The Bag that Allowed Me to Nomad in a Civic​

In September of 2022 I was gearing up for a road trip from Miami, Florida to Dallas, Texas in my 2014 Honda Civic.

My boyfriend and I were challenged with squeezing our *absolutely necessary* belongings, and our dog’s road trip essentials into that little bean for a 3-month stay.

Unsurprisingly, there just wasn’t enough space.

We thought we had to choose between installing a roof rack to the top of the car, which is hundred of dollars, or shipping our things – also hundreds of dollars.

Eventually, we came across the Extremus ExplorationX Rooftop Cargo Carrier Bag. A bag designed to carry everything you need for your next journey, without the need for a roof rack!

We were sooooo relieved to find this road trip cargo bag.

Whether you’re packing luggage, equipment, or groceries, these bags are made with high-quality, weather-resistant materials to protect your belongings from any harsh conditions.

No roof rack required!

Given I don’t have bars on the top of my car, this was the single feature that sold me on the rooftop cargo carrier bag. I bought it and crossed my fingers it would be safe, reliable, and heavy duty.  3300 miles later, it has held up impeccably.

The feature you want to pay attention to here are the cargo straps.  These are the key to not needing a roof rack.

Conveniently, the straps come with hooks that will be hooked into the car door seals of each of your doors. Once you’ve hooked them in, you’ll tighten the straps as much as you can to keep the bag from moving around.

Size and capacity

Equally important is getting the sizing right for your car. Many brands out there have different sizes but we used the 15 cubic foot bag on our Honda Civic.

The maximum size I think you could go with with a car the size of a Civic is 17 cubic feet. But trust me, the smaller one has more than enough room.

Ultimately, we were able to fit 1 non-carry-on plus 2 carry-on suitcases and a yoga mat in the 15 cubic foot bag.

Non-slip grip mat

This road trip cargo bag comes with a non-slip grip mat so that your bag isn’t sliding around atop your car throughout the road trip.  This is CRUCIAL to use not only for the security of the bag, but also for the TLC of your car!

Not using the non-slip grip mat can result in paint chips and scratches from the friction of the vinyl bag against the roof of your vehicle.

Weather-proof

The cargo bag zips shut and has a flap to keep the flow of any rain or snow from getting into the bag.

I have ridden with this bag through the Texas heat, and the pouring rain and it survived both.

Ironically the only I time I had an issue was during a lighter rain shower where it was raining sideways. One of the flaps that cover the zipper flew up and the sideways rain dampened the suitcase on that side.

If you’re extremely worried about your items getting wet I recommend covering them in an extra layer of plastic by placing them in large vacuum sealed bags. Might look weird but your stuff will be dry!

Assembly advice

Finally, you’ll want to run through a practice-round of assembling the road trip cargo bag on the ground first.

1. Lay the non-slip grip mat on the ground.
2. Lay the zipped up bag out on top of the non-slip grip mat.  Make sure no part of the bag is touching the ground, only the mat.
3. Unzip the bag and begin adding your items to it.  Make sure your items are balanced throughout the bag.  If they aren’t, try repositioning some items and/or adding more items to the bag until they are.
4. Zip the bag shut to make sure everything fits.
5. Reopen the bag, take a picture of your configuration, and then repeat the process atop your car.
6. Once the bag is zipped shut on top of the car, cover the zippers with the flaps.
7. Insert the loop straps into the car door seals.
8. Loop the bag straps through the 4 loop straps and clip them into place.
9. Tighten the straps so the bag can’t move around.
10. Get going already!!!

I hope this was helpful and that you are able to benefit from this convenient cargo bag like I was!

Let me know in the comments below if you have any experience with cargo bags, and if you have any tips or tools that help make road tripping easier!

Hello there and welcome!  My blog is for the curious explorer who feels the world is too big to stay in one place all the time!