X5 E53 with Roof Cargo box
 

The box is a Thule Alantis 1600 purchased from ebay. The racks are BMW racks for an E70 - ordered E53 racks but this is what showed up -bonus! The racks cost $175 plus tax and the box was was $449 with free shipping. I ordered decals/X5 badge off ebay and added the rear roundel leftover from an E36 hood. The front roundel is from a wheel cap. The box performed great on an recent trip up north and on the way back made it through an almost tornado/thunder storm without any water coming inside. The rain came down so hard - all the bugs were scrubbed off front! I traveled around 85 and once up to 100 with no problems and little noise - though I suggest closing sunroof inner cover- cuts down on almost all noise. I found another car on this forum with box and thought I would help out with pics and choices.

Looks great. Nice work.

Looks nice.

I am in the process of looking for a box/cross bar's for my X too.

I'm probably going to go with the BMW crossbars and a Thule box...just not sure which one.

A big box store here in Canada has a Thule Cascade 1700 on sale for $420 Cdn.

Great combo and nice BMW branding. I think the bars you got are what is being sold now for the E53. The previous version of Profile 2000 bars were ugly. You got a good price on both.

I have a Thule Atlantis 1800 that I use on an Audi A6 and plan on getting bars for the X5 to use it with that too. The 1600 is a good size; niot to biig, not too small. The 1800 will fit on an E53 if one needs more room. There are photos of that box on an E53 floating around.

Looks good. I might have skipped half of the additional BMW logos, but it's your ride.

Why did you decide on that specific fore/aft position for it? You would do better with wind noise and lowered wind resistance by moving it rearward, but is there clearance for the rear hatch if you do?

I would think that the best (most efficient) position would be if you follow the profile line of the windshield up to the front of the box. Just wondering.

I have a Thule Ascent 1500 and it's a great travelling companion to my X5. We did a 3500+ km round trip from Ontario, Canada to Myrtle Beach/Virgina Beach recently and went through a nasty rainstorm most of the way there and the box held up quite well.

You might want to try placing the cargo box as far back as possible. I find it's the best for reduced wind drag and noise.

Box and rack looks good. I agree with JCL on all the emblems/logos, though.

It is funny, I have absolutely no need for one of these, but I want one. It just screams road trip to me.

The use of the BMW logos front and back are based on the trailer BMW used to sell - I think for the Z3 - it was an actual small trailer - this was my homage - and the BMW M Power is my joke - the M stands for mobility in this case

The case is as far back as is allowed by the attachment points as they connect to the bars. The bars are mounted per the instructions - you could move the front forward a little bit - but the rack starts to curve down. As for the back - the lift gate comes up and almost hits back of box - you could go a little bit longer - but what you should do if you need more is go wider or taller. My wife really wanted the box - its her car - so I decided to have a little fun with the decals.

Hey, looks good! Yes, those are the "newer" BMW cross bars. I think what people are saying about putting the box back further for wind and sound is right but plyon is correct as far as the location of the cross bars. Something to do with weight or stress distribution on the X's rails. For more weight you should probably keep it where it is.
I have the same cross bars but placed them further back since I only use them for a bike rack and I didn't want to "see" the racks when I open my sun roof. Plus it's a lot louder when you open the top and the bars are whistling up there. There's about three inches of space between the open hatch and the back of the bike rack.

I have the same setup, oem racks with a Thule Atlantis 1600 box. Unlike u I kept the MPH below 80 because of the shaking at the front end of the box at high speed. I am pleased u tested up to 100 which gives me some comfort.

Looks great. I gave up on opening the roof with the rack, let alone with 4 bikes and a camper out back. Probably quieter on the top of a 737.

Attachment 43537

Yakima Rack
 

Here is a photo of a Yakima box with Yakima roof rack on my '06. Works great and offers a lot of space since I have a fairly large box.

Definitely have to keep the moonroof cover closed to cut down on noise.

I remember those trailers. I only ever saw one in real life. The hood was optional, and the promo literature showed a BMW RT100 or something similar, on the open deck. It wasn't behind a Z3, given the weight. It had parking brakes, built in jacks, ramps, and cost a small fortune.

