I saw a few posts and questions on how to extend the limited cargo space available in a Model X and wanted to share my solution. A fully loaded with the 7 seater version of the Model X had very limited room for luggage, which means you can use it to drive your (larger) family to the cinema, but it is impracticable for road trips. The falcon wing doors may be cool, but are obviously a problem for adding a roof box. I solved the problem by using a suction cups roof bar system (some DIY required) with a standard Thule Roof Box and combining it with a Thule Hitch Box. With both, we had plenty of room for my team of 7 and the luggage for a 2 week road trip.
Solution:
- TreeFrog Suction Cup Roof Bars.
- Thule Roof Box.
- Thule Rack Velo pace XT 939.
- Thule Backspace XT Cargo Box.
Shopping List (Amazon Germany):
- TreeFrog Roofbars: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07H9CLDZS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_50vmDb4G6EKD2
- Thule Velospace VeloSpace XT 3 Bikes: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B077ZBW6BW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_V2vmDbFWYKAYB
- Thule Heckbox BackSpace XT: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B0791W1PWS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_M4vmDbJMBHY0X
- Thule XT Sport Black Aeroskin Roofbox: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07FRMWB6L/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_D5vmDbCWD47GE
Note on the TreeFrog Roofbars: I have seen others use the Seasucker roof bars, which I am sure will work very well, too. I went with the TreeFrog solution because it had the traditional alloy roof bars and I knew I needed to shorten them and thought this would be easier to cut / adjust. In order to prevent the rear roof bar from blocking both Falcon Wings, it has to be cut in half so that it only sits on top of one of the Falcon Wings. Also because of the curvature of the roof, I had to replace the screws that connect the suction cups to the bars with longer ones (available in any good DIY store) so that one side of the rear bar has longer "legs" and the roof bar is presenting an flat surface for the roof box. See attached photos for detail.
Concerns / Caveats TreeFrog: Obviously, most people looking at this solution will ask the question whether the suction cup solution is safe to use, but I found it reliable. As the suction cups are mounted to the window, the glass presents the perfect surface for the suction cups and I had them mounted for more than one week without losing suction. My concern was (and still is) how much weight one can load to the box before it would crack, but I added about 40kg and my roof is still OK. The Roofbox obviously also does not help with areodynamics, so the consumption will increase (I did not care too much as I have a 100D) and have to make frequent drops to feed the family anyway). Because the Model X detects the Roofbox, the Falcon Wing doors are blocked and you have to manually override by holding the button to fully open the door, but I found this to be only a minor inconvenience. For obvious reasons, the other Falcon wing door can't be opened at all, but that was not a problem for us.
Caveats Thule Backspace: While the box is quite large, the max weight that can be added is limited as the Model X spec allows for a Max of 45kg to be applied to the Hitch and the Thule solution itself is already 20kg. I have ordered an X-Rack (X-Rack | A new cargo solution specially designed for the Tesla Model X), which is lighter and thus should allow for more Cargo - but found that it requires the US style Tesla Hitch, which I had to buy on eBay from the US and had not arrived in time for my hols, so no report yet.
I hope this helps anyone with similar issues.
Greetings from Germany
Solution:
- TreeFrog Suction Cup Roof Bars.
- Thule Roof Box.
- Thule Rack Velo pace XT 939.
- Thule Backspace XT Cargo Box.
Shopping List (Amazon Germany):
- TreeFrog Roofbars: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07H9CLDZS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_50vmDb4G6EKD2
- Thule Velospace VeloSpace XT 3 Bikes: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B077ZBW6BW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_V2vmDbFWYKAYB
- Thule Heckbox BackSpace XT: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B0791W1PWS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_M4vmDbJMBHY0X
- Thule XT Sport Black Aeroskin Roofbox: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07FRMWB6L/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_D5vmDbCWD47GE
Note on the TreeFrog Roofbars: I have seen others use the Seasucker roof bars, which I am sure will work very well, too. I went with the TreeFrog solution because it had the traditional alloy roof bars and I knew I needed to shorten them and thought this would be easier to cut / adjust. In order to prevent the rear roof bar from blocking both Falcon Wings, it has to be cut in half so that it only sits on top of one of the Falcon Wings. Also because of the curvature of the roof, I had to replace the screws that connect the suction cups to the bars with longer ones (available in any good DIY store) so that one side of the rear bar has longer "legs" and the roof bar is presenting an flat surface for the roof box. See attached photos for detail.
Concerns / Caveats TreeFrog: Obviously, most people looking at this solution will ask the question whether the suction cup solution is safe to use, but I found it reliable. As the suction cups are mounted to the window, the glass presents the perfect surface for the suction cups and I had them mounted for more than one week without losing suction. My concern was (and still is) how much weight one can load to the box before it would crack, but I added about 40kg and my roof is still OK. The Roofbox obviously also does not help with areodynamics, so the consumption will increase (I did not care too much as I have a 100D) and have to make frequent drops to feed the family anyway). Because the Model X detects the Roofbox, the Falcon Wing doors are blocked and you have to manually override by holding the button to fully open the door, but I found this to be only a minor inconvenience. For obvious reasons, the other Falcon wing door can't be opened at all, but that was not a problem for us.
Caveats Thule Backspace: While the box is quite large, the max weight that can be added is limited as the Model X spec allows for a Max of 45kg to be applied to the Hitch and the Thule solution itself is already 20kg. I have ordered an X-Rack (X-Rack | A new cargo solution specially designed for the Tesla Model X), which is lighter and thus should allow for more Cargo - but found that it requires the US style Tesla Hitch, which I had to buy on eBay from the US and had not arrived in time for my hols, so no report yet.
I hope this helps anyone with similar issues.
Greetings from Germany
