Roof Bars & Roof Box

[Scockers]

I am considering buying a roof box to give us extra storage for our French trips but am concerned by the overall height increase and any problems/extra expense this might cause on the tunnel, toll roads etc.

Thule bars and fixings seem the obvious choice. Is there any reason not to buy the Aero bars? do they only fit certain roof boxes?

Any feedback is much appreciated.

 

[Custardtart]

I've got a Thule box - quite a few years old now - and the non aero bars.

I did get aero bars for another car and found the Thule box wouldn't fit as the bars were too wide for the brackets.

When I got bars for the Cali I went for the standard rectangular section bars.

It's quite possible that newer roof boxes have been updated to fit aero bars but might be worth checking...

 

[markh]

I've got the Thule Wing Bars which are really wide. However, I fit my roof box using T-track fixings. These slide into the roof bars and then the roof box attaches to them. I think they are available for most (if not all) roof boxes but usually have to be purchased separately.

Hope this helps.

Cheers
Mark

 

[NickE]

On the French toll thing, my understanding is as follows:

a) The vehicle height is measured automatically at the toll booth.

b) Lowest toll price band height limit is 2 metres. So, a base T5 is OK but a roof box takes you into the next price band.

c) The price band height is supposed to be calculated on the base vehicle! Apparently you can get an incorrect priceband changed at the booth. I think an automatic booth might have an "info" button you can press to talk to someone, but I've never done this.