Ways To Add More Cargo Space To A Car

Rooftop cargo boxes

Let’s start with the most popular and well-known, which is a rooftop cargo box. These have been on the market for decades and are still considered the most favorable within the market.

It consists of a hard-shelled box secured to the car’s roof via mostly universal attachments. A car will need roof rails and crossbars to attach to this storage device. These are the foundations of cargo boxes, as their arm-like connections wrap around the crossbar and tighten.

The benefits of these range widely, depending on your application. However, many like this cargo carrier option because it’s durable, waterproof, and lockable. Combining all these essential transportation features allows users to travel with goods safely.

Rooftop cargo bags

The next honorable mention is cargo bags. Again, these are attached to a roof. But it’s ideal for those that aren’t looking for permanent or long-term storage. Unlike the cargo box, which must be installed on crossbars, the cargo bag doesn’t require these. Instead, it can be installed onto the vehicle by using specialized straps that fix onto arches of the car doors.

People adore these because they’re a cost-effective cargo-carrying solution. Although various brands sell their bags at different prices, you’ll rarely spend over $100 or $150. Considering the benefits obtainable from these, it’s an excellent price for additional cargo storage.

However, it shouldn’t be considered a long-term option with a cargo bags material. Instead, it should be considered as a once-a-year storage or something similar. Therefore, it’s an excellent option for anyone wanting to increase their storage capacity for a camping trip, etc.

Cargo baskets

Including the above, cargo baskets are available to those wanting to increase their cars storage capacity. If you want a large storage unit, a cargo basket is probably the biggest available (or a hitch-mounted device, more about this below).

Although that’s great for many, it does have some downsides. When transporting goods with a cargo basket, they’re exposed to the outdoors and have minimal protection. Admittedly, you could add a waterproof sheeting or tarp, but it still doesn’t adequately safeguard the goods. Therefore, although you can get enormous extra space, you need to consider this negative.

Hitch-mounted cargo carriers

Moving away from the rooftop carrier, we’re now onto hitch-mounted. Although these aren’t as common as the above, it’s a remarkable storage device from which we believe many can benefit.

Instead of being located on the roof, it’s attached to the car’s hitch (the rear). It isn’t classified as a trailer, so it doesn’t need additional licenses. Instead, it’s a small extension on the back of your car that’ll provide you with that extra storage room.

Many like these because their load capacity is high, and it’s normally determined by the tongue limit of the hitch itself. By knowing this, you’ll be able to determine how much cargo weight that’s loadable.