How do roof boxes attach to cars?
Roofboxs can get heavy when full and at speed, with wind resistance the weight of a roofbox can become incredible, for that reason it is absolutely essential that a roofbox is installed with the correct roofbars and fittings to prevent disaster on the road!
You cannot simply rent a roofbox and put it on the top of your car – you must start with the correct roofbars which fit side to side of the vehicle – one near the front and one near the rear.
Roofbars come in various types, the basic square bars, aluminium “t-track” slotted bars which hang over the eddge of the feet (and therefore giving more space on the roof for potentially another roofbox or bike carrier. The Aluminium bars tend to be aerodynamic giving better fuel economy and reduced road noise and are somtimes called WingBars or
The roofbars then attached to the feet which connect to the car – called fixings. Fixings come in 4 different types depending on the make and model of vehicle (this is why its critical we know your make and model of car when booking to ensure we have the right fixings for you!).
The fixings can cater for almost any vehicle produced and come in the forms of:
Flush Roof Rails – these are rails that are fitted at the factory to your car and are attached to the vehicle all the way along the whole length of the roof rail. You cannot get your hand underneath of the roof rail anywhere along the roof. | |
Fixpoints – these are welded in points that are made in the roof of the car whilst the car is being produced in the factory. These fix points are set in the perfect locations on the car to ensure stability and a strong fixing system – they are almost always under a flap or sliding panel on the roof gutter of the car. | |
Clamp Around Fitting – These are not very often seen on never cars however they do cater for cars that have no fixing system on the roof already such as fixpoints or roof rails running front to back. These bars clamp around the car bodywork. | |
Raised Roof Rail – these are car manufacturer fitted rails that run front to back of the vehicle and you are able to get your fingers / hand underneath them – they are connected to the roof of the car at both ends but nowhere else. |
Finally, once the bars are selected and installed can you concentrate on fixing the box onto the bars. There are generally two methods of connecting the box to the bars, ether by a large u-bolt that wraps around the bars and through the roofbox and bolted from the inside of the box, or by utilising power mounts where each end of the bar has a “claw” type mechanism that compresses and clamps against the factory fitted roofbars.