Quick Product Review: Keeper 07202 Black Waterproof Rooftop Cargo Bag (11 Cubic Feet)

Very Quick

"Like i said we were NOT easy on this bag and tied it down tight and checked and tightened as needed when we stopped every 150 to 200 miles which is less than the instructions say to but if we stopped that much we would never get anywhere."

"Honda Odyssey specific use: After I received the bag, I noticed it was too long front to back to fit within the confines of the 2011-2016 Odyssey factory crossbars (BTW- our van didn't come with rails or crossbars and I just installed them this week before the trip- ordered from Amazon on the cheap and literally took 2 hours to install."

"The buckles were nice to remove the bag each night we stopped from the roof but as a long term solution I wish that the straps were more of a cinch design and had metal hardware instead of just plastic (We were not confident in leaving it overnight in a hotel parking lot attached to the car with a luggage lock on the zipper)."

"Considering the price and the fairly lengthy trip that we took it on without any issues, I would highly recommend this product to anyone that is looking for a cargo bag for their vehicle!"

"It was tight zipping and required compacting the duffle bags a little but we could have fit a little more with confidence the zipper and seams would hold."

Keeper 07202 Black Waterproof Rooftop Cargo Bag (11 Cubic Feet) (Click to Compare Deals)

Quick

"The straps tightened decently, but I did think they were a little thin and the way they tightened was a little frustrating (you couldn't just cinch down on the strap;you had to keep feeding it through the buckle and then sliding the excess strap through another little slide and going back and forth..... My vehicle rack only consisted of the side rails and not the cross bars so I used two ratchet-straps (one in front of the bag and one behind) as makeshift cross bars... Luckily we didn't need the stroller or bed at our last stop so we filled it with the items we weren't going to need and risked it getting stolen just so we wouldn't have to remove it before getting home (luckily we made it home with everything intact)..."

"We only had a little condensation occur on the underside of the back - it stayed completely dry if you follow the instructions for zipping and velcro-ing; Flexible - the soft sides make it easy to adjust to strange shaped objects and the front clam shell style opening allows for simple loading - just zip it up as you fill it and work from front to back; Ample Storage - the 15 cubic ft of storage is substantial, but also has a slightly lower profile than some hard shells and other car top bag style carriers; Durable - the fabric is very tough and stood up to all types of standard road debris; Affordable - HUGE bang for the buck compared to hard-shells CONS: Not Secure - as you can imagine, the fabric can allow for relatively easy break in and although we did not do it, should at the very least have the two zippers locked together... Store non-valuable, non-essential gear if planning to stay overnight and not remove it; Not Readily Removable - given the above, you may wish to consider removing when you get to an intermediate destination, but this requires unlatching all 8 straps and lugging the entire unit down with it's contents or individually unloading and bringing inside the car or lodging... This really wasn't a big deal and makes a ton of sense when you actually think about it, but maybe it was just me, but it felt awkward not to secure it first and then you had to wrangle the straps a little to get it locked down."

"Since my cross bars on the roof of my Nissan Rogue are fairly close together, I decided to put a 1/2" piece of board on the bottom, inside the keeper to give the base more firmness since it would be sitting across the bars and not between them on the roof as suggested by the manufacturer... The only minor problem I ran into was that the straps that go off the front and back were slightly to short since it was sitting on top of the rails... Considering the price and the fairly lengthy trip that we took it on without any issues, I would highly recommend this product to anyone that is looking for a cargo bag for their vehicle!"

"We just traded the minivan for a 2012 Traverse and really missed the cargo capacity when we realized we had 5 suit cases, two strollers, and various other odds and ends to go on a 13... It was tight zipping and required compacting the duffle bags a little but we could have fit a little more with confidence the zipper and seams would hold... It sustained a constant 75 mph through high winds and storms without noticeably increasing noise over nearly 30 hours of driving still looking brand new!"

Less Quick

"We got this bag to carry a stroller, roll-up bed and any extra gear we could stuff in there to make more room in our vehicle (2007 Honda Pilot)... The straps tightened decently, but I did think they were a little thin and the way they tightened was a little frustrating (you couldn't just cinch down on the strap;you had to keep feeding it through the buckle and then sliding the excess strap through another little slide and going back and forth..... My vehicle rack only consisted of the side rails and not the cross bars so I used two ratchet-straps (one in front of the bag and one behind) as makeshift cross bars... Luckily we didn't need the stroller or bed at our last stop so we filled it with the items we weren't going to need and risked it getting stolen just so we wouldn't have to remove it before getting home (luckily we made it home with everything intact)..... Because of the fact its not waterproof when it clearly states it is (and is the main reason I chose this product) I took away 2 stars. I would still have recommended this product with a warning to seal anything you don't want getting wet if these were the only issues..... even if you use a padlock on the zippers of a cargo bag, someone can just cut the straps and steal the whole thing)."

"All roof rails are different and i found myself using 2 of the 8 on the back rails and the other 6 I actually took apart to place through smaller anchor holes along the rail in order to evenly distrubute the tension. This worked great and in addition to using the straps to go around the roof rails and bag lengthwise, the bag didnt move an inch or bounce at all the whole trip, no noise or noticable drag... We went 800 miles the first trip, trash bagged everything (3 carry on size suit cases packed completely full and 3 duffel bags. ) I do not know how people got camping equipment in the bag or A pack n play because that would take way too much room up... We arrived and the suitcases were humidified inside, the clothing felt a little cool and humid but not exactly what i would call damp or wet, which is to be expected... I dont recommend putting anything in the bag that is electronic, makeup or things you dont want to get wet just as a precaution... Like i said we were NOT easy on this bag and tied it down tight and checked and tightened as needed when we stopped every 150 to 200 miles which is less than the instructions say to but if we stopped that much we would never get anywhere."

