I need a hard cargo box to schlep a bunch of stuff down to New Orleans from NJ and back. Lot's of 80mph highway driving so safety and fuel efficiency are an issue. I don't want to worry about the thing flying off my roof on the highway.

I also have the occasional need to carry a single pair of skis locally - just a few miles on backroads.

And more often we need to carry 2 road bikes a little way, also locally.

Next year, if we go back to New Orleans, we may even want to put both bikes and the box on the roof. But that's not definite so it is not a priority - but it would be nice.

And I don't want to spend thousands. Nor do I know where to begin. I'm short and not mechanically inclined so it has to be a system on the simple side. Looks are secondary. Which rails? Which are easy to mount? Which accessories? Will it all fit on my Countryman?

Any and all advice and suggestions highly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

it might be tough being that you are... *ahem* "vertically challenged" to put bikes on a rooftop carrier. i think there's a bumper carrier available.

as far as rooftop goes.. bars and a name brand box will run you about $700 give or take. the mini oem bars can be purchased for considerably less than an aftermarket (like thule) set, but boxes run around 500 give or take.

i think bentyyc has a configuration that lets him put 2 bike carriers and a box on top

 

I can stand on something to put the bikes up top. The bumper rack sucks.

What is a mini oem bar?

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mini-Country...ce348c&vxp=mtr

you can find them between 175 and 200 bucks.

i still haven't bitten the bullet on a box yet, winter's coming and i really need to get one to put my snowboard in. i'm TRYING to squirrel away a little and save for it, but there always seems to be something that drains that stash fund quicker than i can add to it.

 

Good memory dpike!

All the major brands (Yakima, Thule, etc.) are going to have solutions that will work. For me, I like the mid-width sizing of the MINI-branded box, as it leaves room on the crossbars for other accessories - in my case, bike racks.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bentyyc/5991952353/
As far as bike racks go, I can't recommend the Rockymounts enough! I went with the Euro Pitchforks and it's very solid and very stealth.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bentyyc/7516945690/
You can also go the bikes-on-the-back route, which we do for our kids' bikes...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bentyyc/7469692044/

 

Are the bars the Mini bars?

Thanks!

 

yeah, he has mini oem bars.
before you bite the bullet and order a set from ebay, check with your dealer.. i got a 20% off accessories coupon in my email today, and you wouldn't have to pay shipping.

... that last picture gives me the overwhelming desire to duck, because the loaded rack being that close to the garage

 

I put Thule Aerobars on mine, with Yakima bike racks. It's a good work out lifting the bikes up there!!

 

Bentyyc,

What is the width of the Mini roof box? I love your setup and I'm going to order the rails and bike racks like you have, but I'd rather get a Yakima black cargo box. If I knew the dimensions of the Mini roof box, it would help me select. Thanks.

 

If memory serves, the MINI roof box is just a hair over 2 feet wide (63cm)...

 

Looks great! It's nice to see someone else with Rocky Mounts bike trays! I like how you matched the color to your stripes. My Countryman is Cosmic Blue with a white roof, so I have the white trays on mine and I love them. I had Yakima ForkLift trays on my '10 R56, but they rusted. I like these much better.

 

Has anyone explored or purchased a rear cargo box for the countryman... ?
My plans for our trip to the Cape have changed and we'll be traveling in separate vehicles at separate times...
Can purchase a rear car open cargo basket that will attach to the CooperCrap custom tow hitch that's on it's way for my small 4/5 trailer....but would rather travel w/o the hitch and directly into the tow adapters like the custom bike rack...I have the mini roof bars with a Thule box that works and looks great....But I am traveling with (3), yes THREE, teenagers I need more storage space...the memo about carry on luggage only....didn't seem to fly well

 

If you need to borrow a second Thule box like yours (for the second car), let me know...

 

My wife has a Thule roof top carrier for her Fusion.....but she'll be goining us at least 3 days later. My daughter and two friends are up in arms that they may have to manage with limited belongings until reinforcements (remaining luggage) arrive. Me, flip flops, shorts, toothbrush, etc, etc...works for me.
I appreciate the thought and offer though

 

Thule box and aeroblades. Great combo on the R60.

 

More pics

 

Anybody ever tried the cargo basket and cargo bag combination?

