CURT 18115 Universal 42 x 37-Inch Black Steel Roof Rack Rooftop Cargo Carrier

In a few words: A great value for the money.I own an Isuzu VehiCROSS, and I wanted a roof basket that wouldn't look out of place on it. Most baskets are too boxy or angular; I wanted something with some curve to it. I also wanted good quality. The Curt 18115 roof basket fit all of those needs. While inexpensive and light weight, once put together it is very solid. After I installed it, I could grab it and rock the whole car and it didn't budge an inch. I feel that it could easily carry whatever you put on it for your adventures.Assembly was very easy, a few screws torqued down with a small allen wrench (which Curt helpfully supplies) was all that was needed, and it was ready to go on the roof. It was easy to install by myself, but some people may want to have a helper around (especially if you have a lifted vehicle). Once in place, it was just a matter of locating the plastic supports and u-bolts in the right spots, centering it up, and torquing down the supplied knobs. At that point, it was done. The hardest part was getting the thing centered!Are there any negatives? A few. All of them are minor, and can be easily and cheaply fixed with a little effort.First, when installing the front wind fairing, take care with the plastic brackets that hold it on to the basket. I put my basket together on a cold day, and when I was tightening up the screws for the brackets, the bracket cracked. Fortunately, Curt Mfg. sent me replacement parts when I emailed them, but if you have the option, put it together on a warm day, or put the brackets into some hot water for 5-10 minutes to make them a bit more flexible. I did that with the replacement, and it worked great.The u-bolts have a fine-pitched thread; tightening the knobs down to get the basket solid on the bars took a great deal of time and effort. After the bolts were snugged down, you may also be left with an inch or more of the bolt ends remaining, which can snag on things you put inside the basket. If this is the case for you, keep reading!Lastly: Rust. Since the rack is steel, and uses steel bolts and nuts, water can get into the seams of the tubes that slide together and quickly forms rust. Mine rusted fairly quickly after a heavy rain; a bit of water got inside the tubes, and led to rust, because the inside of the tubes aren't powder coated. So in lieu of these issues, I decided to take matters into my own hands. This is also why I gave the product fewer than 5 stars.Fortunately, in the Amazon reviews for the Curt 18117 extension, another user gives a good set of tips on what parts to buy and how to prep things, which I'll reproduce here. These notes are slightly different. You don't have to follow them exactly (with the exception of the nut and bolt sizes); if you want to mod things another way, go for it!1. First, off any existing rust with a rag or other means, before it becomes a real problem. After cleaning, use some grease or spray oil/penetrant. Apply it to the problem surfaces of the tubes, such as where the tubes slide together, and on the insides of the tubes. I sprayed a generous amount of Liquid Wrench silicone spray inside mine.2. Fit the tubes together, then use a dollop of black silicone sealant at each joint; smear it around and work it into the seam. Then put another dab on each screw hole on the top and bottom tubes.3. Replace all fasteners with stainless steel screws and nuts:15 pcs - M6-1.0 Stainless Steel Nylock Nut - Fastenal #1L2550000A40000 ($0.43 ea) 8 pcs - M6-1.0 Stainless Steel Acorn Nut - Fastenal #11508471 ($0.27 ea) 5 pcs - M6-1.0 x 16mm Stainless Steel SHCS - Fastenal #MS2550016A40000 ($0.48 ea) 3 pcs - M6-1.0 x 40mm Stainless Steel SHCS - Fastenal #MS2550040A40000 ($0.84 ea) 3 pcs - M6-1.0 x 25mm Stainless Steel SHCS - Fastenal #MS2550025A40000 ($0.64 ea)As you can see, these parts will only cost a few extra dollars. They are worth the peace of mind. Note that you will need a different size allen wrench, as the one supplied by Curt will be too small for these screws.4. Once you have the screws in place, take a break and let it dry for 24 hours.5. Once the sealant has cured, use more sealant on any other spots which may collect water and rust; you basically want to seal up every hole you can on the rack using the sealant. Let the sealant dry for another 24 hours.6. After this last round of sealant, you may then want to give the rack another protective coat; use whatever you think is best for your application and aesthetic desires. For myself, I am planning on using black PlastiDip. I purchased 3 cans of the stuff, plus a spray handle. I should be able to apply 2 or 3 coats.After you have the rack completed, you can mount it on your vehicle. I also intend to put pieces of rubber hose over the u-bolts, to give the roof bars a bit of additional protection. Also, I am going to replace the knobs with additional nylock nuts. If you do this, use an extended length 10mm socket to drive the nuts on. The extra length of the socket will allow for the extra bit of the u-bolt to pass (if that is an issue for you like it was for me). Afterwards, you can take a rotary tool and cut off the end of the bolt, leaving about 1/4 to 5/16 of an inch exposed. Then put one of the M6 acorn nuts over the end (you can add a touch of low or medium-strength thread-locker compound to the bolt as well).That should complete the install, and there shouldn't be any further issues with rust. Note that if you intend to add the basket extension (Curt #18117), you will need four additional 16mm screws. I really suggest getting the extension if you have the room for it. You will need about 30 inches between your roof rails for it, otherwise it won't be very stable on your roof.Hopefully my pictures illustrate what I discussed above. I intend to update this review as I complete the project.

