Cargo carrier milage

William Hoover · **Joined:** Sat Sep 24, 2005 12:09 am **Posts:** 45

Anyone with a OEM or Mopar roof top cargo carrier know how much having one on the roof affects fuel milage?

I have a CRD so I'm using diesel and am accustommed to 25 mpg, at least, without my roof cargo carrier installed. But I'd like to have the roof cargo space for dead racoons and other smelly stuff I find on the road, as well as an extra spare or extra wheels for my wheelchair.

Please tell me, only if it is true, that my milage will not be affected much.

Groovy Hoovy

broncsrule · **Posted:** Sat Oct 15, 2005 8:21 pm

Just wondering...Why do you collect roadkill?

Eddo · **Joined:** Thu Jul 07, 2005 7:01 pm **Posts:** 1214

broncsrule wrote:

Just wondering...Why do you collect roadkill?

Actually was kind of wondering that myself.

brpn#1 · **Posted:** Mon Oct 17, 2005 6:55 am

for coon stew???

MojaveDesertKJ · **Joined:** Sun Jul 31, 2005 1:18 pm **Posts:** 17

All I carry for roadkill is a fork in my back pocket. And it doesn't do a thing to my mileage.
:roll:

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Mon Oct 17, 2005 10:09 am

First ive heard of people getting road kill on here. i usually stop and get turtles off the road though. hehe.

Apple · **Joined:** Wed Sep 07, 2005 3:20 pm **Posts:** 18

I also watch and post on acuramdx.org. No one has ever discussed the affects of road kill on gas mileage over there. Maybe they are collecting road kill but don't care about gas mileage. Yeah - I'll bet that's it.

Guest · **Posted:** Mon Oct 17, 2005 9:53 pm

Once again, proof there are too many trailer parks in America.

Cacher123 · **Posted:** Mon Oct 17, 2005 11:05 pm

To actually answer the question,
As long as your carrier is "open", slats or mesh or whatever, then wind resistance should not be increased by more than a fraction, hence gas mileage should not suffer. Now if you put a tool box or gas cans or even the spare tire up there you are going to create a "barn door effect" to some degree and lower your gas mileage.
Currently when traveling I point out all those Thule and Sears carriers (the X-cargo ones are the worst) to my G/f and wonder if those people realize how badly they are killing thier mileage! This is why Tractor Trailers have that bubble or airfoil shaped panel above thier Tractor to smooth the airflow of the Trailer.

Trodo · **Posted:** Tue Oct 18, 2005 7:09 pm

Hammer wrote:

Once again, proof there are too many trailer parks in America.

dirtykj · **Posted:** Tue Oct 18, 2005 7:15 pm

Maybe he's into something like this?

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2005470089,00.html

LibertyN8 · **Posted:** Tue Oct 18, 2005 7:17 pm

Cacher123 wrote:

To actually answer the question,
As long as your carrier is "open", slats or mesh or whatever, then wind resistance should not be increased by more than a fraction, hence gas mileage should not suffer. Now if you put a tool box or gas cans or even the spare tire up there you are going to create a "barn door effect" to some degree and lower your gas mileage.
Currently when traveling I point out all those Thule and Sears carriers (the X-cargo ones are the worst) to my G/f and wonder if those people realize how badly they are killing thier mileage! This is why Tractor Trailers have that bubble or airfoil shaped panel above thier Tractor to smooth the airflow of the Trailer.

Good job Cacher, I was wondering about this too! its to bad we have the same ol' people hijacking every thread on the forum :evil:

thanks Cacher!

auggy · **Posted:** Tue Oct 18, 2005 8:32 pm

I seriously hope you're kidding about the roadkill. If you collect roadkill you might think about a change of location/culture.

William Hoover · **Joined:** Sat Sep 24, 2005 12:09 am **Posts:** 45

Thanks cacher 123. One answer out of 12 responses making fun of my habit of taking dead dogs to the vets so their owners can be notified.

