Freya Dobson: Car Top Carrier WITHOUT Roof Rack

Car Top Carrier Without Roof Rack

If you’re looking for a car top carrier without a roof rack, then you’ll find the soft car top carriers to be great for storing your luggage above and giving you just a bit more leg room in your car!
Some considerations with soft car top carriers are

whether or not they are waterproof,

how long the straps are for securing the carrier, and

whether or not you plan to use a mat to prevent the carrier from sliding.

So, let’s take a look at each of these considerations below…

Carriers: Are They Waterproof?

Most of the car top carriers you’ll find to be at least water resistant, which usually means that during a brief storm, your luggage or belongings won’t get wet and will be perfectly fine. But, what happens when you’re traveling through a large storm or even have a storm that’s following you for days? Well, that’s the problem.

In one way, a soft car top carrier is great because it often dries easily with the wind from moving down the road. But, the problem occurs when the rain is constant and your car top carrier has no chance to dry out!
On the other hand, some feel that a hard car top carrier would be the best in this situation–but I’d warn not to be too quick to judge. Hard car top carriers are great ONLY IF they are completely sealed–and that’s usually the problem if you’re planning to use it exactly as is without making any adjustments. Having either a sealer (like duct tape) or a bag (or tarp) that totally envelopes all your belongings is usually the best idea. (For me, I’ve found that duct tape works better than the tarp). The down side of a hard car top carrier, though, is that YOU NEED A CAR RACK!