Roof top carriers

[GoLowDrew]

Will be having a baby in 6 months. Need extra room.Any opinions on something like this on a Vibe? Handling, MPG, feel? Or should we trade the Vibe for a minivan? Any brand I should look for?

[Mr. Poopypants]

I just traveled to NC and had one of those on the Vibe. You can tell you have it on there, and the Vibe looks really goonie with it. I'll post a pic later on when I get home.

[GoLowDrew]

Please do.Since Vibe has a short wheelbase and tall roof. Will it tip over, or cause all sorts of wind reistance?

[Mr. Poopypants]

The wind resistance sucked.have a look http://home.comcast.net/~m.fenton/sillylook.JPG

[sloth]

Do you need to replace the crossbars with the heavy duty ones or are the standard ones sturdy enough?

[ebslopp]

Quote, originally posted by sloth »Do you need to replace the crossbars with the heavy duty ones or are the standard ones sturdy enough?You can get them much more streamlined than this one. The sport 20 you pictured on the first post in this thread would have better wind resistance.

[Flip-Side]

I have that exact cargo carrier and, like Mr. P said, wind resistance was bad. The thing is huge, and my mpg went down from like 30 to 25 on the freeway. You can't load it much at all, because the 75lb roof limit is eaten away by the carrier's weight alone. I would guess it is about 20-30 lbs by itself. If I ever buy another one, I would buy a smaller one. Mabey one of the waterproof fabric ones for weight reasons.The crossbars are strong enough given you do not exceed the weight limit. I would not attempt to strengthen the rack crossbars to exceed these safety limits.

[Mr. Poopypants]

Quote, originally posted by sloth »Do you need to replace the crossbars with the heavy duty ones or are the standard ones sturdy enough?I have the stock bars, but I only use it on long trips with more than 2 people. I only loaded a few light things into it.