Accessories

After a few trips, here is our review
The Thule fits perfectly on our Honda Odyssey. Before the Atlantis 1600, we used a Yakima Rocket Box. The Yakima is very solid, made of rigid plastic, but we could not open our rear tailgate with the Yakima box. So, after reading reviews on Amazon, we decided to get the Thule. We have mixed feelings about the box. The fact that it installs VERY quickly, fits our Odyssey, has excellent practical space, and opens from both sides would have earned it five stars. But there are a few concerns that knock the score down considerably:

> A piece of the mounting bracket (the part that sits on your roof rails) keeps falling off. It is held in place by a single screw, and it's made of relatively cheap plastic. I am able to put it back on, but thin plastic that holds the screw looks like it wants to eventually break (sooner rather than later).
> The shell of the carrier is thinner and not as firm as the Yakima box. Therefore, at a nominal highway speed of 55 or 60 mph, the wind gets under the front lip of the box, and gives off quite a bit of wind noise. We may notice it more because we have a moon roof; but it is very audible with the moon roof closed.
> The hinges on the box are made of pretty thin plastic. I admit they haven't broken, but inspection reveals that the hinges are starting to separate after just two months of ownership.
> We drove through a moderate rain storm on the way back from Florida. A bit of water made it into the front of the carrier. I'm thinking that it must have made it in as the wind pushed its way under that front lip of the carrier.
> Finally, the silver coloring (if you opt for that color) scratches VERY easily. Be careful when you take the box off and put it on the ground.

We still like the Thule Atlantis 1600 but wish the company had spent a little more time on quality issues. Would we buy it again? Probably not. I think we would look for a Yakima that fits on our Odyssey. We have had our Yakima Rocket Box for 12 years, and it's still rock solid.

Attach system weak
I have both an Atlantis 1600 and an Atlantis 1800. Good boxes. Problem is with the attach system. While simple, it was probably designed by a Swedish monkey. The part that sits on the cross bar of my roof rack fails at the screw attach point. It is a very weak fitting and held in place by one screw. The monkey would tell you this is not a bearing point for load. Why then does it always fail in this spot?? Get this - the replacement part is $2.60 from Thule direct AND they want $20 for shipping... Now that's a business model!

Camping for 5
I bought this version several years ago for our camping trips. I have a family of five and we usually take a guest or two. Very easy to install but is easier with two people just for lifting it onto the vehicle. I've used this on a Ford Explorer, Jeep Cherokee, and a Dodge Durango fitting it directly to the factory racks on each vehicle. It has adjustable mounts, opens from both sides, and locks onto the racks using four U-bolt assemblies with locking clasps. My only complaint would be the locking assembly has a rather cheap security clip to prevent the assembly from randomly popping open which actually takes a small bit of pressure anyway so the clip is just an extra precaution (this is a little orange/red clip - one of mine broke easily but locking assembly is still completely functional). I've never noticed any wind drag or top-heaviness from mine. I've also never had any problems with the unit sliding on the racks as the lock assemblies hold it firmly in place. I did however notice that my gas mileage was slightly better the first year we drove with the Thule on it as compared to the prior trip, but not sure I can attribute that to the aero-dynamic function of the unit.

Storage is great. On average, I can fit 5-6 sleeping bags, 2-3 air mattresses, one 8-person tent, 2 camping chairs, a pie iron, axe, and a small backpack into my Thule. That's ample room for the basics and with cautious packing I can do 5 sleeping bags, 2 tents, 2 air mattresses, and 2 chairs. A worthy investment for our camping trips and it hasn't let me down yet.

Excellent Luggage Carrier
Bought this from Amazon for a 06 Honda pilot. Does not obstruct the rear hatch and protrudes slightly over moonroof. Does not interfere with XM or navigation although mounts over the receiver. Easy to install.May need to adjust crossbars, which requires a simple Hex Key ( aka L key). No noise at all at any speed. Easy to access. Didn't care much, initially, for the straps inside to secure luggage but actually work fine.

suits our needs well
No assembly required, fastening to the top rack couldn't be easier but best accomplished w/ two people. Traveled in some rain and did not have any water entry issues when mounted to the top of our Pacifica...but did find some small bits of bugs inside the forward end after the trip. If some gasket or sealant material could be engineered into the edges of the box, it could possibly be made nearly water (and bug) tight. Also, I suspect the angle at which the box sits when mounted to a given vehicle and the amount of exposure to updraft coming from the windshield (at speed) play a pretty big part in the box's ability to keep things clean and dry. Overall, it does what I wanted it to do...which is giving me the capacity of a larger vehicle w/out buying (and fueling) a larger vehicle.