I've just come back from a weekend away, which drove home the need to have luggage that makes the most of the available space.
Bags that fit roughly leave unused litres of storage,
and even a weekend's baggage can fill the boot.
I went as far as buying (on sale or return) a 50l soft-sided bag from a sailing shop in Dartmouth, walking it to the Aero, and test-fitting. 50l is just too much in every direction.
I found
LAT56 have some luggage that fits well. But don't look too long at the prices: think of your loved one's joy at being able to bring more clothes on a road trip!
The kit:
- 2x27.5L capacity hardshell garment bags that fit across the car, under the front lip, up against the hood storage slot - 55cms wide, where the space between the hinges is 60cms. They'll also fit into the bottom of the deep rear well space.
- the garment bag comes with a semi-rigid suit carrier, which will fit comfortably in the outer space to the left or right of the hinges
- 2x 40L soft duffel bag which fits lengthwise in the centre - and two will fit side by side to occupy the space between the hinges, and at 30cms high will stuff under the rear lip.
At 40cms long, it's a perfect squash fit lengthwise, with the 20cms wide hardshell bag against the forward bulkhead. Front to back, my boot measures 65cms - so I have 5cms to spare. Your Aero may vary!
Two of each gives 135L of baggage space, plus a couple of suit carriers - and still a few nooks & crannies to fill in the wings
And...
A rolled up picnic rug stands vertically in one of the corner wells, outside the hinges. A 'bag for life' is in the opposite corner filled with 4 or 5 bottles of cleaning kit. The cloths sit on top of the bag.
All the bags are carry on sizes - I'm doing some man-math and justifying the cost as my favourite airline (Qatar) lets me take 2 pieces of cabin baggage in economy.
Just don't think about the price of all the Eagle Creek bags to make the most of the space *in* the bags

Will