Best Rooftop Cargo Boxes for 2020–2025 Kia Telluride: 7 Picks for Flush and X-Line Rails

For a three-row family, the GrandTour 16 is the box that swallows the awkward stuff: camp chairs, a pack-and-play, duffels that won't fit behind the third row. Yakima lists it at 79 x 35 x 18 in with 16 cu ft, the deepest shell on this page, and it opens from both sides, which matters on a vehicle as tall as the Telluride because you can load from the curb. It takes skis and boards up to 185 cm, comes with SKS locks and a limited lifetime warranty, and Yakima lists it at $709.

The fit details work in its favor. Its 24–36 in spread range starts low enough for flush-rail kits like the Thule setup The Rack Shop lists with a 27.5 in maximum spread, and the 79 in length leaves plenty of the Telluride's long roof clear of the liftgate. The costs are weight and height. At 51.5 lb it takes the biggest share of a 165 lb bar rating, leaving roughly 100 lb for gear once the bars are counted, and its 18 in height sits on top of an already tall SUV. Measure your garage.

The SkyBox 16 Carbonite gives you the same 16 cu ft as the GrandTour for about $110 less while it is on sale. Yakima lists it at 81 x 36 x 15 in and 47 lb, with dual-side opening, SuperLatch security, SKS locks and quick-release mounts that fit most crossbars, including factory bars. Yakima says it goes on in about 10 minutes with no assembly and takes skis and boards up to 185 cm. It was $599 on sale (regular $749) on Yakima's store when we checked, with a limited lifetime warranty.

On a Telluride, the 15 in height is the main reason to choose it over the GrandTour. The SUV is already tall, and on an X-Line or X-Pro the raised rails lift the bars further, so 3 in less box can make the difference at a garage door. Its 24–34.5 in spread range suits a flush-rail kit with a 27.5 in maximum, and at 47 lb it leaves a little more of a 165 lb bar rating for gear. Mount it forward on the long roof and the liftgate should have room, but open it slowly the first time to check.

A big family often carries bikes too, and a full-width box leaves no room for them on the bars. The SkyBox NX Skinny is Yakima's fix: 84 x 26.5 x 16 in and 12 cu ft, narrow enough that Yakima says it leaves crossbar space for other gear. On a Telluride that means a roof bike mount or two beside the box. It takes skis and boards up to 195 cm, opens from both sides, and its full metal handle locks both the lid and the box to the bars. Yakima lists it at $799 with SKS locks and a limited lifetime warranty.

The weight math matters more here than with any other pick, because a second carrier shares the same bar rating. At 43 lb, the box plus a bike mount and a bike can take much of a 165 lb bar rating before any cargo goes in. Yakima's page doesn't list a crossbar spread for this model, so confirm it against your flush-rail or X-Line/X-Pro bars on the listing or with Yakima before ordering.

The RocketBox 16 is the lowest-cost Yakima 16 here: $350 on Yakima's page, with a limited lifetime warranty. At 42 lb it is lighter than the SkyBox 16 or the GrandTour 16, which leaves more of a 165 lb bar rating for gear, and its 92 x 26 x 15 in shape is long and narrow, with room on the bars for a bike mount beside it.

The Telluride's long roof is the best home for a 92 in box of the three vehicles we cover in this category, but length still needs a check. Mount it forward and open the liftgate slowly to confirm the tail clears. Yakima lists the RocketBox 16 as archived and out of stock, so buy from remaining stock and confirm the details. Its page doesn't publish a crossbar spread or opening details, so check the spread on the listing against your bars, especially a flush-rail kit with a 27.5 in maximum.

The DeepSpace 10 is the lightest box on this page, 30.2 lb, and the only one with a published cargo rating, 100 lb. Yakima lists it at 60 x 23 x 16 in with 10 cu ft, tie-down points inside, a wide-angle lid, and a limited lifetime warranty, made in the USA, at $649. On a Telluride whose bars are rated at 165 lb, that light shell leaves room for a full 100 lb load plus the bars.

The spread decides whether it can go on your Telluride at all. It needs the bars 32–46 in apart. The Rack Shop's Thule flush-rail setup lists a 27.5 in maximum spread, so this box won't mount on it. If you have an X-Line or X-Pro with raised rails, or a bar kit that can be spaced 32 in or more, check that figure first. At 10 cu ft and 60 in long it isn't a ski box, but it suits a family's weekend bags and leaves most of the roof clear.

If a three-row Telluride is carrying a full crew for a week, the Thule Motion 3 XXL is the box that holds it. Thule lists it at 21 cu ft with exterior dimensions of 91.3 x 36.2 x 18.1 in, a 57.2 lb box weight and a 165 lb maximum load. It takes skis up to 215 cm, opens from both sides with one hand, locks with Thule's SlideLock, and clamps on with PowerClick mounts. etrailer lists a crossbar spread of 21-13/16 to 36-9/16 in for the Motion 3 boxes, which covers a flush-rail kit capped at 27.5 in as well as the raised-rail X-Line and X-Pro kits, and a limited lifetime warranty. The $1,249.95 shown for this pick is Thule's price for the box alone. The Amazon listing is a bundle, the box plus a GoPack duffel set, so its price is not the box-alone price. Check the live price and compare the two.

The catch is that the bars run out before the box does. The box's 165 lb load rating matches the common Telluride crossbar rating, but on those bars the 57.2 lb box and the bars themselves count too, which leaves roughly 90 lb or a little more for gear. Fill it with sleeping bags, jackets and soft duffels, not coolers. The length also needs a check. Thule lists a front clearance figure of more than 54 13/16 in for this box, so measure your Telluride against Thule's hatch clearance guidance, mount it forward and open the liftgate slowly the first time.

The SportRack Vista XL is the budget way to put 18 cu ft on a Telluride. SportRack lists it at 63 x 38 x 19 in with 18 cu ft, UV-resistant ABS construction, tool-free mounting hardware and a lock, for $449.95, about a third of the Motion 3 XXL's price. It is short and wide rather than long, which suits the Telluride well: at 63 in it sits far forward of the liftgate on the long roof. etrailer's expert gives three fixed mounting positions at 25-7/8, 27-7/8 and 29-7/8 in center to center, and the 25-7/8 in position fits inside a flush-rail kit with a 27.5 in maximum spread. On an X-Line or X-Pro, set the raised-rail bars to one of those positions.

The trade-offs come from the price and the shape. The lid opens at the rear, which SportRack pitches as loading away from traffic, but on a vehicle as tall as the Telluride that means reaching up and forward from behind the car, so a step stool helps. At 38 in wide it fills the bars, and at 19 in tall it adds the most height of any box here, which matters on the X-Line and X-Pro. 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.