Product Description

Thule Sidekick Cargo Box

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Product Details

• Size: 682, One Size
• Color: Grey
• Brand: Thule
• Model: 682
• Released on: 2007-08-04
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: 12.00" h x 25.00" w x 55.00" l, 20.00 pounds

Features

• Rooftop cargo box with 8 cubic feet of storage
• Ideal for carrying camping gear and golf clubs
• Side-opening design for easy loading and unloading
• Mounts to most removable and factory roof racks
• Measures 54 x 15.5 x 25 inches (W x H x D)

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Customer Reviews

Most helpful customer reviews

115 of 118 people found the following review helpful.
Really did the job for us
By Calvin Perilloux
I bought this with some skepticism, having read other reviews that gave it low marks, and also having bought Thule products in the past and cursed them as I tried assembling and installing them, what with missing pieces and the like.

Happily, this box is fine. It does seem flimsy when you're assembling it, and it even seems that way when it's open on top of the car. It seems to be engineered to be as light as possible, which it is, and that can be unnerving until you get it fastened down and locked closed.

Assembly: It's awkward. It took two of us, me and my 2 year old! Seriously. It's a bit hairy for one person to get it right, since you have to match the hinges with the sides of the "clam shell", and their fit doesn't seem quite right until you tighten them up well. Still, it went OK, about 20 minutes for me to do, far better than a Thule roof racks I installed some years back, where I was dealing with bent and missing parts. If you do this alone, you need to brace it well at an angle as you hook the top and bottom together. Much easier with two people.

Installation: Dead easy on the factory roof rack. (We have a Pontiac Aztek.) THERE IS NO NEED TO BUY ADDITIONAL BRACKETS, though when viewing ads for this, you might think so at first glance. The package includes 4 U-brackets which attach to your roof racks and are held inside by hand-swivel bolts (whatever they're called). One thing I added while doing the installation was to put duct tape over the inside holes for the U-brackets. There are several holes in each sequence, and you only use two out of 4 or 5; the others are exposed. Covering with tape might help keep spray out.

Performance: Pretty good! We drove 2300 miles with this unit, of which about 300 were in driving rain. During the worst rain, we did have dampness and some droplets of water at the bottom front inside, but the gear was sitting up on ridges and was fine - b ag in front was damp but not wet. If you have cloth bags that press to the very bottom, I'd put them in plastic if you'll be hitting heavy rain (and ours was VERY heavy, and at 70 mph driving speed).

We noticed an increase in wind noise at high speeds, and in our rough tests, it knocked about 2 mpg off our gas mileage at 75 mph, but on a 50 mph stretch of several hundred miles we couldn't tell a difference.

Removal takes literally five minutes. You undo (by hand) four pairs of swivel bolts, and lift it right off the roof. Reinstallation is about the same.

Overall, we're extremely happy with it and very glad we bought it.

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful.
Perfect Size for a Subaru Outback
By lb311
Yes, this box is not as thick and heavy as the larger pro-line boxes....and that's precisely why I like it! It provides about 50% more storage space for my Outback wagon and looks nicely proportioned to the car (not like those bigger monster-sized boxes would look on top of a small wagon).

While some folks have said it took 2 people to assemble, I was able to do it myself just fine. It's also lightweight enough to put on and take off of the car by myself as well (I'm a middle-aged female). Once you start loading it up, it doesn't wobble around anymore and provides a good secure, dry enclosure. I was able to haul a tent, chairs, sleeping bags and other camping gear in it with no problems.

Well worth the money. Very nice product!

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful.
Overall good value
By J. Jackson
This item was fairly easy to assemble. Would be easier with 2 people but I put it together in less than 30 minutes. It was easy to mount onto the roof rack as well. Bought this for a long car trip but wanted to take a trial run with it of about 500 miles round trip. On the trip we ran into some rain and a couple of quick downpours. The carrier held up well. I had a couple of drops of water on the inside and that was my fault. It was obvious that it was from the unused holes in the bottom for attaching it to the roof rack and I forgot to use the covers for those holes. Overall it help up great and expect it will do well for our trip to Florida