Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I bought this with some skepticism, having read other reviews that gave it low marks, and also having bought Thule products in the past and cursed them as I tried assembling and installing them, what with missing pieces and the like.
Happily, this box is fine. It does seem flimsy when you're assembling it, and it even seems that way when it's open on top of the car. It seems to be engineered to be as light as possible, which it is, and that can be unnerving until you get it fastened down and locked closed.
Assembly: It's awkward. It took two of us, me and my 2 year old! Seriously. It's a bit hairy for one person to get it right, since you have to match the hinges with the sides of the "clam shell", and their fit doesn't seem quite right until you tighten them up well. Still, it went OK, about 20 minutes for me to do, far better than a Thule roof racks I installed some years back, where I was dealing with bent and missing parts. If you do this alone, you need to brace it well at an angle as you hook the top and bottom together. Much easier with two people.
Installation: Dead easy on the factory roof rack. (We have a Pontiac Aztek.) THERE IS NO NEED TO BUY ADDITIONAL BRACKETS, though when viewing ads for this, you might think so at first glance. The package includes 4 U-brackets which attach to your roof racks and are held inside by hand-swivel bolts (whatever they're called). One thing I added while doing the installation was to put duct tape over the inside holes for the U-brackets. There are several holes in each sequence, and you only use two out of 4 or 5; the others are exposed. Covering with tape might help keep spray out.
Performance: Pretty good! We drove 2300 miles with this unit, of which about 300 were in driving rain. During the worst rain, we did have dampness and some droplets of water at the bottom front inside, but the gear was sitting up on ridges and was fine - bag in front was damp but not wet. If you have cloth bags that press to the very bottom, I'd put them in plastic if you'll be hitting heavy rain (and ours was VERY heavy, and at 70 mph driving speed).
We noticed an increase in wind noise at high speeds, and in our rough tests, it knocked about 2 mpg off our gas mileage at 75 mph, but on a 50 mph stretch of several hundred miles we couldn't tell a difference.
Removal takes literally five minutes. You undo (by hand) four pairs of swivel bolts, and lift it right off the roof. Reinstallation is about the same.
Overall, we're extremely happy with it and very glad we bought it.
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The Thule 682 Sidekick Rooftop Cargo Box is compact roof box tailor-made for small vehicles that need to conserve space. The 682 Sidekick allows for 8 cubic feet or up to 110-lbs of cargo per box makes it ideal for carrying small loads such as camping gear or golf clubs. The box is constructed UV and impact-resistent ABS plastic, ensuring years of durable wear. It is compatible with all Thule base racks, as well as most any aftermarket or factory roof rack, and installs/can be removed from your rack in minutes without the use of tools via the Thule U-bolt/knob mounting system. All the necessary mounting hardware and straps are included, and the unit is covered by a lifetime limited warranty.
A compact roof box tailor-made for small vehicles that need to conserve space.View larger.
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