Savior Six

The numbers 1800, 1600, and 1200 refer to the cubic feet of space, IE 18 cubic feet, 16 cubic feet and 12. I went with the large cargo box since I have 4 kids and when we travel, we have quite a bit of luggage. I didn't want to run into a situation where I went with a small or medium cargo box and it would not be able to fit all the luggage for my family. Also, I wanted a cargo box long enough to be able to fit snow skies and snow boards. Obviously the smaller the box the smaller the dimensions. Not sure where you're from, REI sells Thule cargo boxes, go see one for yourself to decide which cargo box will be sufficient for your needs. The 1800XT and 1600 XT are very close in dimensions, but I got the 1800XT on sale so I went with that one.

Rufio

Now that you are familiar with the whisper bar install, would you say that it would be easy to take off and put on the bars only when you need them?

I like the look, but I think I also like the clean lines of the Q7 without the bars. Just not sure if it's worth the hassle.

Savior Six

It would be very easy to remove and reinstall them. I dont have a picture of it but there are 4 red dials under the locked covers of the Whispbar racks, you would just loosen them to loosen the tension of the metal brackets that secure the bar system onto the OEM railing. If I were to guess, I would say it takes about 5 minutes to remove the whispbar racks from the vehicle. In my opinion, I dont think it would be a hassle at all to remove them.

Aggie88

Thanks - Good information Savior. Adding a cargo box and a bike on the roof may be in the cards for me. Like you, I have four kids and I have the Thule Roadway 5 bike rack, bike no. 6 goes on the roof.

E_Marauder

Thanks for the helpful post and review, S6.

I just received our Whispbars (flush mount) in the mail and picked up the Atlantis 1800 at REI over the weekend.

FYI, REI is having it's anniversary sale through May 30 and is giving a 20% discount on both Thule and Yakima boxes (all sizes of the Atlantis and Skybox).

http://www.rei.com/product/784515/th...00-xt-roof-box

That's a hefty discount (with no shipping). Couldn't find it cheaper anywhere else after looking for about a week.

Interestingly, the Yakima rep who was in the store said that Yakima just purchased Whispbar (?) due to the great feedback on the products. Don't know whether that's true or not ... (he was more helpful than the Thule rep even though I was buying a Skybox).

Anyhoo, we're hitting the road for Florida on Thursday and will be mounting up the bars and the box for the trip. Will report on results/observations.

Cheers!

E_Marauder

I meant "even though I was *not* buying a Skybox."

E_Marauder

And, it appears that the rep's claims about Yakima's acquisition of WhispBar are accurate:

http://www.yakima.com/Pressroom/56

phidailo

Savior Six, after having this setup for a while have you noticed a decrease in mpg with just the crossbars on? Also, do you leave this setup on your vehicle at all times or only when you need to attach the box and/or bike carrier?

I'm still debating on installing a hitch or going with the roof rack for my bikes.

Thanks