Best Rooftop Cargo Boxes for 2020–2026 Ford Explorer: 7 Picks for Its Raised Rails

For a family Explorer, the GrandTour 16 is the box that takes the awkward loads: camp chairs, a folded stroller, duffels that won't fit behind the third row. Yakima lists it at 16 cu ft and 79 x 35 x 18 in, which makes it the deepest 16 cu ft box on this page, and it opens from both sides, which matters on an SUV this tall because you can load it from the curb instead of the traffic side. It takes skis and boards up to 185 cm, comes with SKS locks and a limited lifetime warranty, and Yakima lists it at $709.

It suits the Explorer's rack well. Its 24 to 36 in spread range is easy to hit because raised-rail clamps slide along the rails, and at 79 in it is short enough to sit well forward of the power liftgate. The costs are weight and height. At 51.5 lb it takes almost a third of a 165 lb brand-name bar rating, leaving 113.5 lb for gear before you apply the roof limit in your owner's manual, and its 18 in height on top of raised-rail bars can decide whether you clear a garage door. Measure before the first trip home.

The CBX 16 is Yakima's box for people who pack square things. Yakima lists it at 16 cu ft and 83 x 38 x 15 in, and says the flattened floor gives it market-leading usable space, which is what you want for bins, carry-ons and hard-sided coolers packed empty. It opens from both sides, takes skis and boards up to 185 cm, and comes with SKS locks and a limited lifetime warranty. Yakima says it installs in about 10 minutes, lists it as made in the USA, and prices it at $699.

On the Explorer, its low 15 in profile is the reason to pick it over the GrandTour 16: the same 16 cu ft sits 3 in lower, which helps at garage doors and in crosswinds. The long raised-rail bars, 58 to 65 in on etrailer's systems, leave room beside a 38 in wide box for a narrow bike or ski mount. The trade-off is weight. At 57 lb it is the heaviest box here, which leaves 108 lb for cargo on 165 lb bars, so pack it with bulky, light gear and put the heavy items on a hitch carrier. Its 83 in length also calls for a slow first opening of the liftgate.

For an Explorer that heads to the mountains, the Thule Motion 3 XL takes the longest skis on this page. Thule lists it at 18 cu ft, 84.7 x 35 x 17 in and 51 lb, with a 165 lb maximum load and room for 5 to 7 pairs of skis up to 200 cm. The lid opens from either side with one hand, SlideLock separates locking from opening, and PowerClick mounts show when the clamps are torqued. etrailer lists a 21-13/16 to 36-9/16 in spread and a limited lifetime warranty for the Motion 3 line. Thule lists it at $1,149.95; this Amazon listing is a Limited Edition version, so check the finish.

The box's 165 lb rating matches the Explorer's brand-name bar rating, but the box weight counts first: 51 lb of box on 165 lb bars leaves about 114 lb for skis, boots and bags, before the owner's manual roof figure applies. Length is the other check. Thule lists a front clearance of more than 52 3/32 in, so measure from your front bar to the line where the roof meets the liftgate, as etrailer's experts suggest, and slide the box forward until you have it. Open the power liftgate slowly the first time.

When an Explorer owner asked etrailer which cargo box to buy for a 2022 model, the expert named the Thule Pulse Large. etrailer lists it at 16 cu ft and 76 x 33 x 16-1/2 in, with a 23-5/8 to 34-3/8 in crossbar spread, a 36 lb box weight and a 110 lb maximum load. It holds 6 to 8 pairs of skis up to 181 cm, uses an oversize SecureLock with a Thule One-Key core, and the key can't be removed unless the box is closed and locked. etrailer lists a limited lifetime warranty and a price of $786.47, marked down from $917.32.

The low weight is its Explorer advantage. At 36 lb it leaves the most of a 165 lb bar rating for other things, which helps if you plan to add a bike mount beside it on the long bars. The limits are the box's own 110 lb cargo rating and the single-side lid, which opens only from the passenger side, so curbside loading works but you can't reach in from the driver's side. At 76 in it is among the shortest boxes here, which gives the liftgate the most room.

If your Explorer lives in a garage, the INNO Wedge 660 is the box that is most likely to clear. etrailer lists it at 80 x 33 x 11 in with 11 cu ft, an interior of 72 x 25-5/8 x 8-1/2 in, a 42 lb box weight and a 110 lb maximum load. It fits crossbar spreads from 24 to 39 in, mounts with tool-free Memory Mount hardware to round, square, aero, elliptical and factory bars, and opens from both sides. The lock's key can't be removed unless the lid is properly closed. etrailer lists a limited lifetime warranty and a price of $864.97; the Amazon listing says it is made in Japan.

The trade is space for height. Eleven cubic feet holds 6 to 8 pairs of skis or 4 to 6 snowboards, per etrailer, or a family's soft bags, but not bulky camp gear. At 11 in tall it is 4 to 8 in lower than every other hard box here, which can be the difference at a garage door on a tall SUV with raised rails. It also carries less wind load. The 80 in length is moderate, so mount it forward and check the liftgate once.

The SportRack Vista XL is the low-cost way to lock 18 cu ft on an Explorer. SportRack lists it at 63 x 38 x 19 in with 18 cu ft, a UV-resistant ABS shell, tool-free mounting hardware and a lock, for $449.95, less than half the price of the Motion 3 XL. It is short and wide rather than long, which works in the Explorer's favor: at 63 in it sits far forward of the liftgate's arc. etrailer's expert gives three fixed mounting positions, 25-7/8, 27-7/8 and 29-7/8 in center to center. Because raised-rail clamps slide along the rails, you can set the Explorer's bars to one of those exactly.

The compromises come from the price and the shape. The lid opens at the rear, which keeps you away from traffic but means reaching up and forward from behind a tall SUV; a step stool helps. At 19 in tall it adds the most height here, so measure your garage. SportRack's page doesn't list a box weight, a load rating or warranty terms, so confirm all three on the listing before you plan a load against 165 lb bars.

If you need roof space twice a year, a soft carrier costs a fraction of a hard box. RealTruck lists the Rightline Gear Sport 3 at 18 cu ft and 48 x 36 x 18 in, with welded seams and an SZIP waterproof zipper that Rightline describes as 100 percent waterproof, no zipper flap required. It is made for SUVs and minivans with or without a roof rack, and comes with four attachment straps, four car clips and a stuff sack. RealTruck lists it at $139.99 with a one-year warranty, and showed it as temporarily unavailable when we checked.

On the Explorer, the raised rails give the straps something solid to wrap, and on crossbars the bag sits even more securely. At 48 in long it stays well clear of the liftgate. The trade-offs are security and shape: there is no lock, so empty it at hotels, and soft sides flap and sag if the bag isn't packed full. It won't carry skis. Count its contents toward the same 165 lb bar rating and roof limit as any box, and fold it away when you are done to get back the mileage.