I recently bought the Yakima SkyBox 16 Carbonite Cargo Roof Box and used it on a 2400 mile road trip. I was impressed by it, so I thought I’d throw together a quick review to show it off.
This model is 6 feet 9 inches long, 36 inches wide,15 inches in height, and weighs 47 pounds.
We’ll start by reviewing the Skybox’s features. One of the best features in my opinion is the Skybox’s ability to open from both the left and right side of the box. This makes it easy and convenient to pack or un-pack it from whatever side is closest to you.
The handle has an integrated lock that keeps the key captured until the box is securely closed. Because of this, you can be confident that your box is fully closed before hitting the road.
The rear end of the box is designed to give space for rear hatches to open and won’t interfere with most antennas.
Check out these dimples in the lid. They’re similar to the dimples on a golf ball where they increase aerodynamics and decrease road noise. We didn’t hear any whistles or wind noise during any part of our trip, so I’d say this design feature is very effective.
Here’s a view of the inside of the empty cargo box. You can see the quick-release clamps flipped up (we’ll go over those soon). The inside is nice and spacious without much to get in the way of your cargo.
These are the latches that lock the box closed.
They also act as hinges when the opposite side is opened… pretty cool.
Here are some pass-throughs for straps. There are 4 of them.
The shell is made of 80% recycled ABS plastic. At such a large size with thin walls, it needs reinforcements. Here’s a look at the reinforcement bars inside the base.
This is a really cool reversible hinge that holds the lid open and also helps it close. It’s reversible because it has to work when the box is opened from either the left or right.
Reinforcement ribs in the lid.
And that same reversible hinge again on the opposite side.
Here’s what the box looks like partially loaded.
Here’s what the box looks like fully loaded.
And this is everything that we had inside.
I want to show you the quick-release clamping system that mounts the Yakima SkyBox to your roof rack. These levers on the inside essentially ride on a cam that once rotated down, lock the lever in place.
There are 4 of them - 2 on each end and the distance between them is adjustable by loosening the thumbscrews and sliding the assembly within the slots.
Installing it on the vehicle is pretty easy.
Place it on top of the roof rack with the clamps open and in front of the crossbars. One of my clamps was closed, so I had to open it before proceeding.
Then you slide into the center. Slide it back until it sits in place. You pretty much feel it set down.
Open up the first side and lock the quick release clamps. You’ll have to do this on both sides of the box.
Here’s a close-up of the clamp that holds onto the crossbar. Here’s a couple of more angles.
Removing it from the vehicle is - you guessed it - just the opposite. Unclamp the quick-release clamps from both sides, close the box, and now you’re ready to go ahead and slide it off the vehicle.
Overall, I think the Yakima SkyBox was a really good purchase. It did an awesome job at keeping most of our luggage from cluttering up our SUV during our road trip. Plus, we hit several heavy rains during the trip and never got one drop of water inside the box!
Besides that, it looked pretty good on top of our black Kia Sorento with its shiny black finish and sleek design.
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