I brought this up in a road trip thread, but would like to know more....

I'm looking at the Summer 142 convertible luggage rack for over the trunk.
Jaguar F Type Convertible,Mercedes Benz SLK, Toyota MR2, Boot Luggage Rack

I wonder if anyone has any experiences with these on their car, if it warps the trunk, or in general how they found the experience and usage. It fits an MK2 and SLS as well. It's an old Italian company who has been doing this a long time, but I just don't want to go on a 2 week road trip to find it warping, etc. The guys from Bootbag say there's no warping... and I am inclined to try that steel over a pad that slips on top of the boot/trunk itself.

Any thoughts on luggage racks, storage additional to the boot in the vert, let me know. THANK YOU!

 

Guys on the MR2 boards have used them with success. The difference is the "boot" cover there is steel and somewhat reinforced with a drip pan underneath. (The boot cover is actually the engine lid with vents.) I don't recall any complaints as long as they weren't overloaded. On our aluminum trunks, who knows.

 

That has been the concerns raised when this has been discussed here before, with the ones that sit on top of the boot/trunk lid the concerns are about denting the lid, or fouling the spoiler with straps. With the versions that clamp to the edges of the trunk/boot again concern is deforming the aluminum edges and paint damage.

Don't know that we have heard reports from anyone who actually tried one. I considered it, but didn't want to be the first one :-)

 

Thanks! As to the other comment... and this one...

I think I might spend $300, then go on the best road trip ever... knowing that I may have to do some bodywork worst case scenario (it's just the boot, likely).

I will document my findings. =)

 

You will be a martyr to the cause. Glad you will take one for the team, look forward to hearing how you go.

 

Uncle,

Consider garbage bags for clothes storage. Better yet, just buy new clothes as you go. That's probably a lot cheaper than body work. ;-)

 

It might seem like a crazy idea at first, but just ship a box in advance to your destination. The hotel will receive/hold it for you and handle the return. Works like a charm.

 

Anyone listening... this is 100% the way to go if you plan to travel to one spot and stay for a bit. It's amazing how much less stressful it is, *especially* when sending stuff back home, like a bunch of treats and spoils from an overseas trip.

In this case, we're hitting 8 national parks, 4000 miles, 6 historic hotels, and 3 luxury resorts within approx 16 days. Too mobile and quick to deal with shipping on this route! =) The boot rack will look adorable. lol

It just arrive. I am going to begin experimenting with just how badly I can destroy aluminum.

https://roadtrippers.com/map?a2=t%21...ource=copy&z=6

 

@Uncle Fishbits did you actually used a boot/truck rack? If you don't mind me asking (I know this is an old thread), which one and what was your experience? Thanks in advance for any insight!

 

Yup. Good memories of a different world, to be sure. Hope this helps @Thunder4219


TL;DR - I'll likely not use it and maybe we have a traveling luggage rack! I'd want to make sure I've all the parts, etc still. I keep track of stuff really well, but if I were to offer to sell/ship it to you, I'd want to alleviate any potential frustrations. I am sure I still have the directions too. Let me know and I'd start the process of getting it all back together / organized.

----------- longer background on both luggage set and summer 142 rack --------------------------------

In 2016, I did a 4000 mile road trip for 3+ weeks. It was my 40th, and I am 6'6". I had back issues at the time (still do, but way healthier), but I am pretty flexible in general and fit, and I had ZERO issues throughout the whole trip of 5-10 hour drive time days. The only real rough day was our final one that included 2 hours to get our pup from someone watching, and that 12 hours was gruelling. FWIW, I did Highway 50 (lonliest road) in 2021 and SFO to Grand Junction in a day, which was a series of planning errors that led to a 14 hour drive day with 16 total hours behind the wheel. That was the biggest mistake of my life, but I'm essentially saying even the vert can take a big guy pretty far, comfortably. This has nothing to do with what you want to know about, but try to stay awake on this road all alone. LOL

On that trip, all I had was this 5 piece set (that was later mostly destroyed by a leak in a storage closet: https://shop.jaguarusa.com/f-type-5-piece-luggage-set
Overall quality is "fine".
The wash/dob kit bag was pretty good, and could hang in the bathroom.
The laptop bag was too small to be functional.
The garment bag looked thin, weak, flimsy, and it stood up to the most abuse I've ever seen, worked really well, held together really well, and I even started traveling on a plane with it, at one point.
The two wheeled bags had to be JAMMED into the trunk to both fit side by side, and by the end of the trip, they were falling apart, literally, at the seems, and wouldn't have lasted for more than another trip or two.

