Roof box... good idea or bad?

[Kmann]

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Great info Kmann but a bit worried about the “ lover mount !!! “! Is that
allowed ?

Yesterday I bought a pair of old Mercedes ski boxes cheaply . They’re old about 15 yrs and 300 litres each and open both ways . Thought it would be good to try after your enthusiasm. They’re made of polypropylene and fairly indestructible ( ha ha ! (I saw your horrible photos again yesterday on the website banner ).

Already Caligirl has booked one box for her shoes ! Anyway thought they may go side by side on top of the trailer for our 7/8 week Northern Lights Trip in Sept but thinking now one on trailer and one on Cali . Does anyone know about car parks in Norway Sweden Finland maybe Niborn does ? Do they have the 2.2 m bar like France .

And I who thought the big trailer was reserved for the shoes … ;-)

I dont know about certain rules for the high of the roof pars? But I think they look good and compact on the trailer as is. I would go with this solution. and I would keep both on the trailer I think.

 

[Kmann]

@Trebor … even with Polypropylene I will recommend a rollover ;-)

 

[Trebor]

@Trebor … even with Polypropylene I will recommend a rollover ;-)

I hope you mean will not recommend . I shudder every time your photos come up Kmann . Horrible .

 

[Kmann]

I hope you mean will not recommend .

HAHA … yes! Please don't do it ;-)

 

[Quentin SF]

Just a thought after reading this thread - we used to have a Thule roof BAG, not box, for a previous car.

It occurs to me that if you needed to get under a barrier that was too low for a box, it would be a pain to take it off. If you emptied a bag into the van, however, you might do it. Also, if you did remove a bag at your destination, it might be easier to store in an awning or loo tent.

 

[KiwiCali]

I have now put a Thule Roofbox on top of the new Cali, for an extended trip that we are going to do. I have gone with Thule, Wing Bar 969 127 cm, Rapid system 753 feet, Plus Thule the Dynamic 800 low profile Roofbox that I have had for a while. All this comes to about 23KG which leaves about 27KG free for 'stuff'.

I have been testing the loading, and when the box is full with 25KG of stuff ....I did notice the system had to work harder to get the roof up - plus coming down did not seem as smooth? Or is this just my imagination? Keen to get feedback from those that have roof boxes on! Anyway ... I plan to just putting the light stuff up in the box that I will only need occasionally. So I reckon the overall weight up there including rack/box is around 40KG and that seems to work well. Getting to it will be a bit of a pain ... though I have a small collapsible ladder - and I think I will just park beside something I can stand on

 

[bigmac77]

I have now put a Thule Roofbox on top of the new Cali, for an extended trip that we are going to do. I have gone with Thule, Wing Bar 969 127 cm, Rapid system 753 feet, Plus Thule the Dynamic 800 low profile Roofbox that I have had for a while. All this comes to about 23KG which leaves about 27KG free for 'stuff'.

I have been testing the loading, and when the box is full with 25KG of stuff ....I did notice the system had to work harder to get the roof up - plus coming down did not seem as smooth? Or is this just my imagination? Keen to get feedback from those that have roof boxes on! Anyway ... I plan to just putting the light stuff up in the box that I will only need occasionally. So I reckon the overall weight up there including rack/box is around 40KG and that seems to work well. Getting to it will be a bit of a pain ... though I have a small collapsible ladder - and I think I will just park beside something I can stand on

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Your setup looks great.

We use a roof box for extended trips and it has been very useful, we load it up with things like La Fuma chairs, extra table, shelter tent, wetsuits and body boards. We tend to put things up there that we don’t require everyday when we are moving around and empty it when we park up on a campsite for a few days. Including the box, bars and contents the weight is around 50kg maybe a couple over but no more and we have had no problems with the roof either raising or lowering. The box we have is the Kamei 510, it is positioned centrally on the roof and I stand on the rear seat to load and empty it. I find the internal straps difficult to reach but my 7 year old son just climbs up and sorts those out for me.

 

[KiwiCali]

Your setup looks great.

