Thule Quest SoftSided Cargo Carrier

The Thule soft sided carrier was perfect for our trip to Texas.

We drove to Texas from Connecticut and needed to try to save space for 6 of us. We tossed back and forth whether to get soft side or hard. Our friends liked the soft sided one. We decided we would rather be able to easily store the carrier in less space. We followed the other reviews and wrapped the bags. It held more than we expected. All of our bags fit plus an extra bag with shoes. We did end up having about 1/4 cup of water if that in the bag. When we stayed overnight in hotels, we would take it off the top and carry it in the hotel. We were extremely glad that we bought this for our trip. It exceeded our expectations.

Easy to use - Soft Rooftop Carrier

This soft rooftop carrier easily attaches to the rails of a rooftop rack. You do not need to have cross bars since the top is adaptable to either front/back or sides attachment to your rooftop carrier. Great for soft stuff. Be sure to pad for hard items so as to not damage car roof. I used a pad underneath. Great place for tents, camping gear, etc. and other reasonably light items. I personally would not put real heavy stuff in it. Also, it is only water resistant and will not keep things dry in a driving rainstorm. Low enough (when packed) to maneuver through a normal garage door when fully packed. And it is easy to store when not in use. Packs into its own carry bag and can also be used inside the carrier to handle smaller items. Very convenient. I also used all the attaching points for additional tie-down to the roof rack just for added safety. You don't even know that it is on the roof when traveling at highway speeds. Hard top carriers have their place, but if you need more storage for traveling and do not need the hard top... or don't want to deal with where to store a hard top carrier when not in use... I highly recommend this product. They also have a slightly larger version, but you will need sufficient roof space. This product fit very nicely on a Chevy Equinox and did not obstruct the moon roof. Great value with some cons but lots of pros.

Piece of junk

While it remained on the vehicle for the entire trip, that was about the only thing it did correctly. Zipper failed and seam blew out within 100 miles of leaving home. Loud road noice at highway speeds leave you thinking the bag and contents are about to depart the top of the vehicle at any time. Did NOT come wth enough straps. Save your money and buy something else.

Not for the rain!!!

Not much to say here but that don't use this on a rainy day...other than that it's does what it suppose to do...

Not happy

Despite what the fit guide may say, this carrier does NOT fit a 2010 Subaru Impreza with factory crossbars. This particular model of car does not come stock with side rails, which makes attaching this oversized menace impossible. I'm incredibly disappointed after ordering said stock crossbars for my Subaru, having them installed, and finding out after spending the money that I have gone through all of this expense for a roof top carrier that does not fit. I suppose that I will be forking out the cash for the Sidekick. Since this carrier is in a small box of only 6 pounds, I will truly be ticked off if I get charged the 15% re-stock fee...especially considering that Thule themselves says this fits my vehicle with stock crossbars!

Smaller than we thought, and not waterproof

I thought this would save space in our van on the way to spring break and it did but only for three duffel bags, and a book bag. Also, it snowed and rained both ways and the bags resting on the bottom of the carrier were wet along the clothes inside. Although the straps worked to hold it on top without a cross bar on our Honda Odyssey, they could have included enough straps for the sides and front and back (8) instead of 4 straps.

Pros: it does compact well, and is portable.

Convenient, quick & easy to set up, but not waterproof

This is a great, lightweight, solution for extra storage on a road trip. In fact, it could work out well if you were renting a car traveling one way, this folds up nicely and packs away in relatively small space. Biggest downfall is that it is not waterproof requiring a few extra steps in preparing your stuff. I ended up putting our bags inside large plastic bags, tying them tight and putting an extra tarp over to secure them from moisture. In the end, I did ultimately go and buy a hard shell roof top (X-Cargo X-Treme Car Top Carrier) which I love by the way.

Great quality item.

I wanted to purchase a hard-top cargo carrier, but a friend told me he was satsified with his soft carrier so I bought this Thule soft carrier.   I loved the Thule carrier on our first trip to Yellowstone.   Held ample cargo and was simple to install and take off.    It looks like a well made item and will last for several years.  

The Thule (Quest) Car Top Carrier is worth every penny.