 

So I received my trailer/ cargo hitch with 2" receiver today from CooperCrap....
It's the one that uses the existing 2 receivers on the rear bumper of the countryman.
"Same way you would attach the Mni Aluminum Bike Rack" Popped off the 2 plastic covers and secured the threaded machined bolts. Was not impressed with the powdered coated black hitch....but we'll take care of that! Was impressed with how secure the bolts secured to the frame of the vehicle....so we added the 2" receiver and grabbed hold of it with our o/h 15 ton crane and went for it.... Had the rear end of the Mini up 3 plus feet and no concerns at all.....surprisingly very strong/secure... Would not hesitate to pull a 1000-2000 lb trailer at all... hitch wise... Not sure Mini wise... This is all to accommodate 3 teenagers carry on luggage that won't all fit in the overhead compartments......So now to find a carrier to accommodate the CooperCrap hitch!
Pictures to follow... On the iPad this evening and for some reason NAM is not letting them upload to post.....

 

Pulled one of these with my old R52. The 4's and 6's are no problem at all

http://www.companiontrailers.com



This picture reminds me, I still gotta sell those wheels. The wife is a little mad I still have quite afew parts/wheels/tires left for my old MINI.

 

Very Nice......Wish they were in our area .....I'd rent one for sure, exactly what I need! Did you own or rent ? Any idea what the 4' goes for ?

 

I just rented. I am fairly certain I will buy now because we are finding ourselves making more and more HD runs, volunteer with a charity that always requires stuffing my wife's car and mine with goods that is tearing up the interiors. It has been awhile since I inquired about pricing, but I believe it was around 1700-1900 for the 4 footer 6 years ago. I also pulled the 6 footer as an experiment. The old prince engine had zero issues with it (assuming you aren't filling it full of gold bars). I don't think I would buy the 6 footer because mentally I always worried about it back there being bigger than the car. Also most of my "road trips" requiring filling up a trailer with luggage, dog crates, etc... are to Northern New Mexico or the Western Slope of Colorado. Even though the MINI claims it is safe to tow 1300 pounds or so, I lack the confidence of the car being able to pull a trailer up a slick mountain road with a fairly steep incline.

If Rental is what you are after, consider a sport trailer rental from Uhaul. http://www.uhaul.com/Reservations/Eq....aspx?model=ST

 

Thanks for the Info.....Actually called Uhaul and they are a bit concerned about the bumper....I really like the Companion. I think I might get serious about one of those for the future...!
Plans for the trip have changed, as I thought might We've gone from 3 teenagers to 2... but the catch is they want to bring there bikes
So the deal is..I'll make it work....But limited to carry-on luggage only...
All agreed....no last minute changes, otherwise reservations will be revoked with non-refundable tickets...sounded good anyways Now to make it all work..... I truly could use this one from Companion.
Here's a few of the CooperCrap Bumper installed.....

 

So you have established you aren't worried that the "hitch" will fail using the 2 holes. What about the holes and wherever they are welded to? Everything sturdy enough? I wonder if something could be welded On to that frame that can also swing out creating an old style tire carrier for a spare?

I really like my rooftop carrier and bars, it is just such a PITA to load and unload.

 

I do feel very comfortable with it overall and hope to make good use it, including a type of high support T bar for carrying lengths of wood, misc. material supported on the roof rack then back to T Up from the hitch!

A few things I liked with this hitch over the others is this one is formed to the contour/shape of the counttrymans bumper....it's within an inch. The other is ability of removing w/o the need to get under the car. They supplied the allen wrench, even anti seize lube and rubber gloves for the installation. Once the threaded lugs/pins were secured to mini's threads, the welded hitch was slipped over those pins. We did use a rubber mallet alternating hits side to side making sure it went on evenly and finally securing a sturdy allen bolts.

My plan is to basically leave it on and make use of it with whatever adaptions I can come up with...a tire rack/holder will be on of my first builds as I run 19" non run flats in the summer...so on any type of trip, the roof carrier's first item is the 5th wheel. I did not purchase a wire harness kit....as I do not plan on making this a regular towing vehicle, perhaps with a few exceptions.....when the time comes to remove it for adaptions, fabrications I have nice powder that has the same blue as my countryman with a black swirl I will powder and should add to the look, blending in even better
I did purchase/order (Cape trip) a Thule 4 place bike rack that adapts well with the 2" receiver. The only modification I may need to make is to trim the length of Thule's 2" tubing as the hitches receiver is close to the bumper. Should be here Tuesday, pictures to follow....

 

Nice set up! I am a cyclist and love the roof rack set up for the Countryman. The hitch set up is nice as well.

I'll probably opt for the roof rack option: one for my road bike and for my (future) mtn bike