We use a roof box for extended trips and it has been very useful, we load it up with things like La Fuma chairs, extra table, shelter tent, wetsuits and body boards. We tend to put things up there that we don’t require everyday when we are moving around and empty it when we park up on a campsite for a few days. Including the box, bars and contents the weight is around 50kg maybe a couple over but no more and we have had no problems with the roof either raising or lowering. The box we have is the Kamei 510, it is positioned centrally on the roof and I stand on the rear seat to load and empty it. I find the internal straps difficult to reach but my 7 year old son just climbs up and sorts those out for me.

Great feedback thanks. That does provide peace of mind. I like your creative use of child labour as well! - as agree it is hard to reach the middle of the roofbox. Mine does open from both sides so that will help I think.

 

[BayCatOne]

I have a telescopic ladder but it's a bit bulky and heavy IMO, we got a "tall" version of the the folding step and it just fits inside the chair in the rear door.
http://amzn.eu/glkBlXK
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For those of you who're still considering these I just wanted to let you know that they fit in the tail gate along with the chairs. It's a very good fit and we always put our pair in there, one with each chair. No problem in warm weather for the gas struts but in negative-something-degrees you sometimes need to push it all the way up or it will not open fully on it's own. Good to use inside while doing dishes and the kids uses them while seated at the table outside. They even fit between the front seats if you don't want to put your feet on the seats when accessing the top bunk.

This is the model we use, brand 'Hard Head'. I guess they're all the same.
https://www.jula.se/catalog/bygg-oc...lningar/stegar-och-pallar/pallar/pall-341019/

 

[Kmann]

I have now put a Thule Roofbox on top of the new Cali, for an extended trip that we are going to do. I have gone with Thule, Wing Bar 969 127 cm, Rapid system 753 feet, Plus Thule the Dynamic 800 low profile Roofbox that I have had for a while. All this comes to about 23KG which leaves about 27KG free for 'stuff'.

I have been testing the loading, and when the box is full with 25KG of stuff ....I did notice the system had to work harder to get the roof up - plus coming down did not seem as smooth? Or is this just my imagination? Keen to get feedback from those that have roof boxes on! Anyway ... I plan to just putting the light stuff up in the box that I will only need occasionally. So I reckon the overall weight up there including rack/box is around 40KG and that seems to work well. Getting to it will be a bit of a pain ... though I have a small collapsible ladder - and I think I will just park beside something I can stand on

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Have same setup, but with a bigger Thule Box (XXL 900 Motion). Even with that stuffed with inflatable SUPs, kiteboards and kitestuff there is not a sigle issue. Roof stays up, rises and lowers straight and smooth.

I have a telescopic latter in the drawer under the bench. Perfect setup for me. Also use the latter when washing the car. Hanging up a tarp for shade in the nearest tree, etc.

 

[Trevor Brown]

Does anyone know if it is possible to have roof bars and a roof box that in total height on the California doesn't exceed 2.3m?

 

[Kmann]

Does anyone know if it is possible to have roof bars and a roof box that in total height on the California doesn't exceed 2.3m?

I have never seen a setup this low. I will say no.

 

[itscalledbob]

Does anyone know if it is possible to have roof bars and a roof box that in total height on the California doesn't exceed 2.3m?

I believe the Cali is 1.99m high. A set of bars will sit proud by at least 10cm giving you about 20cm left for the box.....

 

[Trevor Brown]

Thanks for enlightening my (wishful) ignorance

 

[California4x4]

Does anyone know if it is possible to have roof bars and a roof box that in total height on the California doesn't exceed 2.3m?

I was aiming for a wide low profile setup. This was still over 2.3m though.

 

[Aidy P]

VW Customer Care say do not raise the roof with any load on it!!!!

I asked VW Customer Care this week, ‘What is the maximum load weight that the California elevating roof can lift?’ The reply.... In relation to the question about the roof, the Technical Team reviewed the data sheet and advised that for your vehicle, the roof load limit is up to 50 kg. This...

vwcaliforniaclub.com

I ask VW this year about load limits for popping the roof. The reply (not to) is in this thread. Disappointing as I was planning on using a box in France this summer.

