag, we recommend putting all items that can be damaged if wet inside a sealed plastic bag. During heavy rain or weather, water can find its way in. I have attached short demonstration videos for each cargo bag.

expert reply by: Lori W

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