Luggage Rack Bag

Written by Chris Braymen

The original store that I was considering to make a custom canvas roof carrier for my '84 Westfalia was going to charge me $112 U.S. and an unspecified lesser amount for 10 or more. Al Knoll wrote to the list saying that was a reasonable price and mentioning Kirkhams in the same breath. I had heard of Kirkhams before, but didn't really know what they did until I called them. As I understand, they make pretty good canvas tents. Anyway, their stock roof carrier models were even better quality than the first place, they were easy to work with, and their custom bag was only $80 U.S., no group discount. I put half down and paid the remainder when the bag was finished. It does takes them a while to do custom orders. Here are the details:

• 20" wide, 46" long, 14" deep. Zippered on three sides with 2 pulls so the bag can be opened from the center or one of the sides. There is a flap over the zipper to keep out the elements.

• Made from 13oz Boat Duck (Natural color) (This is the canvas. The Natural is the same color as my Westie popup canvas, also available in Grey-Green and Yellow-Tan. I think the 13oz refers to it's weight per square yard. It's nice stuff.)

• 12oz Vinyl Laminated Poly (Blue) for the entire bottom instead of canvas. (I wanted this because the canvas is "water repellant" but not "waterproof", and I didn't want the bag to soak through from the bottom while sitting in a wet luggage well. They had a lighter 8oz vinyl but I liked the thicker stuff better. They tell me it's the same stuff they use for their tent floors. They suggested carrying a box of plastic trash bags in the carrier to wrap stuff you really don't want to get wet.)

• Tie straps sewn to the canvas and positioned for the Westie tie downs. Each tie strap has a metal "loop through" cinch to tighten it down.

Click for a larger view

I am completly satisfied with the bag. It has gone through some heavy rains and has stayed remarkably dry inside (no guarantees here though!)

Kirkham's Outdoor Products
3125 South State St.
Salt Lake City, UT 84115

1.801.486.4161

They've got my order on file (under the name 'Chris Braymen') and anyone interested can ask them to refer to it. I was working with a guy named Todd.