Opinions on a soft-sided roof bag?

[Kiriesh]

Hey guys, trying to figure out some last minute storage solutions. Leaving on a 2.5 week trip at the end of the month and my tacoma is a big more stuffed than I would like (lots of dispersed camping so campsite equipment, bedding, food, clothes, water, etc adds up fast). I'd ideally love to run a couple heavy duty cases on a rack above my tonneau cover, but price is a factor. I've found a couple small hard shell cargo boxes for reasonable prices ($35-50 used) on CL, but they'll need work and it would be interesting finding somewhere to store them properly when I'm at home. Another option I've found are soft sided cargo bags. I've found a couple 10-13 sqr ft bags that seem to fit the bill both in overall size and the ability to pack away small. Can't seem to find much if any reviews on these and thought someone here might have used them before. My main concern is the security aspect, but since I'm running a soft tonneau cover that's present anyways.

 

[Binkie]

They all leak.

All options have their drawbacks. Roof boxes are a pain to remove and store, bad on gas. Baskets are heavy and no weather protection. Roof bags ALL leak. I use one for non-sensitive items on my ARB rack(tent, sleeping pads, etc.). If you are OK with the guaranteed leak and dust penetration, go for it.

 

[Ray Hyland]

I've run a Nat Geo branded roof bag for over 10 years in some very tough conditions. It's never leaked.

YMMV

 

[robert]

The roll top river bags won't leak as long as they don't have holes in them.

You could always do like so many others and put your stuff in trash bags; the heavy grade contractor bags hold up well as long as they aren't directly in the wind. Despite a plethora of overpriced bags and boxes I still tend to shove my bedding in a trash bag when I'm in dusty areas (camper shell on back).

 

[stioc]

Granted I haven't driven in the pouring rain but I've been using the same $40 Keeper bag for 3 years now on top of my roof basket, lots of pics in my build thread. I keep our sleeping bags, pads, tent and chairs in it- read, bulky but light stuff. The outside of the bag gets super dirty and dusty but keeps the cargo very well protected.

 

[Ray_G]

I'll 2nd the keeper, it has held up well for me under use for the past few years.

 

[TwoTrack]

I used a Keeper bag earlier this year. It was in the bed of the truck and not on the roof, but it kept everything dry while driving through 2+ hours of rain on the highway.

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