SO... I committed to being a USA guinea pig on the Summer 142 luggage rack from Boot Bag UK: https://boot-rack.co.uk/jaguar-f-typ...ble-boot-rack/

It was relatively affordable, but it does look like it's been discontinued. However, I've seen newer ones with large suction cups, and there's two things about that I don't like, which I will get to...

I used the rack for a summer trip to Tahoe. Installing the rack included putting a little protective sticker where the foam footers would rest. I was extremely worried about both trunk malformation, but also whether the rack would close properly to not impact hinge alignment. Neither of things happened over the course of 6+ hours drive time, inclusive of my violently blowing out a tire by running over a big rig tie down buckle in the middle of the road on the way home. We had a HEAVY load of stuff on the rack, and with bungees, etc it was rock solid and didn't move.

Installing the rack, for a hotel guy like me that doesn't build or know how to do stuff (lol) was frustrating to do alone, at the start, but I got patient and measured, and it finally all fell into place pretty simply. It locks, so it was both secure and wouldn't be taken. I'd say it's quaint and a callback to yesteryear in being both functional and stylish.

A) I somehow managed to not get ANY real pics of it. Super odd, but I've put a few below that show glimpses, FWIW.

B) The new ones use suction cups and i) feels iffy for that much weight, but I know suction cup tech, like everything else, has come a long way. However, with my Xpel coating on my prior F-Type in that 2016 trip, a gopro suction cup actually lifted the protective coating so you could see a suction mark on it, and it never self-repaired or went back to normal. I'd imagine the power of these suction cups, mixed with warm weather, would do the same thing.
C) On many social sites, when you post pics they ask for a "pet tax". This was a sweet dog of mine I miss dearly. We adopted new, but she was something else. Amazing to think that was a few months before the world changed in 2020.

 

@Uncle Fishbits thank you for the very detailed reply, I really do appreciate it. I'd definitely be interested in buying your rack if you have it. I completely concur with you that the suction cup idea terrifies me!! I'm much more inclined to add the trunk edge mounted style!
I ended up buying bespoke luggage for inside the trunk from Bag-World in the UK. I haven't received it yet but have high expectations given the excellent service I received whilst ordering and the general reviews. I'll be posting a review on the forum once I test it out!
I'm 6-3 so not small myself so it's good to hear long trips are comfortable. A couple of years ago I drove 16 hours straight with adventure motorcycles on a trailer, then road 500 miles over 2 days on the motorcycle in amazing mountains and drove 16 hours home! It was a an amazing experience but I think it took several months for my rear end to reshape after all the hours behind the wheel and on the bike 🤣.
Let me know on the rack at your convenience. It's definitely discontinued on the website.

 

I actually will be headed to storage this weekend (tomorrow, I hope) to move to a new, larger unit. I'll start making sure all is there, and keep you posted. Where are you, just considering shipping challenges, too! =) We'll take this offline soon enough, but frankly...

I want to see what other luggage is out there.... I just searched, and there's new stuff. Anyone know the below linked items?

I think everyone generally accepts that soft sided duffles are best to fit the wonky vert spaces, but since last time I checked there's other options:
This is wild... so many bespoke to custom options from companies, at this point (right at end of life for the Jag, to "boot", pun intended):

Great: Classic Traveling Luggage https://classictravellingluggage.com...e-convertible/
as is this: Roadster Bag https://roadster-bag.com/en-us/produ...dels-from-2017
and this: "Car Bags" https://www.car-bags.com/en/car-bags...gs-detail.html
and a "pro line" https://www.car-bags.com/en/car-bags...ne-detail.html

this also looked like it had something different than the Jaguar set we all know about: https://bag-world.co/portfolio-item/...e-convertible/

 

@Uncle Fishbits this is the basics of what I have ordered from Bag-World in the UK, albeit in tan to match the interior of my car!

 

@Uncle Fishbits I'm in the Toronto area but also have a US address. Happy to cover shipping costs too.