"I was alittle nervous about using the bag as it was our first time and the last thing I needed was to be dealing with the wife's and kid's clothes all over the road if you know what I mean... Honda Odyssey specific use: After I received the bag, I noticed it was too long front to back to fit within the confines of the 2011-2016 Odyssey factory crossbars (BTW- our van didn't come with rails or crossbars and I just installed them this week before the trip- ordered from Amazon on the cheap and literally took 2 hours to install... Setting it up sideways like that will allow you to stretch/push it under the confines of the square shape where the crossbars and roof rails meet... Last tip- once you tighten the straps down really good, it's almost impossible to feed them back through the plastic buckles for securing so I just tied knots right under the buckle and the straps didn't move at all... It was 2 beach chairs, baby pop-up tent, bag with board games, bag of 8 towels, medium to large size suitcase, and about 7-8 filled duffel bags... We could've added some more clothing type items or pillows around the edges to fill the rest of the bag, but these items filled it good and left it snug when zipped. I hope this helps you out with your decision because I wasn't able to find Odyssey specific formation for this bag, but am very happy with it and received good value for the money."

"* Purchased the soft car top carrier for our approximately 2000 mile family road trip from Michigan, to DC, then the New Jersey shore and back home and I couldn't have made a better choice! From other reviews I had a couple concerns regarding waterproofing, durability, flapping straps and drag - NONE occurred for us and it completely met our needs of storing and hauling ancillary beach equipment (boogie boards, chairs, umbrellas, etc... PROS: Light weight - easy to unfold, position, adjust and store during and afterwards; Waterproof - we went through a number of huge downpours and didn't have any leaking whatsoever. We only had a little condensation occur on the underside of the back - it stayed completely dry if you follow the instructions for zipping and velcro-ing; Flexible - the soft sides make it easy to adjust to strange shaped objects and the front clam shell style opening allows for simple loading - just zip it up as you fill it and work from front to back; Ample Storage - the 15 cubic ft of storage is substantial, but also has a slightly lower profile than some hard shells and other car top bag style carriers; Durable - the fabric is very tough and stood up to all types of standard road debris; Affordable - HUGE bang for the buck compared to hard-shells CONS: Not Secure - as you can imagine, the fabric can allow for relatively easy break in and although we did not do it, should at the very least have the two zippers locked together... Store non-valuable, non-essential gear if planning to stay overnight and not remove it; Not Readily Removable - given the above, you may wish to consider removing when you get to an intermediate destination, but this requires unlatching all 8 straps and lugging the entire unit down with it's contents or individually unloading and bringing inside the car or lodging... Take it off when not filled - it is pretty easy; Two quick additional notes: 1) we bought and used a roof protector mat - we chose to put it directly onto the roof to reduce the profile and maximize connection points... This really wasn't a big deal and makes a ton of sense when you actually think about it, but maybe it was just me, but it felt awkward not to secure it first and then you had to wrangle the straps a little to get it locked down."

"It was a bit interesting trying to get it installed, not a bad install or lengthy time-frame (10-15 minutes to put up, load, and secure) but just different if you are not used to working on top of your vehicle (who is though?... The buckles were nice to remove the bag each night we stopped from the roof but as a long term solution I wish that the straps were more of a cinch design and had metal hardware instead of just plastic (We were not confident in leaving it overnight in a hotel parking lot attached to the car with a luggage lock on the zipper). It took us about 20-25 hours each way over 2 days to get to our destination and back home... When we opened it up to unload there was water under the front half of the items as it had leaked and 2 of the suitcases were wet on the outside... The problem I saw with the double seam to protect the zipper is that it goes all the way around the bag but does not have any way to keep it down in front. As soon as we got to speed, the front seam flaps up and then right at the corners on the front where the zipper starts, it angles down because of the Velcro connections on the side holding it down... I may try to modify the front so that it will stay down and then look at adding something in front of the start of the zipper seams to prevent the same water incursion."

"* Being the #1 rated soft cover, I figured I probably couldn't go wrong but at first I was skeptical of the cheap price compared to other roof top cargo carriers... Since my cross bars on the roof of my Nissan Rogue are fairly close together, I decided to put a 1/2" piece of board on the bottom, inside the keeper to give the base more firmness since it would be sitting across the bars and not between them on the roof as suggested by the manufacturer. With the board in there, it was fairly easy to load up, then lift up onto the rack and slide it into position (although it was fairly heavy with how much we packed). The only minor problem I ran into was that the straps that go off the front and back were slightly to short since it was sitting on top of the rails... I was careful not to force it too much though since I had seen others saying the case had started to split. But with how tight I had them, I was able to push on the cargo case and shake that car, so I knew it wasn't going anywhere... Considering the price and the fairly lengthy trip that we took it on without any issues, I would highly recommend this product to anyone that is looking for a cargo bag for their vehicle!"

"We just traded the minivan for a 2012 Traverse and really missed the cargo capacity when we realized we had 5 suit cases, two strollers, and various other odds and ends to go on a 13... Storage: We got 2 overhead sized suit cases, a sit and stand stroller that fits 2 kids, 2 duffle bags, and a 5 gallon cloth bag full of toys in this thing. It was tight zipping and required compacting the duffle bags a little but we could have fit a little more with confidence the zipper and seams would hold. Install/loading/unloading: Be careful not to over tighten the nylon straps... We did because it was raining and realized after it was about 6 inches too tall for our garage door... 5 back through Jonas and even though the bag iced over everything was as dry as the desert inside... It sustained a constant 75 mph through high winds and storms without noticeably increasing noise over nearly 30 hours of driving still looking brand new!"