To move it rearwards, I was suggesting putting the crossbars where Bunyan has his in his photo. The rack only holds 220 lbs anyway, less 50 for the carrier, so if you are within that guideline of 170 lbs carrying capacity the crossbars will be solid wherever you put them. If you are over that guideline, I wouldn't move them from where you have them. I put my bike racks as far rearwards as possible, to reduce wind noise and reduce fuel consumption. I often see racks mounted forwards, but I just found them much noisier there. If you can't clear the rear hatch when it swings up, due to the length of the box, then it is all a moot point.

I had thought you had mounted 10 logos. It looks like four of them came on the rack anyway, so my mistake. It is your vehicle, so you should set it up exactly how you like it.

Good luck with it, looks good.

Here is an 1800 on an E53

Not sure about the other setups but the guidelines for the box state to place the crossbars as far away from each other as possible. That-coupled with the rear opening clearance-places the front bar about as far forward as it can be. I find mine is super quiet-the bars make more noise than the box.

As for roadtrips-this thing is the best. For a beach trip all the chairs, umbrellas, kids toys, strollers, pack and plays, towels, and anything else that is going to get grungy go up there and get hosed off when you get home. The inside of the car is reserved for important stuff--like wine.

tdgard, that box matches your paint just about perfectly. Also, it's nice to see a fellow Cobb resident on the boards. :thumbup:

It's so close, I've had people ask if I had it painted. I tell them the car used to be yellow. Out here in Cobb-next to the city of Roswell.

:rofl: Nice area. If I ever moved from where we are now I would love to live within walking distance of downtown Roswell. It is a very cool area. I am on the other side of Cobb near the Marietta Country club.

I know this thread is a few months old already, but I thought you guys and gals in the US may want to see a UK X5 with roof cargo box....this one is a shiny piano black and I think it looks good with my Le Mans Blue 4.8is...it is a locally sold box from one of our car accesory retailers, supposedly their premium brand, which was on a Sale special.....the bars are Mont Blanc bars with locks added. Most boxes here are grey / silver, so I was pleased to find the black one and may add a bit of branding, too :D It made little difference to my 4.8is fuel consumption - fully loaded it still managed 23 miles per gallon, amazingly good for a big engined 4.8, I thought...



http://i988.photobucket.com/albums/a...P1010028-3.jpg

Look nice.
Great work.

Nice setup guys!

Here's ours:

http://www.tayam.net/images/2009/DSC_7285.JPG

http://www.tayam.net/images/2009/DSC_7289.JPG

TQ2K, Your X may be one of my favorite e53's on this site. The wheels are pushing what I typically like as far as size is concerned, but it looks pretty damn clean.

Watch out for the Hotel valet and low hang park garages in the city. I had my Thule taken out last year by a valet even after I told him to watch out. A box on the E53 is a great companion. Good work.

This is why I bought the Thule Terrapin hitch mounted cargo box. Well, that and there is less aero drag, less noise, and it is easier to load and unload. :stickpoke

Thanks and I hear ya about the wheels.... I wasn't a big fan initially and even just tried out a pair so I can see it in person and liked it thereafter.

With big wheels 21 or 22" on the E53 IMHO it really depends on the style, weight and finish as these will dictate success or failure in the looks and driveability perspective

Here's hoping you have better luck than me TQ...

Have you had to replace a barrel ;-).......

After the 7th or 8th time, 7X beeing too many, I changed wheels...
Between $300+ being the cost of a average repair, dismouting, mounting, balancing, packing, shipping...it get's a lil tiresome..


Was just looking at Morr or Neez for options. Love their wheels - just the style of what I was looking for was not there...

Great looking setup. If I happened to be a factory guy I might see a profit center here. Hmm :thumbup:

Anybody with pics of a narrower model AND at least one bike next to it? I am looking to get a box as well for my 4.8is but would like to still be able to fit at least one bike up there. what's the maximum size (length) after which you cannot open the rear lift gate without it touching the box?

