Roof Rack and Cargo Basket Recommendation for 2015 Honda CR-V with Naked Roof  

Question:

Helpful Expert Reply:

You came to the right place! We can help you with selecting both a roof rack and a rooftop cargo carrier for your new 2015 Honda CR-V. Good luck with the new car.

Since you will be using a cargo carrier, and since these too generate some wind noise, I suggest you go for the Rhino-Rack 2500 Series rack referenced above. This aero bar system will work just fine for either an open metal cargo basket or an enclosed plastic cargo box. it consists of parts # RRVA137B-2, # RRRLKVA, and # DK284. I have linked an installation video for this rack that will show you how it will mount on your car. Once this rack is installed on your roof the crossbars will be approximately 29-inches apart.

Roof racks differ primarily in the shapes of their crossbars. There are cost-effective round- or square-bar rack systems like the Rhino-Rack 2500 Series, which consists of parts # DS1375B and # DK284. There are also more advanced aerodynamic bar systems like the Rhino-Rack Vortex that I recommended above. I have included a link to our main page for the roof racks that will fit your CR-V's naked roof. This will let you see these and many other rack options all of which will fit your CR-V. You can use the filters on the page to narrow the results to those racks that have the features you prefer.

For a cargo carrier you have a choice of an open metal basket like the Yakima LoadWarrior # Y07070 that you referenced, and this carrier will fit just fine on the Rhino-Rack system I recommended, or an enclosed plastic cargo box like the Yakima RocketBox Pro 14 Rooftop Cargo Box, part # Y07192. Enclosed carriers like the Pro 14 offer the advantages of being lockable and providing your loaded cargo with a high degree of protection from bad weather. I have linked videos on both of these cargo carriers to help illustrate their features.

No matter what rack and carrier you choose you will want to keep in mind that your CR-V will have a rooftop weight capacity noted in the owner's manual. You want to be certain that you do not exceed the vehicle's roof weight limit. You will need to account for the weight of the roof rack you choose (about 8-lbs for the 2500 Series and Vortex racks) and the weight of the cargo carrier itself. The LoadWarrior basket weighs 25-lbs and the Pro 14 cargo box weighs 38-lbs.

Let's say for example that your manual states the CR-V has a 100-lb roof weight limit. This means that when using the rack and LoadWarrior you would be using up about 33-lbs of that roof capacity, and about 46-lbs when using the Pro 14. In these examples you would then have 67- and 54-lbs of available cargo weight you could load. If you have any heavy items to transport keep these limits in mind.

Often our customers that use rooftop cargo carriers also choose a handy accessory, a tire step like # HE4040, to make it easier to load and unload that cargo. The Topline comes fully assembled and simply slips over a rear tire to give you a height advantage. It folds up for easy storage inside the vehicle.

If you do choose the LoadWarrior basket you might also consider Yakima's Stretch Net # Y07072 to help keep your cargo secured to the carrier.

expert reply by: Adam R

1