[Eugr]

Maybe a silly question, but how hard is it to mount the roof box by yourself without a second person? It is quite heavy and bulky, and X7 is a tall car…

[asianrage]

Originally Posted by Eugr

Maybe a silly question, but how hard is it to mount the roof box by yourself without a second person? It is quite heavy and bulky, and X7 is a tall car…

For a trip last month, as I'm only 5'7" on (rare) great day, I needed my father in law to help place my Thule XL on top of my rack (BMW version). It's not heavy, just very bulky. But once you place it on the rack, it's easy to adjust the grip, but then you have to do it per side .
I do believe that, if you have a wide ladder/step platform that's tall enough, you could accomplish the install by yourself.

[Eugr]

Thanks! I'm 5'9". I have a nice stable ladder though. Don't have my roof box yet - thinking about Thule XL as well on BMW cross bars.

[toddwalton]

Originally Posted by Eugr

Maybe a silly question, but how hard is it to mount the roof box by yourself without a second person? It is quite heavy and bulky, and X7 is a tall car…

It's not the weight, it's the size, definitely a two-person job.

Much easier if you have running boards, suggest everyone get a pair of those.

[Eugr]

Originally Posted by toddwalton

It's not the weight, it's the size, definitely a two-person job.

Much easier if you have running boards, suggest everyone get a pair of those.

I thought running boards were not an option for M50i?

[LowerEast]

Originally Posted by Eugr

Maybe a silly question, but how hard is it to mount the roof box by yourself without a second person? It is quite heavy and bulky, and X7 is a tall car…

I prefer it to be a two person job, but I wind up doing it by myself maybe half the time.

My technique is to stand up the box vertically and balance it on its back end, grasp the sides near the middle, and lift it up so the box is horizontal above my head. I then lower the box so some of the weight is taken by my head.while still supporting most of the weight with my arms. I then move in next to the car and move one side of the box onto the cross bars before sliding it into position.

It’s not ideal, but if there’s no one around to help and I’m short on time, it’s not a big deal to just put it on myself.

Same technique works to take it off if I’m doing it by myself.

[asianrage]

Originally Posted by toddwalton

It's not the weight, it's the size, definitely a two-person job.

Much easier if you have running boards, suggest everyone get a pair of those.

Running board is not the obvious solution as it is placed at a "lower" position relative to the side sill is that you'd place your feet on.

[asianrage]

Originally Posted by LowerEast

I prefer it to be a two person job, but I wind up doing it by myself maybe half the time.

My technique is to stand up the box vertically and balance it on its back end, grasp the sides near the middle, and lift it up so the box is horizontal above my head. I then lower the box so some of the weight is taken by my head.while still supporting most of the weight with my arms. I then move in next to the car and move one side of the box onto the cross bars before sliding it into position.

It’s not ideal, but if there’s no one around to help and I’m short on time, it’s not a big deal to just put it on myself.

Same technique works to take it off if I’m doing it by myself.

I'm too short for this technique

[adamjs83]

Originally Posted by LowerEast

I prefer it to be a two person job, but I wind up doing it by myself maybe half the time.

My technique is to stand up the box vertically and balance it on its back end, grasp the sides near the middle, and lift it up so the box is horizontal above my head. I then lower the box so some of the weight is taken by my head.while still supporting most of the weight with my arms. I then move in next to the car and move one side of the box onto the cross bars before sliding it into position.

It’s not ideal, but if there’s no one around to help and I’m short on time, it’s not a big deal to just put it on myself.

Same technique works to take it off if I’m doing it by myself.

This is my method as well. Very ugly but it works.

[toddwalton]

Originally Posted by asianrage

Running board is not the obvious solution as it is placed at a "lower" position relative to the side sill is that you'd place your feet on.

Running Board sits 4" lower than the side sill.

Running Board juts out 7" longer than the side sill.

The 4" lower is what allows a child younger than age 14 to get in/out of the vehicle easier and safer by taking two smaller steps in either direction instead of one large one.

The 7" wider is what allows an adult to stand with his torso away from the vehicle, instead of inside the vehicle, making getting up to skis or bags on the roof far easier.

For an adult, one foot on the sill, one foot on the running board is how it's done. Trying to stand on the sill with two feet forces you to contort your upper body away from the car, it is very awkward and very unsafe for skis or cargo.

[asianrage]

Originally Posted by toddwalton

Running Board sits 4" lower than the side sill.

Running Board juts out 7" longer than the side sill.

The 4" lower is what allows a child younger than age 14 to get in/out of the vehicle easier and safer by taking two smaller steps in either direction instead of one large one.

The 7" wider is what allows an adult to stand with his torso away from the vehicle, instead of inside the vehicle, making getting up to skis or bags on the roof far easier.

