Wouldn't fancy going over any speed bumps with that strapped on the back. I could just imagine being stopped at lights and having some of your goods lifted out aswell :)
£129 for a plastic box strap on :)
I'd stick with the roof box/trailer or whatever you already use
That might be what I'm looking for instead of buying a bigger roof box, I'm sure I could find bulky but light stuff to stick in there. The legal aspects concern me slightly but I don't see how it's any different to having fence posts hanging out of your boot.
I should think you'd need a lighting board too with some car designs if the box partially obscured the tail lights. And if you've got a lighting board you've probably got a tow ball, so you might as well get a towball mounted fixed platform carrier instead.
Mind you if you did want one of these things you could probably knock one up with a few ratchet straps and a bread board pinched from outside the grocers.
I would not touch that with a barge pole, a very long one at that. the say it will go to 400kg!, fine on the back of a Chieftan Tank, but far to heavy load for most cars.
We did once use a Thule 900 BackUp Box, very secure when fixed on, but the only problem was the 75kg load on my towball which is the max for the VW Golf, the handling of the car did not inspire confidence, even though we did a 2500 mile round trip with it, to the South of France and back, so I sold the Thule 900 to someone on here with a more suitable vehicle.
Speed bumps
Handling problems
Extra leverage on suspension
Possible legal implications with lights
Possible body damage
Security problems
Too big for parking spaces
Obstructs use of tailgate
We looked at the Thule Backup Box as we do have a towbar but it just seems odd to have all that weight hanging off the back of the vehicle. Its an expensive option too. We do use a bike rack on the towbar but the bikes are closer to the vehicle and the weight seems better distributed.
Still not put off, I've got that style of bike rack and it's been fine. My car is a fairly big 4x4 that I take off road and the back bumper doubles as a step so I'm not too worried about the bodywork, ground clearance or a little more weight on the back.
It fits my requirements beautifully as I can't have a towbar without losing the recovery hitch and means I can keep my current 360l roofbox and still have the overall capacity of a huge roofbox. I'll give it a shot (as long as they get back to me and say it will fit) and see how it goes with lightweight but bulky items.
It might be really useful for taking home my inflatable canoe as I have made the mistake of putting it in the boot before it had dried out completely. It does seem a bit too expensive for what it is though.
It's a low volume specialist product, it's going to lose the benefits of large production runs.
I have a requirement to increase the carrying capacity of my car, to do that requires replacing my roof box with a bigger one, getting the Thule boot box or getting a trailer. All of those options make the Tail Crate look very cheap. Unfortunately it's a new product and they aren't sure it will fit my car, I might have to wait for the range to expand.
I have one other option that I will probably do anyway, that's to get an electric hob and leave the gas bottle at home.
must say i like the look of it,think the price a bit high but looks very usefull to me.
they do say only upto 50kg(but tested to 400kg)don't see the lights being an issue for alot of cars(they show it fitted to a micra).
looks like a number plate will be needed.
really don't see how speed humps are a problem as you woud have to be hitting the rear of the car first,and with only 50kg load that's less than most cars towball weight limit.
anyway if someone does go for it please post how you get on.
Im thinking of getting one of these but all the negativity has got me having second thoughts. Maybe I will wait for some reviews to start appearing. Perhaps one of the magazines like camping magazine could do a test on one and a write up.
------------- When there's a knock at the door, why do dogs always think its for them?
Fat people are harder to kidnap
I am a bomb technician, if you see me running, try to keep up!
Well we are going to give it a go, thought they looked a great idea, maybe just for soft items that take up lots of room, it will mean Monty will have more room in the back of the estate. We already have a roof box and this year his space was reduced.
The website says that they have sold out already and next lot due in 6 weeks!