I also pick up a fresh racoon now and then and harvest the tail. Jeepers. You wouldn't think Jeep drivers would be so judgemental and prissy. And Yes, I also jump out of my Jep to pick up turtles.--or my friends do--as I use a wheelchair.

I'm will be keeping my cargo basket empty most of the time so thanks for letting me know the open basket won't submarine my diesel milage

Hoover

valoflyby · **Posted:** Sun Oct 23, 2005 10:32 am

To add even more valuable information....

I run a Sears SV20 rooftop carrier on my CRD. With it, on the highway, I get 23mpg. Without it, I get 29.

It may not be entirely fair, though, b/c I've never run "just" the SV20. Usually I'm running it and two mountain bikes... or it and a kayak. Funny, though, that the milage doesn't change when an open trailer with a motorcycle or two is added. You're right, running a top box when not absolutely needed is a HUGE waste... Even "around town" (reach destination, don't want to bother w/ taking off box for the week) the milage drops down to like 17, when I'm accustomed to getting ~22.

The SV20 is the only way that I can get me, my girlfriend, my four dogs, our "sport" equipment (for said bikes or kayak), and our luggage to our destination. (Short of buying something ridiculous like an Excursion.

Sorry to hear about the dead dogs... I, for one, would appreciate the notification.

- Jeff

Edwin · **Posted:** Sun Oct 23, 2005 2:49 pm

brpn#1 wrote:

for coon stew???

Coon tastes like chicken! :lol:

William Hoover · **Joined:** Sat Sep 24, 2005 12:09 am **Posts:** 45

THANKS VALOFLYBY!

I live off Highway 90 east of Hondo, TX and a lot of people dump dogs out here that end up being hit by a car or truck. Its a sad commentary on some pet owners idea of responsibility. My vet thanks me everytime I bring a dog in, if one is microchipped or has tasgs he notifies the owners. If it was purposeful dumping he notifies Medina County Animal control.

Back to the subject, how many cubid feet does your SV20 cargo box have?

The Dog lover.

valoflyby · **Posted:** Thu Oct 27, 2005 10:34 am

It is 20cuft.

Sears Link

Sears used to sell a SV15 and an SV12, which were 15 and 12 cuft respectively. I (foolishly) bought mine new for MSRP-$10 when they were "on sale". Afterwards I noticed how frequently they showed up on Ebay and yard sales. Seems folks buy them and then either don't use 'em or are horrified @ the fuel milage they get w/ 'em on top. (Google milage and SV20 and see what I mean). After a buddy of mine saw mine (and liked it) he wanted one and I found one for him @ a yardsale for $25. I sold it to him for $75, so I hope he doesn't come across this post!

Coleman also makes one that is sold through Target. It isn't on EITHER of their websites, but every target that I've been into recently has it for sale. It is about half the price of the SV20 unit and probably half the quality. My understanding is that the SV20 is actually manufactured by Thule. (Perhaps the Coleman unit is too!)

The box is what it is. There's no getting around that it will kill your mileage, but for my needs... the ability to just take it off and get decent milage (as opposed to running a FULLSIZE van or Excursion) makes it ideal for me. Putting the thing on or taking it off is a 3 minute affair; it really isn't that tough. The most tedious thing about the box is finding somewhere to put it when it ISN'T on your Jeep.

- Jeff

William Hoover · **Joined:** Sat Sep 24, 2005 12:09 am **Posts:** 45

Cool. Thanks for the info. I just installed a Mopar roof rack on Monday and I like it. Looks good too. I also installed mud flaps so I like to say "Bethany" has a new hat and news shoes. Yeps she is a classly Libby alright" Bethany of course is what I call my Libby as Libby too is used as a nickname for Elizabeth.

Does anybody else have cool names for their Jeep Liberty?

William

PS. I hope the road kills jokes have been exhauted. Chicken!

Cargo carrier milage

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