For an adult, one foot on the sill, one foot on the running board is how it's done. Trying to stand on the sill with two feet forces you to contort your upper body away from the car, it is very awkward and very unsafe for skis or cargo.

While loading our family luggages, I had similar thoughts, but the one thing I realized was that, if I had spent money on retrofitting the runningboard, I would have been super pissed to end up standing at a lower position. One hand grabbing the roof rail and holding myself steady while the other hand repositioning the luggage, not the best, but still better than spending 1500 bucks before install. But for ingress/egress, it's useful.

[Eugr]

Anyone has BMW 520 liter roof box? Is it worse/better/the same compared to Thule Motion XT XL?

[Eugr]

Originally Posted by toddwalton

Running Board sits 4" lower than the side sill.

Can a dealer retrofit it to X7 M50i?

[toddwalton]

Originally Posted by Eugr

Can a dealer retrofit it to X7 M50i?

I recall years ago that was a problem, something about the M-Sport bodykit being incompatible. Call your parts department for the definitive answer.

[phellar]

Originally Posted by toddwalton

Happy to help, we have the captain's chairs and when we travel all 6 seats are occupied with family members so having the right sized stroller and a strong duffel bag game is very important.

We have 6 identical duffels each in different colors, we fill them 80%, and they all fit up top. The stroller and heavier items like, say, a cooler, fit in the area behind the 3rd row. There is also a nice bit of space under the floor of that rear deck, you can fit diaper bags or several smaller and heavier items in there.

Once you get the hang of it, it's quite a large amount of stuff, you can haul a week's worth of clothing and essentials for a traveling family of 6. But the right sized cargo box is the key to it all, and the right sized duffels that fit perfectly in it.

Would you mind sensing the duffels you are using?

[toddwalton]

Originally Posted by phellar

Would you mind sensing the duffels you are using?

Ours are Nike's, but you can get any brand, suggest you get 6 of the same style but in different colors so you can load manage appropriately and also easily tell them apart when you arrive at your destination.

Size is 30" long by 12" tall, but there is a little wiggle room, things do squish down when you close the box lid. Fill them 80% so there is room for the lid to close without obstruction, especially the ones you put towards the front nose of the box which tends to slope downwards for aerodynamics.

[toddwalton]

Originally Posted by Staszek

I didn't get either, I ended up getting the Vector M

How did it turn out? Can you put up a few pics?

[Staszek]

Originally Posted by toddwalton

How did it turn out? Can you put up a few pics?

Its sitting on the floor right now lol. I am going away next week and will be using it. I just put the bars on the roof yesterday, went with Yakima flushbars since the low profile bars were impossible to get and these had way better ratings for being quiet vs the Thule ones.

I will take pics when I put it on all packed up. I will say I had the XXL one which came in broken so I returned it, that was when I bought the Vector. the XXL was obviously bigger, but the Vector construction felt way more solid.

[toddwalton]

Originally Posted by Staszek

Its sitting on the floor right now lol. I am going away next week and will be using it. I just put the bars on the roof yesterday, went with Yakima flushbars since the low profile bars were impossible to get and these had way better ratings for being quiet vs the Thule ones.

I will take pics when I put it on all packed up. I will say I had the XXL one which came in broken so I returned it, that was when I bought the Vector. the XXL was obviously bigger, but the Vector construction felt way more solid.

Cool!

I'm actually more interested in the crossbars, wondering how the Flush Bars compare with the Yakima Rail Bars which seem to be discontinued.

When your box is on your roof, could I trouble you to take a photo of the distance between the bottom of the crossbar and the moonroof? I'm trying to figure out how much lower they are than the stock BMW's which are 4 1/8" above the roof.

[Staszek]

Originally Posted by toddwalton

Cool!

I'm actually more interested in the crossbars, wondering how the Flush Bars compare with the Yakima Rail Bars which seem to be discontinued.

When your box is on your roof, could I trouble you to take a photo of the distance between the bottom of the crossbar and the moonroof? I'm trying to figure out how much lower they are than the stock BMW's which are 4 1/8" above the roof.

I will take more pics, this one I took when I installed the bars, but its over a half inch lower then the OEM bars.

[Staszek]

Here are a few more pics with the Vector on. I like it in terms of construction a lot. I test drove with it and its really quiet. I wish it was a bit taller, I want a slightly larger version with the vector build quality. That is where the Motion wins.

[toddwalton]

Originally Posted by Staszek

Here are a few more pics with the Vector on. I like it in terms of construction a lot. I test drove with it and its really quiet. I wish it was a bit taller, I want a slightly larger version with the vector build quality. That is where the Motion wins.

Thanks for the photos and the measuring.

So the Vector is a slim-profile style cargo box then?