Tip – Store Your Car Rooftop Box

Ijust love car rooftop boxes. They are light, relatively affordable, dry, and aerodynamic, and when you open them they offer a surprising amount of storage space that you would never suspect looking at them from the outside. The drawback, as with many other storage and transport solutions, is that they take up a lot of space in your home when you're not using them. Here's a solution.

So when I bought mine, one of my main concerns (besides the question if should I have bought the bigger model anyway) was what I should do with the bulky thing until my vacation was finally due. When I drove my car into the garage with the box on top and stood there admiring my purchase, the answer came to me right away. Leave it where it is, but detach it from the car and fix it to the ceiling – done! It's wasted space put to use!

No expensive storage solutions required. All you need is a power drill, four screw rings, some elastic bike rack straps, and 15 minutes of effort.

Summary

Use the garage ceiling to store your rooftop box
Store the rail rack inside
Investment of $5 and 15 minutes.

Tips

Fix the rings firmly!
Use good-quality elastic straps, and use more than one per side. Then you can fix them with less tension and at the same time avoid the whole thing coming down if one breaks.
Better ask for help when putting it up or taking it down. I manage it on my own, but it's not exactly a breeze.
Careful with your eyes in case one of the straps slips from your hands!
You can even store your rail racks inside before fixing the box to the ceiling, but don't push your luck too far by filling the box with any more stuff.

I've been using it for a long time now, but still – use at your own risk!

If you're willing to spend more money, or you have separate or heavier items to store, have a look at the Racor Heavy-Lift System.

Update: Some time after posting this article, I discovered that Thule markets a solution to the same problem, the Thule Boxlift 571. But since you still have to drill, I don't really see the advantage besides that it's easier to do without help.