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When you road trip around Australia with two kids, it’s amazing how much luggage you need. We knew we needed to invest in a Skybox – a cargo box that attaches to the top of the roof of your car, where you can store additional luggage and essentials.
We did our best to prioritize what we took in our luggage, but at the time Savannah was only two so we still had to carry a stroller which took up the entire trunk. Plus, traveling through different climates meant we had to have more clothes than we’d like.
After a lot of research, we settled on the Yakima Skybox 16 Carbonite, which sits nicely on the roof of our Nissan X-Trail.
In this guide, we share our honest review of road tripping with a Yakima Skybox 16 Carbonite and whether we thought it was worth it…
You can check Yakima Skybox 16 Carbonite out on Amazon.
UPDATE: We used our Yakima Skybox in Australia for three years. Then we moved to the USA, and bought another one! It joined us on a 11 month RV trip of the USA and countless road trips we’ve made here in the past 6 years! I guess you could say we like our Yakima Skybox!
The Yakima Skybox Carbonite 16: The Pros
1. So much extra storage space
There were many advantages to having the Yakima Skybox Pro, but obviously the biggest plus was how much extra internal usable space we had.
It’s like having a second boot. We’re able to throw our three suitcases up there, plus our large coats and extra pairs of shoes.
Other times, we have thrown all our camping gear up there, as well as boogie boards and plastic tubs of food. Whatever didn’t fit in the boot, it easily fit inside the Yakima Skybox.
Being a Virgo, I hate clutter and stuff being piled up on the back seat cramping the kids, so with the boot full of our other equipment it’s been great to carry the suitcases on our roof.
2. Convenient side opening
The side opening made it easy to throw things in quickly and effortlessly, without needing to climb a step ladder to reach.
The double sided hinge system allows us easy access from either side of your vehicle, depending on what we want to access.
It was always quick and easy to pull over, park up, and quickly grab something if we needed it.
3. Waterproof
The material is made from Carbonite, which kept everything nice and dry, even in heavy rain storms.
There is a lip that covers the zip, which means water runs off the top of the box and over the edge, ensuring no water seeps in through the zip.
Not bad given that it’s made with 80% recycled material!
4. Secure
The Yakima Skybox is lockable, and we have parked everywhere and anywhere without worrying about security.
It’s also well fitted onto the roof of our car and I had no worries about it sliding off at any time.
I didn’t even notice any wind noise, even at 110 km/hr.
5. Doesn’t add too much height or weight to your vehicle
The weight of the box without anything in it is 60 lbs (about 27 kg), which is barely anything considering the size of it.
It’s also sturdy and durable, which means you can place heavier items inside it without worrying about the box breaking or bending.
It’s designed so you can place heavy camping gear or even skis and snowboards inside, and we also felt the design and build was strong enough to last a lifetime.
Who knows, maybe our kids will be passing it down to future generations – it’s that sturdy!
The total hatch clearance we need with the box on top of our X-Trail is 2.2 metres. We’ve only had to take the box off the roof racks once whilst staying at a hotel in Melbourne, which had an underground carpark.
It only took me 5 minutes to undo the clamps, lift it off the roof, and carry it inside and store in the hotel’s luggage room.
You can get different size cargo boxes from Yakima and our one is 205cm long by 38cm wide and is very light to carry by myself.
6. Easy to Install
Our initial installation took no more than 30 minutes. It has a quick-release, universal mounting hardware which seamlessly sits on top of most crossbars.
As long as you have a crossbar already installed on your car, this should be no effort to put on. It’s also a tool-free installation process so no need to get the hammers and screwdrivers out! This also makes removal easy too.
The minimum crossbar length you need is 24 inches, and the maximum crossbar spreads is 36 inches.
7. Doesn’t stop you using the boot
When you’re road tripping you want to be able to easily access all storage spaces in your car. Your Yakima Skybox won’t get in the way of your boot, or trunk for our Americans.
8. Design helps with fuel consumption
The aerodynamic design has been good with fuel consumption. The aerodynamic crossbars allows wind to fly over the box and reduce drag and wind noise.
The Yakima Skybox Carbonite 16: The Cons
1. Stiff SKS Lock System
The only negative I can think of is the SuperLatch you have to pull down to release the lock, which opens the box, is a little stiff.
I get it, the internal lid stiffeners were placed to improve the rigidity, but Caz finds it a little difficult to open with her hand strength.
The full metal opening handle is also quite small.
It’s not a huge issue, and if anything, it gave us a better sense of security knowing you’d have to be pretty strong to open it! (No, that’s not a boast on how strong I am).
Otherwise, it has been the “Silent Hero” of our Aussie road trip. We see many more miles in our future together.
If you want somewhere to stash your gear other than around your kids’ ears, then a Yakima cargo box could be the solution for you.
FAQs About The Yakima Skybox 16 Carbonite
Does it fit on campers?
Yes, you can fit the Yakima Skybox on campers, as long as you have a van that has an unobstructed flattened floor (no bumps in the roof) and it’s the right width for the aerodynamic bars to sit on.
The Verdict: Is It Worth It?
The Yakima Skybox 16 was the perfect multi-sport roof rack system for our road trips.
It allowed us to enjoy outdoor recreation on our road trip by providing space for our camping gear, and the design was strong and durable we feel confident it would last a lifetime.
We would 100% say that the Yakima Skybox 16 was worth it for us. It’s a little pricey, but it would have cost us more to rent the things we couldn’t bring with us on our road trip, so for us it evened out.
We hope this review helped you decide whether you think the Yakima Skybox is a worthy investment for you.
HOT TIP: Measure your luggage and any equipment you think you might like to put in a Yakima cargo roof box. Then, figure out what size skybox you need, and consider purchasing one size bigger – you always end up needing more storage than you think!
Have you used a Yakima Skybox before to help organize your luggage on a road trip? Let us know what you think in the comments.