Went on easy, looks good. The bolts are a little long depending how thick your roof rack crossbar is, so you might have to trim them since they protrude into basket area. Also I recommend putting a piece of rubber or foam behind the upper part of the wind deflector as it rattles a lot without doing that. Happy with purchase.

I put this on my ford escape and really like it.I degreased the whole thing.Rattle can plasti-dipped itPumped a can of Frame Saver(for bicycles) insideUsed a shot of Great Stuff expanding foam(as far into the connecting areas as I could) to help keep water out.Cut 1.5" of each u-boltDidnt replace ALL the hardware, but I did add a nylock nut, and an acorn nut to each ubolt, to make it more difficult to steal, and the acorn nuts keep anything from snagging on the ubolts.

For this year's summer fun I wanted to go further in our adventures with my little 2013 Mazda 3. Did a lot of research on compatibility, price comparison, and other reviews. Then went for the ROLA Roof Rack with the Curt Cargo Carrier. A perfect combination!The ROLA Roof Rack - There are many choices for universal roof racks that are appealing and affordable. BUT they will either damage the paint at the point of contact OR damage the weather stripping at the door. Sure, you could save a couple hundred if your fine seeing 4 scuff marks or worse on your roof everyday or if you don't mind raindrops tapping your shoulder and pooling on your leather seats. Luckily the Mazda engineers had the foresight to include anchor points on this model. There were only a few roof racks to choose from that are compatible with my Mazda 3 and they were double or triple the cost of the universal racks. I decided on the "ROLA 59833 Removable Anchor Point Xtreme AP-GTX Series Roof Rack for Mazda 3 Hatchback". The reviews were great and I didn't have to pay extra to thule around town and yakima'bout having a label. Easy to install (about 20 min). The black compliments the trim. And now my sporty little Mazda 3 is adventurous like those pristine Subarus that only see dirt when taking their labradoodle to the dog park.The Curt Cargo Carrier - This one was much more difficult to select. Do I go with an open basket or a closed bag or a hard shell? Then there was the issue of spacing (between bars and connection points) and orientation (having front/back instead of along the sides). And of course spending more on the roof rack meant I had less for a carrier. I opted for the "CURT 18115 Roof Rack Rooftop Cargo Carrier 41-1/2" x 37" x 4" Mounted". An excellent decision as I wasn't limited to what a case can carry and didn't need to worry about a ripped soft case or broken zipper. Plus this cargo carrier is adjustable in it can fit on a wide range of roof racks and can be expanded with an extra accessory. Easy to setup by myself in minutes. Sturdy construction. And just looks cool. The protruding thread from the connection points aren't a problem if you can load items between them like camping chairs, sleep pads, etc. The distance between the connection points and the bars on my Mazda 3 is offset by maybe half an inch but it's ok with this cargo carrier. The carrier has these wide "feet" that can attach to any set of bars on the basket to accommodate different roof rack separations. And because the feet are wide there's some leeway if you need a little more or less distance. Get a cargo net and extra bungee cords and you're good to go.So give your beloved Mazda 3 a new personality and go exploring!

Purchased for my 01 Escape w the middle expansion some years ago. Compared to the Yakima, which clocks in around 800USD for all the equivalent hardware, this $150 or so out the door rack was a steal. It's tall, it adds wind resistance, I think dropping about 2-3 mpg from my fuel efficiency. I added a spare tire carrier to it, and I've used it frequently with large loads. Here are my thoughts on it.The wind guard broke within a year of using, mostly my fault. If you have a heavy load up there, and you're offroading the rack will shimmy and become misaligned. The style of mount this rack uses is friction clamp...too tight and and you strip the bolts, too loose and the rack may go awol. Check it periodically!Another thing is the clamps; the threaded rods do eat into your usable space on the rack. I was able to make the best of it by lining them up so that they help keep certain sized accessories in place (like carrying an EZ up) but caution should be taken, as its easy to tear or scratch things on the exposed rods. Easy fix would be to carefully trim to size or cover with a plastic guard. It may also have been my rack, I have thin, wide crossbars, and the long threads on the clamps are intended to make a universal fit, so its less of an issue with thicker crossbars. However, its something to consider; the large cargo bags would definitely get ripped up in the wrong configuration.As others have mentioned...it rusts. Mine got sunfaded after a year or two. I'm on year 4 now and the powdercoat is flaking off and the tubes are rusting. I can't seperate one section anymore. But I'm also in California, and I rarely take the rack off except for cleaning the roof. I figure I can hit it with a wire brush and spray can to clean it up, and may have another 4 years out of it.If you hit it with rust inhibitor and grease the tube fittings, you might get more longevity. The smaller cross bar tubes have plastic ends on them, so the whole unit is not water tight. But if you compare to the Yakima rack, even if this rack lasts you 6 years, you're still spending less than the yakima model over the life of your vehicle.