A 4x8 U-Haul trailer from LA to NYC (sorry, the pricing page wouldn't take states alone and that's roughly good enough) would be $668. That's both a lot and a little. More than you likely want to pay for something on a one-time trip, but definitely cheaper than just a plain roof rack.

For my 2 cents, if I had to do it again, I'd go with a Frontrunner. WAY more options of what to put up there, what to design, what to connect to it. I don't think I've ever seen anything scientific that says one is worse than the other wrt road noise. The key to killing the road noise would be to get a flare. Those will do the job. Some like, some loath the aesthetics. Ymmv. So, you have the rack, the flare and the storage options to consider. It will quickly exceed the ~$700 U-haul. BUT if you do it twice, you'll likely start to get closer to a break even.

Me? I'm cheap. I would get the Frontrunner rack (get the right one! one is MUCH shorter than the other). Then I would get two of these and strap up there ( ). Make sure to use some good straps! Any thule/yamika pod is going to be just as bad with the wind noise regardless of fairing. Then after the trip drive it around and if the noise was a pita, THEN I would get a fairing.

Good luck on the road trip and please post end results and PICS!

 

Grouse,

Thanks, I love when people put links in to consider.
We are doing round trip. NY for daughter's graduation (two degrees, two weeks apart, so travel back and forth from Detroit, (relatives in Detroit), then relatives in Northern Michigan for early summer vacation spot, then back to Cal. 1-2 months of travel.

Rack
You would not get the short FrontRunner rack? The long one needs fritzing with the rails though?
I can be enticed to do mechanical work, but I love plug and play.

OEM rack is 2800 on Lucky 8, a UK site Hunters Prestige is 762 with over 600 for shipping (crazy but I might do that).
https://huntersprestige.com/products...44723062800671

Those cases can be stolen though eh? I suppose I can throw them in the car for the night.

 

Pretty sure I read Pres Trump signed an EO about stolen roof cases. You’re in good hands.

 

Yeah, I got tired of my rack and wanted a FrontRunner rack. Someone on this forum posted they had one for sale really close to me and I jumped onto it. I didn't know better and it was the short version. It was SHORT. I wound up putting it on an M416 trailer "rig" I built out to go overlanding with the Defender. So, it wasn't a total loss. Anyway, when I saw it in person it was a nope for me. But ymmv. If you're fine with the sizing go for it. The 108-qt foot lockers fit perfectly into the trailer sideways & I store my gear in 3 or 4 of them. They are pretty good in the weather, but I always stuff things in Compactor bags anyway (pro-tip: never use trash bags, compactor bags are hiker's gold).

Not sure where you are going in Detroit, but putting a few ratchet straps on them and then dropping an airtag in each one would be good for me. If you wanted to feel more secure, they are foot lockers - put a lock on the lid and thread a bike cable to the rack. If a thief is going to go through all of that pita, then they would do the same in a Thule/Yakima or enclosed trailer. Heck, once the battery diamond saws come out you might as well move the gear inside. In fact, you should fear your cat more as that would be a much easier route to a quick dollar.

Not throwing shade on Hunters but I would be confident that Lucky8 is OEM. If you want OEM, go that route. If your risk profile equals your thrifty profile, then you likely already checked out e-bay. "L663 Defender Roof Rack" show many from England in the sub-$800 range with ~$200 shipping. Can't get less than that.

Good luck, post pics!