Thanks guys.

i , like fseth have no use for one but want one after seeing yours. the frond and back badges make it look like a beemer part, though id take the x5 off the sides for a cleaner look. i have the cross bars in the garage (never put them on)

It is all just a trade-off on length and width. You can get as long as you like, but to clear the rear hatch you often end up with it forward of the extended profile of the windshield, which increases drag and noise. If you run a straight edge along your windshield, and have the hatch open, that will provide the maximum length for the lowest drag.

I don't think width is a problem for an added bike rack. I have four bike racks on Thule crossbars, and I could put one of them next to any of the boxes in these shots, inside the rails. Two on some of them. The aero or low-profile crossbars may restrict it a little, as you lose mounting space right next to the rails. I use Thule standard cross bars, and can mount things outside the rail if I like (helpful for four bikes and separate wheel carriers)

Thanks for the input. All I need is actually two bikes with wheel mounts and a narrow box. The black Thule @ the start of this thread looks sharp. Extra X5 Badges aren't my thing but the roundels are ok and do add that "factory" look sort of. I might get mine painted Artic Sliver to match the car when I get it.

Not quite sure about the artic silver but Thule's silver colored boxes match Titan Silver almost spot on.

I'm certain that if I were to shove the box to one side I could get one or more bike racks on it.

As far as airflow and all that-it does protrude over the windshield in order to open the rear hatch. I find that the noise goes down with the box on vs just having the xbars on. On paper there is probably an ideal placement for the box front to back-but in reality your really not going to notice any significant drop in mpg. Your sticking a box on top of a box. Couple that with the fact that you have probably loaded everything pretty much to the max, who cares where those few tenths of a gallon went?

:rofl:

If we cared 4.8is would probably not have been the correct choice.

Thanks for the tips.

Nice set up's! Looks as though I have the smallest box here, I thought it may be what I need but I can always use more room on road trips! Anyways picked up the bars and BMW box 320 used, works wonders and silver matches quite well. Box has a small bmw written on each side and is i believe made by thule and can also be adapted to fit other cross bars with a kit. Seems very good quality and with the sunroof interior cloth open it was a bit noisey but with it all closed up you cant even notice it there.

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i1...s/da2852c7.jpg

That's the size I want! wit this I think I can fit two bikes next to it. The Brand is BMW?

Also I just installed some crossbars and I get some whistling going on? Any ideas how to prevent that? I think I need to tape the underside of the bars that have an open grove? does that make sense?

Where did you find the cross bars for $175? I can't find them under $229

I think the price went up a few months ago. They used to be easily found from BMW dealers online for $175 but as you have seen, they are all up to $229 or thereabouts. I can only attribute that to BMW increasing the price to dealers. :dunno: (This happened with the 4.6is body kit in dramatic fashion.)

I was lucky enough to find a set of the newer cross bars BNIB from a forum member for a reasonable price. I would suggest keeping an eye open here and elsewhere. They do pop up occasionally, especially when the owner has sold his/her X5. Do be aware that there are two versions and in my opinion, the older ones are ugly.

I found these on eBay for really cheap and they ARE made at Thule Factory as I have since inserted the bike carrier without any issues.

BMW X5 / X3 ROOF RACK CROSS BARS LOAD BARS T RACK LOCK - eBay (item 270664285357 end time Mar-14-11 19:07:05 PDT)

They are awesome.

I will post some pics later

I have seen those and wondered whether they were high quality. The price is certainly good but that was a bit worrisome for me. Is there anything on them or with the packaging that lead you to believe they are made by Thule?

Actually, yes all the Thule Rapid Aero (Which these are) accessories are direct fit for these. I have two Echelon Bike trays and that fit perfectly! They even have the spot on the foot where the Thule "deal" is supposed to be applied. The lock mechanism and everything is 100% the same. It's nothing new really, Chinese factories sell non-branded items on the eBay Market all the time, this particular eBay vendor has sold over 10,000 pairs so far and when you order a 40' container worth of them, you get a price ;-) . They feel rock solid after several months of use. I have some pictures but they are full res. I need to resize them. PM me and I can send them to you.

Thanks for the info. I understand how things can be sold out of the front of the factory or the back. ;) I just wanted some verification from someone who has bought them. I have a set of OEM BMW bars coming from a private party purchase but I'd still like to see some pics. I think that would help out some of our other members here too.