I like WeatherTech products, so when I saw this one, I decided to buy it, and stop searching all the other choices. I like the WeatherTech Company, and they have a REP for perfect products!
After a trip from Ohio to South Florida and back, I felt I knew enough about it to review it and give some general info. So this is based on ONE long trip in the rain... (I am a retired truck driver, so have some knowledge in this area)
First, it's well made, it has it's own storage bag that yes, it really will fit back into!
Got the usual great Amazon service! Fast delivery, no damage, and lowest price I could find!
Soft or Hard - which to choose?
Here's my thinking on the subject: Hard is better, but much more expensive, and takes much more room to store when not in use. Since this is not an item I will use more than 2-3 times per year, cost and storage are big factors to me. If I were to use it more often, then a hard Carrier would do the job much better.
OK - Soft, now why this one?
As I said at the top, I like the Company, and knew the product would be of great quality. I was right, heavy material, double seams everywhere, strong zipper, great attachment system!
A few things I learned during the study and search for this; if your roof rack has cross rails - you need to measure the space between them, or make sure they can be removed - if not, you will have to go to a hard Carrier! Because this is some 30+ inches long, you want this to sit on the roof itself, NOT on any cross-rails! On my 06 Tucson, there is only 21' between the rails, and it was a chore to remove them (on my Tucson, the cross-rails are meant to not be moved, and they had some extra parts built up around the rails that had to be removed first). So scope all this out first regardless of which soft Carrier you buy!
I do not believe that any brand of soft Carrier would be truly water-proof, so get past that, and plan for some dampness - that was my thinking! The racksack uses a "rubber-backed" type material (PVC, etc), but water *could* come in through the seams, or around the zipper. So, I simply used garbage bags around what we were worried about.
The straps can be used on the front and back, or on the sides - since I had removed my cross rails, I could only attach on the sides. YES, it's a pain to load - I am 6' tall - but not tall enough - so a ladder, or stand on the door edge in the open door, or, load on the ground and heave it onto the roof---not an easy way to do it. And NO, it must be unloaded at night for those of you on long trips as there is no way to lock it, another reason for a[...] hard shell lockable Carrier - But, I knew this when I bought it, just bringing up "gotcha's" that others may not have thought of.
Anyhow, the straps work very well! The buckles hold well, and I felt no need for any extra straps (hindsight proved me correct as well) - remember, loose strap ends will do damage if they flap going down the road! The racksack uses this neat velcro way of rolling the end, and self-tying the ends so they do not flap. If not, or if it does not work for you, simply tuck the ends under the bag - just make sure they do not flap.
Gas mileage will go down when at speed. If loaded properly, there is not much extra noise, but at freeway speeds, a drop in MPG is a real possibility - regardless of which bag/Carrier you get.
On my small SUV (Tucson) driving at 65-70 on the cruise control I normally get 22-23MPG, the best I did with the bag was 19.8MPG - so in my case, the drop was rather considerable! This is more a issue of the vehical than the type of bag used. On my car, I would get roughly the same drop regardless of which Carrier bought (the exception might be some of the streamlined hard Carriers).
To sum it up, I like the product, it worked well for me, and the luxury of being able to bring items on the car trip that I could not have taken without the bag was a good trade-off for the loading hassles and the lower MPG - so, this is both a review and recomendation of the 'Racksack' - and a how-to in general for roof top carriers.
If you'd like more info on the Racksack, Google the Company name and go to their website - lots of images and info on the product. Very good product for the price - was roughly 50% cheaper at Amazon too!
I hope this helps!
| Shell Type | Soft |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | WeatherTech |
| Item Weight | 5 pounds |
| Product Dimensions | 39 x 32 x 18 inches |
| Item model number | 60001 |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| Manufacturer Part Number | 60001 |
| OEM Part Number | 60001 |
