Gear Review: Yakima CBX18 Rooftop Cargo Box

Have you ever heard of Tom Mix? He was a famous Hollywood stuntman in the 1920s and 30s. I wrote about him for AJ a few issues back. He suffered an astronomical amount of injuries in his work, but what really stuck with me was how he died: He was in a single car accident and a strongbox of money and jewels flew from the back and hit him in the head, killing him instantly. Ever since, I have not been able to drive with stuff in the back of my car and feel safe. Now, strapping down your junk is overlanding 101, but how many people actually do it? It’s a bit of a pain and then it’s a bit of a pain accessing your stuff. But what’s also a pain is getting your neck broken by a flying French press.

After an extended bike trip with my SUV loaded to the gills, I decided I needed a rooftop cargo box, so I contacted my friend Justin, who’s owned a few, and asked him what he thought. He loved his boxes and his only advice was to get as big as I could.

It was solid advice. I chose the Yakima CBX 18 ($1,099), the second-largest cargo box Yakima makes. The “18” refers to 18 cubic feet. On my first trip with it, I stored two giant camp chairs, firewood, two sleeping bags, a four-inch Exped sleeping mat, water, shovel, axe, my bike duffel, kitchen kit…I didn’t keep a full accounting, but it was a lot. The only things I kept inside were food and a cooler (which, yes, was strapped down).

There are lots of great cargo boxes on the market, and I’ve owned both Thule and Yakima models. I picked the Yakima for four reasons: It’s easy to attach to the crossbars, you can open it from either side, it has a reasonably sleek profile for the size, and I was happy with my last box, which also was a Yakima.

• The CBX has four curved clamps that extend from the bottom of the box. They slide on tracks and open and close with a dedicate tool—it’s like a four-sided Allen wrench. You position the box on the crossbars, open the clamps wide, slide the box and/or the clamps until they’re under the bars, then tighten. There’s a simple torque system that prevents you from over-tightening. It’s a dead-simple process.

Mounting took me the same amount of time whether I had a helper or did it solo, about 15 minutes. The box weighs 65 pounds empty, so I got it on the roof by placing a thick moving blanket over the tailgate end of the roof and sliding it atop at an angle.

• Having to go all the way around to the other side of your vehicle to access your box is the definition of a first world problem—but when a box is this wide (38 inches) and stores this much stuff, bi-side-al access is a huge convenience. Especially if you have something heavy on the far side, like firewood. Yakima’s single-key system is a nice touch—the same key works both sides (as it should).
  
• When I said reasonably sleek, maybe I meant relatively sleek. The CBX18 is 17 inches tall. If you drive an SUV, you probably aren’t pulling into a garage with it unless your garage is a pole barn. But compared to Yakima’s SkyBox NX 18, it has a lower-looking profile.
  
• The one complaint I have with the CBX is that securing the lid can be a finicky process. This, I suspect, is the nature of the beast when the beast is made of plastic and is 91 inches long. That plastic can flex, so if you don’t close the lid carefully, it might not click into the fore and aft latches. Or it will click into one and not the other. I had the best luck—or solved the issue—by closing it gently in the center and then pressing at the front and back, hand right over the latches, until it clicked into place.
  
• What about mileage? Yeah, about that. You’re going to take a hit no matter what box you put on your roof. My Lexus GX470 typically gets 20 mpg on the highway; the box reduced that to 18.5.

Is there a roof box in your future? If so, the Yakima is worth a look. But so are boxes from any of the major brands, and I would ignore any reviews that claim there’s one best box. More important is that you are clear about your needs and uses. Will it stay on all the time? Do you only need it in the winter for skis and boards? How tall is your vehicle? Do you need to get into a garage with it? Unless you’re brand loyal, matching your needs to a specific box more than a specific brand is the best way to go.