Just used my Thule (Quest) on a 3 hour (one way) trip to the beach.  This was the first time we used it.  I am extremely impressed with this product.  I was a little apprehensive after reading some of the other reviews.  The paper work that comes with the carrier clearly states that the Quest is, "weather resistant, not waterproof." We had 3 hours of heavy rain, blinding rain at times on the drive home.  The carrier had less than a cup of water in it, when we unloaded it. I took the advice of one of the previous reviewers and put anything that I didn't want to get wet in a garbage bag.  Worked perfectly !!!  Remember that this an $89 product.  In my opinion I got every pennies worth.  The water that did get in the carrier was not near enough to cause any damage.  I had a beach cart, two boogie boards, a beach bag loaded with towels, to garbage bags full of clothing and they were all perfect when we arrived home. I would not suggest putting a $200 pair of shoes in there or an expensive dress or suit.  I can't stress enough the convenience and extra space this afforded us inside our vehicle.  There are no visible signs of any damage or tears to the carrier.  As a matter of fact, when I put it back in the carry bag, it looked brand new.  Drove 70-75 mph on the way there, limited to 60's on the way back because of the rain and the carrier didn't move.  All I used were the supplied straps, which were a snap to use.  The hardest part of the whole process was getting it back in the carry bag.  Used for what it is designed to do this product is exceptional. As with any product, read the supplied information and you can't go wrong....

Thule Quest Car Top Carrier is worth every penny and then some!

I bought this bag in 2006 for a 12hr trip to MI from DE. We are a military family and have pull well over 5,000 miles on this bag through side ways rain, high winds, and bizzards. It is very easy to attach to the roof and as long as you take your time to ensure the flap is down all the way around the zipper, it will NEVER leak! Not a single scrath on the roof has been from this bag. Not a single stick has come loose either. Even when temps are below 0 degrees, the material remained flexible enough to work with. The greatest thing of all is that is folds away small enough to fit in the back of the car during trips when we don't need it and stores easily in my garage or closet. This is by far the most usefull purchase I have ever made for travel.

Used on a Chevy Trailblazer, Kia Sorento, and Nissan Armada.

Thule Car Top Carrier, Quest is more Durable than Expected

Our trip to the beach this year took 9.5 hours in the rain and the car topper held up fine. Because of some of the other reviews I read, we packed our suitcases in heavy duty trash bags before loading into the topper to make sure stuff didn't get too wet, and it worked like a charm. We also used extra straps to ensure the load was secure and didn't shift too much. Overall for the price this was definitely a great buy. It also made it home without any damage whatsoever. We will be taking it on our trip next year too. Would definitely recommend this product to those who need the extra space, but don't want to spend a fortune for it. :)

GREAT!!!

Thankfully I read the reviews before ordering. We used this to move our son into college...It was great and very expandable. Collapsed beautifully and was able to be stored easily.  We packed his clothes in garbage bags and then put them in the carrier and on the roof.  It really worked great!  I would highly recommend it!

Not a good buy if it's going to rain!

The specs state this is waterproof.  Not the case.  All of our clothing had to be washed.

Unless you are sure the weather will be dry for your trip, this is not a good buy.  Your cargo will get wet.

good for short trips with no rain.

Traveled 13 hours to Seattle with the carrier above our Honda Pilot.  It is not aero-dynamic thus killing our gas mileage average. 

It rained the last 2 hours of our trip and I had read the reviews that it was not water proof.  We expected that the items would get wet, but were more disappointed with the deteriorated plastic/vinyl lining that shed all over the items we packed. 

I would not recommend this for long trips in the rain.  Also, anticipate that your gas mileage will suffer. 

Worked Like A Champ

We bagged our clothes, towels, and sleeping materials and it filled the bag with ease. It cleared up a lot of space and was well worth the money. Upon arrival both to and fro, bag was intact no damage or tears. It even rained a little on our way home, again no problems. Very happy and successful vacation.

Surved the purpose wonderfully

I was able to go to St Louis this past weekend with this holding my 3 childrens and my luggage going up and niece and nephews luggage was added to it coming back. When we got back home I inspected it closely and only found 2 small tears on the inside top. But I think that would be conisdered normal wear and tear since I did 75mph most the way and the wind coming at it harder. It surved its purpose for me quite well. I did purchase some 10' bunjies to tye down the sided with to help with side winds so it didnt move that way so much. Oh and I got it back in the small bag easily and had some room left over.

Winter Trip to Sugar Mountain 2008

Easy to install and use. Size was good for the $$. It would be nice if the bag to store it in was a little bigger. Never seem to be able to fit it back into the bag after use.

2 stars

We recently purchased the Thule cargo carrier, for a 13 hour trip. On our arrival, we found that the bag had torn in small holes along the bottom and top, all of our clothes were soaked since it had rained on the way. I find this very disappointing, since it was never used before this trip.

Thule quest bag 846

I also recently purchased a Thule Quest Bags(846) for $50 cdn and discovered reaching destination on my first trip (8 hrs) that all the top inner PVC like coating was shredding over my beach chair .Very disapointing product considering Thule reputation.