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(More customer reviews)The Atlantis 1600 is a well designed roof-top storage device. The model I own is the Mopar equivalent made by Thule for Mopar. Installation of this cargo box is easy. It attaches to your roof rack crossbars with four adjustable clamps. Just place the cargo box onto your roof rack positioning it's attaching clamps over the crossbars of your roof rack. Each of the four clamps move forward and aft to allow for precise positioning onto your crossbars. Once properly positioned, attachment to the roof rack is completed by turning the clamps round locking knob located on the inside of the unit. The Maximum center to center cross bar distance is 35.5 inches. Because the clamp front to back distance is easily adjustable by sliding the clamps forward or aft before tightening, the Minimum center to center crossbar distance is 24 inches. The port to starboard clamp width distance is fixed at 26.5 inches.
Inside the Atlantis 1600 (16 cubic feet of cargo space) has a very decent amount of interior room, but the 16.3" published height does not extend over the entire 74" length of the box. It tapers at the front so less parasite drag is created at highway speeds. This taper reduces the overall height inside. Also there is some rounding from the top to the sides of the box causing a further reduction of the 16.3" overall height in the published 36" width. These areas of height reduction may be a factor if you plan on putting fixed height rigid containers into the cargo box like I do. For this reason, and because of some tailing off of the cargo box floor both forward and aft, I recommend inspecting one of these in person to determine if it will support your cargo requirements. If you plan on using containers, bring them with you to the store to see if they are properly supported by the forward and aft sections of the floor, if they fit from front to back/side to side, and for total height.
This Atlantis 1600 opens from either side making egress into it very easy. Both sides are opened with a keyed lock that retains the key until the lid is down and at least partially engaged with the lock-down mechanism. (One caution! Make sure that the lid is securely seated forward to aft onto the ENTIRE base before removing the key for traveling. There are two guide pieces located on the inside of the lid to help with this and three securing points on each side of the cargo box base that must be engaged for a positive lock-down. Failure to do this correctly may allow the lid to be torn off by winds at highway or lesser speeds!) It has two internal spring loaded arms that hold open the lid while accessing the inside of the box. I use mine on a 2005 VW Jetta wagon. On this vehicle it fits both length and width perfectly utilizing nearly the entire roof area thereby maximizing rooftop storage capacity.
On my Jetta, traveling down the road is effortless with the Atlantis. I don't notice any unusual noise. The wind resistance must be negligible because no dead-on high profile vehicle characteristics are noticeable at highway speeds. The clamps keep the box securely in place. Even when empty, at just 42 pounds dry weight, the Atlantis feels solid while traveling.
One shortfall of my unit is found in its corrugated style floor. For me the floor material is not thick enough and/or the corrugations are not aggressive enough. This attribute makes the floor flex somewhat under load and seems weaker that one would expect for its current $500 price tag. Putting plywood on the floor of the box can eliminate the problem, but the weight of the plywood subtracts from the total payload weight, which for Thule cargo boxes, trends at 110 pounds.
In conclusion, the Atlantis 1600 is a very convenient way to store up to 110 pounds of additional cargo for your trips. It's light and installs and removes quickly, which can be easily accomplished by one person. Except for some apparent lack of strength in the floor, the box is generally well designed and easy to access. It travels well with no unusual noise or wind resistance. Its cost seems a bit high for the amount of raw material used to manufacture the box. The type of cargo to be carried should be considered before buying the Atlantis 1600. Overall, performance is very good.
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Thule Atlantis Cargo BoxFind the right size Thule Atlantis XT Cargo Box and hit the old dusty trail. This roof cargo carrier features QuickGrip technology (as easy as it sounds), access on both sides, and fits on most factory-installed and after-market racks. Throw some friends? skis (Yao Ming has to hold his pair outside the window) along with yours in the Atlantis XT, and since the padded security key won?t release unless the box is completely closed you know your sticks and other gear will be safe.
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