hi was wondering if anybody has any suggestions on using a small car to go on vacation (Toyota Camry)to south Carolina and car not being big enough for our luggages and other things, can we use those storage luggage black container I've seen on other cars on the roof, something like that as an example, but nothing that we will have to put holes in the roof of the car or anything like that?
Just a safety tip- if you do decide to go with an up-top carrier, be careful of the shift of the center of gravity when taking curves. more weight up top moves the center of gravity of your vehicle up as well making curves harder to take and higher speeds.
Good luck and drive safe!
@}~>~~
We have used them in the past, even with a large minivan and SUV sometimes you just want more. My onlu advice to you is even if you get the smaller cloth ones that are a lot more affordable, than the larger hard plastic ones, secure it to the roof and then pack it full of luggage. Make sure you only pack things on there that you are not going to want on the car ride. Pack what yo are going to want easy access to in the trunk. Good Luck and Safe traveling.
What about using some vaccum storage bags.....space savers i think they are called.....might be cheaper than buying one of those ugly black car topper things....
The rooftop luggage racks are great! We've used them before.(in a Mazda 323 to N Carolina) They have racks that mount on the car and are removable. You don't screw them into the roof. You can really fit ALOT in them and you hardly know they are up there. Just stay out of parking garages! They also lock, and some have a hydrolic hings on one side to make getting into it very easy. We bought our own racks and borrowed a friends luggage carrier. That way we didn't have to store it after vacation. Ask around, you may know someone that has one hanging around the garage. I've also seen them cheap in the newspaper. Have a nice vacation!
Are you trying to put suitcases in the trunk? If so, why not use duffle bags. I know they may not be the prettiest but you can move them around to fit more stuff in the trunk. I have a small car also (toyota corolla) and I was able to pack everything I needed in the trunk for a family of 4. I hope this helps some.
G.,
My husband and I currently live in Florida. We are originally from New York State. We had a small compact car when we were getting ready to move here to Florida, and purchased a car carrier at Sears up there. There was no roof rack or any holes that had to be put in the roof. Most car top carriers are strapped to the roof of the car with nylon straps with metal hooks. They secure it very well to the roof. No need to worry. If you were to go to Sears or any place like that, that sold them, just ask them how they work, they'd explain to you before you buy it. However, as I say, it worked great for us. Many people on vacation use them because it frees up the car to give them space. I hope this was helpful. Good luck and have fun on your vacation.. I'd love to go north right now to see the colors of the leaves on the trees. Autumn is and was my favorite season up north. Have fun..
We used to have a full size conversion van, and wanted good gas mileage for a trip to Michigan from Florida. So we borrowed a Saturn sl. It is extremely small, and we were going for 2 weeks! But we packed wisely, only took what we had to. We fit everything in the trunk, and washed clothes while we were away. Several years ago we had a mini-van and put a carrier on top. We filled it with Christmas presents and drove them from Florida to Michigan, and we took out our transmission! Be careful with extra weight, it can hurt a car's transmission or such because it is not made to carry too much extra weight. I hope this is helpful.
