Rick Snyder

Hey all,<p>I am thinking of putting a cargo box on my Avant, but am having second thoughts. Does anyone out there have one on their Avant? If so, what kind? Size? How is it mounted? Likes and Dislikes? How does it fit with the roof antenna? <p>Pictures would be great, but I doubt anyone has any....<p>I am leaning towards a THULE. In my opinion, they make better stuff, as I have had both a Thule and Yakima rack before. I am looking at the Thule: Summit - 631, the Adventurer - 650, and the one I really like is the Vision - 663. <p>Any insights that you guys might have would be greatly appreciated.<p>Thanks again,<br>Rick<br>98.5 Avant QMS

Bill S.

They told me that their boxes are NOT recommended with the factory crossbars. They said in their tests the crossbars has catastrophically separated from the car! I'm not sure I believe it, but I haven't pressed the issue yet. If their story is true, the National Transportation Safety Board should be notified. I'm sure they would order a recall of the factory crossbars. If you find anything more out, please let us all know.

jp

I have a Thule Adventurer on an Avant. It works great. It bends the antenna a little - no biggy to me.<p>I have Yakima cross bars. When I bought the bars, Thule did not have mount which fit on the factory roof rack. The crossbars need to be placed further apart than the factory marks - seems to be no problem, though.<p>There was a discussion of this a few weeks ago, check the archives for more info...<p>

J.Russ

Checked Thule's website; they say Vision is for use with Thule bars only. [eom]

Rick Snyder

I remember the messages you posted when you found this out. This scares me a little, but then I have had 2 12' windsurfers on top already and they are heavier and bigger then the boxes are. I had no problems with the windsurfers, so I just have to wait and see.<p>Thanks for the reminder though.<p>Rick

Bill S.

Thule said no safety problem with their bars, so their warning doesn't apply to you at all

Rick Snyder

Thanks for the info. I was looking at the Adventurer first, then I thought it might bend the antenna, so I looked at the Summit, since it was narrower. Then I saw the Vision and liked it a lot. Width wise its about in the middle of the two, plus it bends up at the end. I thought that might help out the antenna bending a little.<p>Again, thanks for the info...<p>Rick

Rick Snyder

JP,<p>How far over the front windsheild does the box go? My guess is about a foot, but that depends on how much you bend the antenna. Does the antenna hit the trunk when it opens?<p>Thanks,<br>Rick

Rick Snyder

Thanks for the info Bill!

BMHJ

I have an A4 2.8 Avant Quattro/Tip/Sport and have been doing some research on this.<p>We currently have two Yakima rack systems (for 535i & Jetta) with bike attachments. The Yakima bars & short tray (fork mount) bike attachments from the Jetta are going on the Avant using the Yakima Doublecross adapters for the factory Audi rails.<p>Several issues come into play here:<p>1) The box needs to clear the antenna. (mount to one side)<br>2) The tailgate needs to open fully with the box mounted. (mount farther forward if possible)<p>and for my application:<br>3) I need approximately 38" of separation for the rear bike wheels to fit in the short trays. This means I need to mount the rear crossbar slightly farther to the rear of the car.<p>For vacation this summer I was looking into Yakima & Thule boxes. The Yakima Rocketbox looks the best, but it has recesses on the underside which limit where you can mount it to the bars. 38" of separation I believe is the maximum, but then the box is too far back, and will interfere with the tailgate.<p>The Thule boxes (650 Adv.) will also fit to Yakima racks. I was looking at the 650 Adventurer box. In talking to Thule, they suggested drilling additional holes in the box for the position I needed. I think I will end up doing this, as it will allow me to have the bars at 38" and clear the tailgate at the same time. This is all possible because the Thule box is generally flat on the bottom.<p>FWIW, I prefer the quality & design of the Yakima systems versus Thule, but the Thule box looks pretty good.<p>BTW, I will not have the rack mounted all the time.<p>I'd go with the Yakima rack system and a Thule <br>box.<p>I'll post pictures once this is done, but it may be a month or two.