just found this on the Yakima site -- 57" min clearance distance required between the your vehicles front crossbar to rear hatch while opened for the skybox 18. On my Durango it is 46" to the antenna and 49" to the hatch. There's my answer.... never saw this before... more research next time... :'(

http://www.yakima.com/download/Yakim...terference.pdf

 

I know I'm kind of late to the party, but I think my information might help out someone else who may find themselves in the same predicament.

I just got back from my two week vacation and, as usual, I broke out the Voyager XL rooftop cargo box that I purchased at Pep Boys a few years ago. I have used this cargo box for roughly six years, sometimes twice per year, and always on 2000+ mile trips. If you want to get luggage out of your vehicle so that you can have space and comfort on the inside of your vehicle, you absolutely need to have one of these cargo boxes!

A LITTLE HISTORY: Throughout the years, I've tried rooftop cargo bags and even hitch boxes, but, in my opinion, cargo bags are not very sturdy, are not very weather resistant and they generally make lots of flapping noise at high speeds. On the other hand, hitch boxes typically get in the way of the tailgate (on a truck)/liftgate (on an SUV) and block visibility (of your tail lights if it's too wide, of your rearward visibility if it's too high, of your rearview camera or of your tag, if you don't have it relocated). If you happen to get a hitch storage box that has built-in tail lights, a space for your tag and a backup camera, it'll still stick out a lot if you happen to park in a standard size parking space and make it difficult to back in to most spaces, due to the increased overall length of the vehicle.

At this point, I know that I sound like a fanboy of rooftop cargo boxes. This is probably because I am! I had two adults and five children with me in the D on this two week vacation and they loved the fact that they had lots of room to move around and be comfortable.

Anyhow, it's time to get on to the meat and potatoes of this post. Here are the specifics of the Voyager XL rooftop cargo box:

-18 cu. ft. (509 liter) capacity
-Mounts directly to most OEM and aftermarket crossbars with included quick release u-bolt mounting kit
-Rear-opening design includes a lock for secure, easy access
-ABS construction is durable and UV-resistant
-Dimensions: 63"(l) x 38"(w) x 19"(h) / 38 lbs (17 kg), Maximum load of 110 lbs (50 kg)

...and here are a few pics of the Voyager XL mounted to the D:

 

Very nice pics!

 

Thanks! These cell phone cameras are getting better and better every year.

 

It looks pretty good. Can you get us pics of the mounting points/positions from inside/outside of the box? Thanks in advance.

 

Thank you!

I will get pics the next time I use/mount it, since it's already in storage at our family's place of business. When I'm not using it, it gets forklifted 18' up and out of the way onto a pallet rack in the warehouse.

Just so that you get a basic idea of how things get mounted, this...




...is what holds the cargo box to the D's crossbars. The bottom of the cargo box is sandwiched between the two metal plates (finger bolts located inside the cargo box) and the crossbar is sandwiched between the lower metal plate and the u-bolt.

Just install the D's rooftop crossbars into the only holes that are available (labeled "A", "B", "C" and "D" on both the crossbars and the fixed roof rails), then position the cargo box on top of the crossbars and attach the two via the bolt-down system shown above.

The inside of the Voyager XL has pre-drilled holes in four corners of the bottom, which is where these bolts traverse. Fortunately, the immobile crossbars of the D line up perfectly with these holes so that you don't have to drill new holes.

Most importantly, after the cargo box is properly attached to the crossbars, it remains forward of the rear antenna, which also means that it does not impede the full opening of the rear hatch.

After installing the Voyager XL onto the D for the first time, I swore that the two were purposely designed to go together because the fit and tolerances were perfect. If you have any doubt about this particular cargo box fitting the top of your D, put this doubt aside and buy it!