[iggy]

hi

i just got back from circling lake superior - great trip

but i realized - i need a real spare tire and a whole lot of storage room

starting with roof

i have nothing on roof now - no bars, no roof rack of any sort

where do i start? i saw a guy with a nissan - and a 'load warrior' rack - slick unit - he had a spare, full size - and 2 jerry cans of fuel.. on top of his nissan

then the bumpers, front or back is there a way to carry a spare on the 'front' of an element... and any useful bumber/hitch mounted rqacks wherre i could carry a cooler - box of gear etc?

and while were at it,,,,

coolers - i have a vintage 70's maybe late 60's.. the venerable green coleman cooler - ice blocks lasted tops 3 days - do these new fangled coolers really keep a week?

thanks guys

i hope to leave mpls by the 10th of june for this trip

whoohoo!

 

[Mcdirtymetal]

1. A. Factory rack with basket; I'm using the Curt one with extension. Holds a lot of gear.
B. Go to Thule or Yakima website and find what you need; towers, crossbars, roof box, etc.
C. Make something slick from scratch.

2. Wouldn't want to block the rad and condenser with a spare on the front. There are some folks, myself included, who used a CRV spare tire mount to carry a spare on the hatch. Upgraded hatch gas struts required.
If you have a hitch, there are cargo carriers available that mount to the hitch that you can stow additional gear on. Be careful not to melt anything on the exhaust pipe side. Ask me how I know.

3. As far as coolers go, I'm not sure. You would be inclined to think that today's cooler technology would be better but who knows. I know there are some pricey units out there, so they had better be good. Check Cabela's or similar.

 

[dgale]

Go to the Yakima website and enter the specifics for your E and it will tell you what you need:

https://www.yakima.com

There are four attachment points on the sides of the roof that are covered with plastic caps when not in use - Yakima (and Thule if you prefer to go that route) makes towers specific for all car types and the website will tell you what type you need for the E. You'll also need crossbars to mount on the towers and you should buy the lock set for the towers to make sure your rack doesn't wander off. From there, they have tons of accessories - roof boxes, the Loadwarrior rack, roof tents, and tons of specific items for bikes, boats etc., all of which mount on the bars. As far as what you put up there, but be aware the E doesn't have the most robust weight limit for the roof rack mounts, so don't go too crazy. I tend to put all the bulky but not overly heavy stuff up there and put stuff like coolers, heavy totes etc. in the back of the car...they will overload it and you don't want to have to haul them up/down off of there anyway.

 

[CoastieAM]

hi

i just got back from circling lake superior - great trip

but i realized - i need a real spare tire and a whole lot of storage room

starting with roof

i have nothing on roof now - no bars, no roof rack of any sort

where do i start? i saw a guy with a nissan - and a 'load warrior' rack - slick unit - he had a spare, full size - and 2 jerry cans of fuel.. on top of his nissan

then the bumpers, front or back is there a way to carry a spare on the 'front' of an element... and any useful bumber/hitch mounted rqacks wherre i could carry a cooler - box of gear etc?

and while were at it,,,,

coolers - i have a vintage 70's maybe late 60's.. the venerable green coleman cooler - ice blocks lasted tops 3 days - do these new fangled coolers really keep a week?

thanks guys

i hope to leave mpls by the 10th of june for this trip

whoohoo!

gobi racks are really nice and cover the whole roof.

 

[tedsti]

If you have some welding skills, consider making your own rack.

 

[iggy]

all great responses

huge thanks

 

[Pepper23]

Have fun on your trip to Alaska! I'm hoping to head up that way on a road trip no later than this time next year!

 

[billyjcoombs]

billyjcoombs

As for the coolers: I have a coleman 7-Day cooler that actually lasts 7 days (or a day or two longer) for a block of ice. Costs a bit more but keeps me from having to go to town as often.