Pelican Pete

I let my XM subscription lapse. I don't spend enough time in the car to warrant keeping it. And I noticed that it loses signal for a second every time I go under an overpass.

Well I am taking a road trip this week, and wondering if I should renew the subscription. However I am going to have the Thule cargo box on the roof. Will the box block the satellite signal?

I'm also carrying two bikes, so the box will be dead-center, with one bike on each side.

Thanks,
Peter

tboned

I'll say YES. I still get signal in parking garages, if somewhat near the outside walls.

artinmoTTion

...the answers I got seem pretty accurate in my experience with the box so far, which is that it seems mostly unaffected---good news! Others have said, and I believe, that it may be affected though if you have metallic things above the antenna...so keep it to clothes and stuff and you should be fine! YMMV, but the plastic box alone doesn't seem to stop the signal.
Safe travels!

RKA

Odds are it's not under the roof, because even the sheetmetal on the roof would present a reception problem.

If it's integrated with the sharkfin as I expect, it may cause some interference depending on what it placed in the box (as previously mentioned, metal items have a far greater effect, and things like clothing/plastic have a minimal effect) and depending on the position of the car/box/satellite.

As with many questions, I suspect that the answer is not cut and dry. There may be some effect, and you may have some control over the extent of that effect.

artinmoTTion

sharkfin = XM + Nav