[2013M3]

Trying to decide roof box.

I was thinking of going with all BMW, roof rack and the 520 box.

If I go with the BMW 520, will it fit non BMW rack? in other words, if I buy one, will I only be able to sell it to a BMW owner? or can a yakima or thule attachment allow non BMW roof rack installation?

I was initially going to go with yakima but after shipping cost, it was almost the same to get the BMW. Of course yakima, I can sell to any car owner.

[bagekko]

It prolly will fit on others as aren't all the BMW things made by Thule? You sure you want the 520, it's pretty huge. I have the 420 which works well.

[2013M3]

Good question. I figured if I’m going to take the effort to put a roof rack, why not go big?

[sharp]

I'm thinking in the opposite direction here. BMW cross bars don't have any specific design elements that would make them uniquely compatible with BMW roof boxes only. They're pretty much the same as other brands design wise. So my assumption is that BMW roof boxes should be compatible with all X7 cross bar types.

If my memory serves me well, some people posted pictures of BMW boxes installed on non-BMW cross bars on this forum.

[chicagox7]

We did the opposite. We bought the BMW bars as they are easy to install and take off. We bought a Thule box (xl motion) to go on top. We went with xl instead of L. As one poster on one of the many threads about boxes noted ‘no one has ever said they wished they had a smaller box) we almost bought the bmw box. The dealer told us they are just rebranded Thule- so might as well buy one of those as it’s cheaper.

[littleyang]

Buy Thule without dout

[toddwalton]

Buy the BMW crossbars as they are the fastest to get on/off. Like under a minute.

Buy a Thule cargo box as they make the best ones with the most size diversity and make the far more limited line of BMW ones anyway.

[khai37]

Originally Posted by toddwalton

Buy the BMW crossbars as they are the fastest to get on/off. Like under a minute.

Buy a Thule cargo box as they make the best ones with the most size diversity and make the far more limited line of BMW ones anyway.

This is the way

[ChrisM4]

Definitely get the BMW crossbars. I went with the 420L box…It’s plenty big and I managed to get 25% off as it was a showroom model they popped on top of various X5s, X7s on the showroom floor.

It’s weather proof, aerodynamic, has dual locks and is completely OEM.

[kendallc24]

I got the RhinoRack zenith 400L (RMFZ66). I use the OEM roof racks and it was super quiet on 1000 miles and noticed very little difference in gas mileage.

[Foxglove]

Anyone have some good detailed photos of these options on the X7? I'm interested as well for more storage during longer family road trips. Just now looking into it.

[das2050]

Originally Posted by chicagox7

We did the opposite. We bought the BMW bars as they are easy to install and take off. We bought a Thule box (xl motion) to go on top. We went with xl instead of L. As one poster on one of the many threads about boxes noted ‘no one has ever said they wished they had a smaller box) we almost bought the bmw box. The dealer told us they are just rebranded Thule- so might as well buy one of those as it’s cheaper.

Exact same setup, but with XXL (glad we went with that size, fits well). Happy with the BMW crossbars as they are super easy to get on/off and the Thule is easy to use as well. Got crossbars from BMWParts for a decent amount off.

[toddwalton]

Originally Posted by Foxglove

Anyone have some good detailed photos of these options on the X7? I'm interested as well for more storage during longer family road trips. Just now looking into it.

I've got a Thule XL size which is perfect for the X7 proportionally and functionally.

I've got the BMW crossbars as I don't want interference with the moonroof, I know it's been engineered properly for balance/weight, and the larger airspace from the extra inch in height reduces wind noise.

Remember that with this setup, your duffle bag game needs to be spot on. You can get 6 full sized duffels up in an XL cargo box if you fill the duffels 80% and get ones that are 14" high by 30" long. Space is very limited with the 3rd Row in use so getting the right sized cargo box and duffels is critical.

[MPower10s]

I got the Thule motion xt XXL with the Thule wing bar evo. great combo

After our first long road trip, we had to get it because we have the captains chairs, my wife was sitting in the backseat with our 3 month old baby, and 2 dogs (one on the floor and one in the front seat). Needed to be able to keep 3rd row up for the dogs and this enables that.

