Roof Box Size Chart: Thule, Yakima and Rhino-Rack

The size chart

How to read the chart

Outside size is what decides hatch, garage and roof-rack fit. Inside size is what decides whether skis, a bag or a cooler fits. Thule publishes both. Yakima’s and Rhino-Rack’s product pages publish outside size only, so their inside columns are blank.

Maker load limit is the most the maker allows in the box. Thule and Rhino-Rack print it on the product page. Yakima’s product pages do not, and the Yakima instruction sheets that carry it are on a server whose security certificate fails, so we left Yakima’s load limits blank rather than copy them from a second source. Whatever the box allows, your vehicle’s roof limit and your crossbars’ rating still apply, and the lowest of the three wins.

Crossbar spread is the distance between your two bars, center to center. Thule’s figures come from its technical information sheet (minimum and maximum spacing). Yakima prints a minimum and maximum on most pages. Two Yakima boxes (SkyBox NX Skinny and NX XXL) and Rhino-Rack’s MasterFit list none, so they are blank.

Opens is the side the lid opens from. Every box in the chart is described by its maker as opening from both sides.

Max ski is the longest ski the maker says fits. It is not a promise for every ski shape, so check your skis’ tips and the box’s inside width as well.

Archived by maker marks older models that Yakima’s site still shows but flags as archived. They are here because owners still search for them. They may be hard to find new.

Fits my garage door? The formula

The check on this page uses your measurements plus the maker’s outside height:

clearance = door height − (ground to top of your crossbars + box outside height) − safety margin

1. Measure the lowest point of your garage door opening, including the opener rail or door track if it hangs lower than the door.
2. Measure from the ground to the top of your crossbars with the car parked on level ground and normally loaded.
3. Type both in the chart’s garage fields. The chart adds the maker’s published outside height for each box and shows how far it clears or falls short.

Outside height is the tallest published figure for the box, so the result is cautious. It does not include anything you strap on top of the box, a bike or cargo above it, or a roof that sags under load. Yakima’s own SkyBox NX instructions tell you to record your vehicle’s total height with the box installed and not to enter a low clearance if the vehicle is taller than that. Measure the real, loaded height before you trust any chart.

Data note: which boxes give the most inside length for their height

For skis and long gear in a low box, a useful measure is inside length divided by outside height. The higher the number, the more inside length you get for each inch the box adds to your roof. Only Thule publishes inside length, so this table covers Thule’s twelve current models only.

The two Low versions of the Motion 3 lead the table because they trade height for length. The method is plain division of two published maker figures, nothing weighted. You are welcome to cite the table; please credit Cargo Rack Guide with a link to this page.

What the chart does not cover yet

• Brands: INNO and SportRack are not in this chart. We could not reach INNO’s site from our build tools, and we did not copy numbers from anywhere other than a maker. Rhino-Rack has one box here, the MasterFit.
• Thule Vector and Sidekick: Thule’s technical sheet lists them, but we could not find current Thule U.S. product pages for them, so they are left out rather than filled from a second source.
• Roof bags are not in this chart yet.
• Yakima inside size and load limits are blank for the reasons above.

Sources

• Thule cargo boxes (product pages, checked November 8, 2026)
• Thule technical information sheet: box mounting dimensions
• Yakima ski and cargo boxes (product pages, checked November 8, 2026)
• Rhino-Rack MasterFit roof box

Each row of the chart links to its own maker page.