Last year, my family set off on a vacation adventure in our people carrier. You would think that a vehicle this big would be able to hold everything that a family of four would need for ten days, right? Think again! Our car was packed so tightly, we barely had room to move inside. We're planning another road trip across the country this summer, but you can bet we will be shopping for rooftop cargo carriers before we go.


Let's face it: families have to carry a lot of stuff on vacation, and the average car simply doesn't have room for all that gear. Even camping trips -- where we're supposed to be "roughing it" -- required us to bring so much equipment that our car overflows with it all. Seriously, cramming in a tent, sleeping bags, airbeds, a portable grill, cooler, and all the rest of our paraphernalia made for a full load indeed. So a rooftop cargo carrier is definitely the way to go for extra storage capacity.

We found a great selection of rooftop cargo carriers on the Internet, along with some useful information about how to select the best one for our vehicle and needs. For example, there are soft pack rooftop cargo carriers that are completely weatherproof and can be used as regular gear bags when they're not strapped to the top of your car. Another big advantage to this type of bag is that it can be folded flat for storage -- perfect for those with limited garage space!

Another type of rooftop cargo carrier that we considered is the hard, clamshell box that can lock for additional security. These cases are nice and durable, but you need more space to store them when not in use. There were lots of different sizes of these particular rooftop cargo carriers, so we could really select the one that would suit our needs the best.

During our shopping experience, we realized that there were a number of additional factors to consider when selecting a rooftop cargo carrier. First, you want a case that will be completely weatherproof, since you don't know what types of conditions you will be driving in. You also want to choose a box or case that is large enough for your storage needs and one with a locking system if you will be leaving your car unattended on your travels. We also wanted to choose one that would look attractive while on the top of our vehicle.

With the help of the Internet, we found the perfect rooftop cargo carrier for us, and now we are excited to put it to good use on our next road trip. It will be wonderful to be able to stretch out our legs without bumping into a piece of luggage, and now we will be able to find our cooler of snacks much more easily. Happy travels!