Roof top luggage carrier

[Dustmouse]

We are renting a rooftop pouch from U-haul to put all of our luggage in. My DH is worried that all of our belongings will get stolen while we stop over in Pensacola for the night. Has anyone ever had any experience with carrying their luggage on the roof rack? I'm also wondering if just the carrier will be secure in the Swan parking lot or if we need to store it in our room until we leave. It's just a big heavy vinyl bag that attaches to the roof rack.

Thanks!

 

[Beverly Lynn]

its not a hard top carrier?

 

[beccab]

When we go our usual travel by car vacations we always use a rooftop carrier & never have had a problem. You can buy locks for them, if they are not provided by the rental agency. These locks are small & i'm sure they could be cut if someone really wanted. We never take the carrier into the hotel room. That would be too much trouble. We do take the luggage into our room. Good luck & happy traveling!

 

[Dustmouse]

Bevery Lynn...No, it's not a hard shell type carrier. Apparently U-haul has gotten rid of those in favor of this new collapsable, vinyl type. The local store told me that they had to pay out too much money in damages for the hard kind because they scratched up customer's vehicles.

I think you can put a very small lock at the zipper closure, but that's about it. I thought maybe if we criss crossed some rope across it that might deter a thief.

Does anyone know of a company that rents the hard shell kind???????

Thanks!

 

[robinb]

I can't help you on the rental of a hard-shell case .

Since you're going to be traveling with a collapsible one, just bring it in at night. I don't think that ropes will stop a thief. BTW, you may save yourself some $$ by actually purchasing the roof top carrier. You can get one for about $30 at any Samsonite outlet store. I've never used one myself, but my DH and I just bought a roof-top bike carrier for our car .

 

[phins_jazy]

I agree with purchasing your own. We did that on a trip from TX to ND. We had everything packed in our car and it was packed to the MAX. We finally got to KS and we couldn't take it anymore. We went to the local wal-mart at around 2am and purchased a rooftop carrier for around $30. Took us about an hour to attach it to the roof and get our stuff in there but it was SO much nicer driving after that!!! It was $30 well spent in my opinion. We used it on the way home as well. This time we got stuck in a rain storm the whole way home. If you do use a vinyl or canvas carrier, make sure to wrap your belongings in trash bags just to be safe. The rain came through the seams on our carrier. But with the trash bags on our stuff, it was safe.

Good luck in your decision.

 

[robinb]

Treat the seams of the roof-top carrier with seam sealer for tents. That should stop the leaking.

 

[busy mom]

Those are great tips for the roof top carriers...I was also worried about packing our vehicle...

 

[DisneyMom92]

We used the collapsable ones the previous 2 years and just bought a hard sided one for this trip. Haven't used the hard one yet. The collapsable ones work great, we have stayed overnight several times and never had a problem. We also have packed the night before we left, still no problem. I wouldn't worry too much about theft, if they really want something they will get it, locked or not, but we have never ever had anything happen.

The soft sided ones do leak and water gathers at the bottom of the carrier so the things on the bottom tend to get wetter than the top. Make sure they are well protected.

Hope this helps.