Rola Roof Mounted Cargo Basket Review - Video
Rola Roof Rack Mounted Vortex Cargo Basket
- Features:
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- Black powder coat finish resists rust and corrosion
- Includes custom fairing to help deflect wind
- Stylish design
- Specs:
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- Universal mounting hardware fits round, square and most factory OEM racks
- Factory roof rack cross members must not be wider than 3-1/4"
- Inside Dimensions: 48" x 37-1/2" x 4"
- Extension is available to lenghten carrier by 18-3/4"
- Outside Dimensions: 52" x 40-1/2" x 6"
- 2 piece steel construction
- Do not exceed the vehicle manufacturer's roof rail weight ratings
Close-up of mounting bracket on cargo carrier.
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Does the JOB
jayree from woodbury, TN
The rack assembled easily and looked good
Instuctions were good(with pictures)
lighter weight might be better and still do the job
It is well made but it could use some
tip covers on the ends of the clamp screws
to keep from poking holes in the nice platypus bag that works very well with it
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IMO, best on the market!!
Brian B from Annapolis, Md.
I've owned 4 cargo roof baskets in the past and this is by far the best one I've had. Easy to assemble, tough, durable and chip resistant finish. It is light and can handle everything the $500.00 to $1,400.00 racks can. For the price, it simply is the best rack out there. I bought one for my wife's jeep and ended up buying one for my H3.
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Some quality control issues
Rob from Virginia
Overall, I like the basket, think it is fairly priced, and am happy with it. However, there were two quality control issues that should be noted. I'll mention those in a moment.
The overall unit is solid and looks good on my black Jeep Liberty. It fit well on the OEM crossbars and was straightforward to install. The unit is pretty heavy, but it has a really solid, substantial feel that makes me think it will securely hold whatever I put up there (within the 130 lb limit).
Now, on to the complaints. These are really small things, but are still worth noting. First, there is a noticeable dent in the main large tube on the left front side. It is clearly a factory defect because the dent has been powder coated along with the rest. If I had bought it locally, I would have taken it back and exchanged it. Having had it shipped, I simply cannot go through that.
Second, there was an error in the placement of the holes where you use screws to hold the two halves together. Three of the four screw holes lined up fine, but on one of the smaller tubes, the inner hole didn't match the outer hole. I had to drill my own hole to set the screw. These aren't major problems, but it's sloppy on both counts.
On balance, I would recommend the product and would not make a different choice if I had it to do over. Also, I should note that etrailer did everything you could ask for. I ordered it on a Saturday evening and they shipped it on Monday morning. It arrived Wednesday. You can't ask for more than that.
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Amazingly Simple and TUFF!
Mark H. from Rome, GA
This is an outstanding product. After extremely fast shipping and delivery, I installed it with in about 30 min. This rack is very strong and fills the top of my Expedition. The design flows well on the road and solid construction puts your mind at ease when storing items.
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great rack
Bill from Gilbert,Az
Excellent product, excellent service.
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Another great product Rola!
T. Metz from Northern NJ
The Rola Platypus Expandable Roof Bag along with the Rola (59504) Cargo Roof Basket proved to be a great combination on my 2008 Chevy Equinox. The problem with the Equinox is the short space between the factory installed roof rack cross bars (only 26 inches). The solution was the Rola Cargo Roof Basket. It was easy to assemble (requiring only a screw driver) and mounted to the vehicle's roof rack without any tools at all. Once the basket was in place, attaching the Platypus bag was a snap...literally. Put the platypus on the basket, open the roof bag all the way, load the roof bag (we had 2 duffle bags, 2 gym/stuff bags, 1 small suitcase and a suit bag), close the roof bag zipper, strap it to the roof basket and pull it tight. Total install time was 15 minutes to put on the basket and about the same to load and secure.
While on the road the Platypus was great. We traveled over 2500 miles round trip from NJ to Southern FL and we found little change in vehicle noise and only a slight decrease in the fuel mileage. Once we arrived we removed the Platypus Roof Bag and left the Basket in place...no problems at all.
We hit some monsoon type rain (summer in Florida, what would you expect) and the Platypus performed just fine. This is not a 'water proof' bag and it states that right in the instructions. By placing the duffle bags and the other contents in plastic garbage bags, everything remained dry, without exception.
One minor thing that I had to do on my own was to purchase caps for the thread ends for the 'U-bolt' mounts so the roof basket didn't puncture the Platypus Bag. I simply used tire valve caps ($2.00 for 8 at Wal-Mart) and they worked perfectly.
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I love it!!
ATLR from Golden CO
People keep asking me where I got it and I sell them mine for 250.00 and buy a new one. This is the best deal I have found in a long time!!
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