[Kalvis]

Originally Posted by Foxglove

Anyone have some good detailed photos of these options on the X7? I'm interested as well for more storage during longer family road trips. Just now looking into it.

For 2022/2023 ski trip (5k km round trip: Latvia-Lithuania-Poland-Germany-France-Swiss-France and then back France-Italy-Swiss-Austria-Germany-Poland-Lithuania-Latvia) to Les2Alpes i brought Thule XL set. Pictures with my previous X7. You can see also consumption figures of this trip. Highest speed on German autobahn was about 180km/h although i keep average 150 km/h due to consumption and constant braking due to cars passing trucks. Used Thule XL just on this trip. Very satisfied (no problems with stability or noise) except that i damaged paint on back passenger doors insides due to claiming up.

[Foxglove]

Originally Posted by toddwalton

I've got a Thule XL size which is perfect for the X7 proportionally and functionally.

I've got the BMW crossbars as I don't want interference with the moonroof, I know it's been engineered properly for balance/weight, and the larger airspace from the extra inch in height reduces wind noise.

Remember that with this setup, your duffle bag game needs to be spot on. You can get 6 full sized duffels up in an XL cargo box if you fill the duffels 80% and get ones that are 14" high by 30" long. Space is very limited with the 3rd Row in use so getting the right sized cargo box and duffels is critical.

This looks great. Fits the size perfectly. Thanks for posting a photo. Sounds like these Thule etc fit/attach just fine to the BMW crossbars? Any issues there?

[Foxglove]

Originally Posted by Kalvis

For 2022/2023 ski trip (5k km round trip: Latvia-Lithuania-Poland-Germany-France-Swiss-France and then back France-Italy-Swiss-Austria-Germany-Poland-Lithuania-Latvia) to Les2Alpes i brought Thule XL set. Pictures with my previous X7. You can see also consumption figures of this trip. Highest speed on German autobahn was about 180km/h although i keep average 150 km/h due to consumption and constant braking due to cars passing trucks. Used Thule XL just on this trip. Very satisfied (no problems with stability or noise) except that i damaged paint on back passenger doors insides due to claiming up.

Thanks for posting some photos of it in detail. Those are great. Any issues with the moonroof opening with the Thule crossbars?

[sharp]

Originally Posted by Foxglove

This looks great. Fits the size perfectly. Thanks for posting a photo. Sounds like these Thule etc fit/attach just fine to the BMW crossbars? Any issues there?

Yes, my Thule Motion XT XL works really well with BMW OEM cross bars. You can see a picture of my X7 with the roof box attached to it in my profile.

[Kalvis]

Originally Posted by Foxglove

Thanks for posting some photos of it in detail. Those are great. Any issues with the moonroof opening with the Thule crossbars?

I did not tried to open it completely (just rising) since it was winter but sure it would not be a problem.

Originally i thought about THULE MOTION XT XLL but when i saw it in life it was looking too big for car and also for my use case so i brought THULE MOTION XT XL BLACK GLOSS + black Thule WingBar Evo. Its matching shadow line very well.

[toddwalton]

Originally Posted by Foxglove

This looks great. Fits the size perfectly. Thanks for posting a photo. Sounds like these Thule etc fit/attach just fine to the BMW crossbars? Any issues there?

No issues whatsoever, the Thule clamping system is a no-tools breeze, takes about 30 seconds per corner and no help needed. You twist a knob inside the box and the rubber coated ‘claws’ grab the crossbar.

[Foxglove]

Originally Posted by toddwalton

No issues whatsoever, the Thule clamping system is a no-tools breeze, takes about 30 seconds per corner and no help needed. You twist a knob inside the box and the rubber coated ‘claws’ grab the crossbar.

Oh that’s great. Thank you!

[ST23]

Originally Posted by sharp

Yes, my Thule Motion XT XL works really well with BMW OEM cross bars. You can see a picture of my X7 with the roof box attached to it in my profile.

Same setup here, though I wished the OEM bars were black to tie in with the shadow line trim black roof rails, it's barely noticeable with the roof box. Opted for this setup to be able to take off the OEM bars whenever the box wasn't used, 10 minutes on/off for the entire setup for me.