 

[Johnboy]

I have been developing a new roofrack for the cali and other similar vehicles. I have used my prototype several times for a trip to France, either with one or two narrow roof boxes, or with two bikes, or roofbox and bike.
We have a beach, and the weight of the bars and single box (empty) is 20Kg. The roof stayed up (just).... so I reckon this is the limit for the manual roof, if you want to raise it.
I have selected the Thule Polar 500 as my roof box of choice as this seems the lightest narrow box I could find. I use bolts to fix to the roof bars which loses about 1.5 Kg from the official weight of the roofbox. It is great for stuff you don't want to dirty the interior with... the first time I used it was for a tree for planting which weighed 30Kg with the pot. Its also great for ladders, kayaks etc.
It has received many positive comments, so I've decided to go into small scale manufacture, hopefully ready for next year.

 

[California4x4]

I have been developing a new roofrack for the cali and other similar vehicles. I have used my prototype several times for a trip to France, either with one or two narrow roof boxes, or with two bikes, or roofbox and bike.
We have a beach, and the weight of the bars and single box (empty) is 20Kg. The roof stayed up (just).... so I reckon this is the limit for the manual roof, if you want to raise it.
I have selected the Thule Polar 500 as my roof box of choice as this seems the lightest narrow box I could find. I use bolts to fix to the roof bars which loses about 1.5 Kg from the official weight of the roofbox. It is great for stuff you don't want to dirty the interior with... the first time I used it was for a tree for planting which weighed 30Kg with the pot. Its also great for ladders, kayaks etc.
It has received many positive comments, so I've decided to go into small scale manufacture, hopefully ready for next year.

Can we see some pictures of your prototype please?

 

[Trevor Brown]

I have been developing a new roofrack for the cali and other similar vehicles. I have used my prototype several times for a trip to France, either with one or two narrow roof boxes, or with two bikes, or roofbox and bike.
We have a beach, and the weight of the bars and single box (empty) is 20Kg. The roof stayed up (just).... so I reckon this is the limit for the manual roof, if you want to raise it.
I have selected the Thule Polar 500 as my roof box of choice as this seems the lightest narrow box I could find. I use bolts to fix to the roof bars which loses about 1.5 Kg from the official weight of the roofbox. It is great for stuff you don't want to dirty the interior with... the first time I used it was for a tree for planting which weighed 30Kg with the pot. Its also great for ladders, kayaks etc.
It has received many positive comments, so I've decided to go into small scale manufacture, hopefully ready for next year.

Keep us posted please!

 

[Johnboy]

Sneak preview of early model........

 

[Lambeth Cali]

We used a roof box for a double pram and bbq when kids were small. I didn’t put it exactly in the middle and I remember it’s the only time the roof sagged in the night. We used a the plastic stool also. Glad we no longer need it.

 

[B J G]

Might be possible with the box below with lowered suspension or better still on air using low profile roof bars.

Calix Nordic Loader roof box, gloss black, no. 1-NL-GB-QG

This is a handsome roof box. Calix developed the Nordic Loader with a focus on quality, design, stiffness, safety and user friendliness and have certainly got it right.As well as being a really practical shape it's also been designed to look great on the car. Recesses on the base of the box...

www.roofbox.co.uk

 

[Hp123]

I have the biggest box Thule makes (MOTION 900 XL) stuffed with my kitesurfgear. No problem with electric roof. We have never discovered the Roof coming down, not even slightly after several days. We use a telescope ladder to access the box (When the roof is down). I have slightly modified the ladder so it fits perfect in the underseat drawer, and fully extracted it reaches to the awning (or the rail), so it has no contact with the cars paint. On the bikerack we carry two (carbon) bikes and our inflatable zodiac and the electric engine. So both the roof and bikerack is maxed out regarding weight.

All that on the small 102 hp engine … runs 140 on the motorway with ease …


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Hi - I’m having discussions on this at the moment and would really appreciate some advice!
im Planning on a large roof box for windsurf gear on a pop up which will always have the weight in it. The box is 27kg and it will prob go up to about 45kg with gear in it. I’m being advised an SCA roof (expensive!) and am Trying to establish the most robust and wide struts I can use? I understand 750N would be recommended. What is your experience and advice please? Thanks!