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Hi,

I was hoping for some advice. We are about to get a Toyota Corolla Verso (tomorrow), with roof rails in anticipation of needing to get a roofbox so that we can fit the camping gear in.

My husband dislikes the idea of roofboxes due to concerns over fuel consumption, wind noise, looking daft etc... Personally I think they are a good idea.

Does anyone here have any recommendations for roofboxes. We would like something that locks well, is easily accessible and does not look huge (will probably want to pack sleeping bags, self-inflating mattresses and other 'lighter weight' stuff in it. Also having spent up on the car do not want to pay the earth!

Thank you for your help.

roofbox.co.uk offer a good range to suit all prices. The website has loads of advice and tips. You can also phone for advice.

I only ever use mine when towing the caravan so can't comment on fuel consumption but have never noticed any extra wind noise. Whether they look daft or not is a matter of opinion but they certainly serve a purpose.

I have a 420 litre roofbox from Halfords.  I havn't noticed any difference on fuel consumption, so if there is any, it is very slight.  I do get some wind noise when it is on, but I only really hear it if the sunroof or windows are open, other than that, I wouldn't know it was there.

To be honest, you don't get a awfull lot in there ( well we didn't any way ).  After one season of having one, we went and got a trailer.

I have never really thought about how they look, I have it on there for a purpose and thats all that matters to me.  It really depends on how much camping stuff you have.  We have a fair bit and most is quite big so the roofbox was a good idea at the time, but as we have expanded, we couldn't get by now without a trailer.

The other good thing about the trailer, is the fact that when the camping equipment is not in use, it all stays in the trailer covered up so nothing can get in there.  Plus it is all in one place.  When we want to go camping, we just connect the trailer up, put the luggage in the boot and we are off.

Before we had our MH, we used to go on holiday with 5 kids, 2 adults and all the associated luggage, plus a wheelchair, in our VW Sharan, and later our Renault Espace.  Oh how we longed for a roofbox, but since our funds were limited at that time, we had to pack the bare minimum and the kids would have stuff under their feet, on their laps and crammed into any space available.  Now we have the MH, we are glad that we didn't go to the expense of having the roof rails, bars and box fitted, as we no longer need it.  However, had we got round to it, I certainly would not have said they looked daft.  I think they look pretty sleek and leaves the passengers with a much more comfortable journey than we ever had back in those days.  The only ones I see as looking daft, even downright ugly, are the very square ones that are mounted on top of cars for the transportation of wheelchairs and motorised scooters, because of their very square block appearance.  They try to say "It looks just like a roof box" - it doesn't - not one bit.  I think they should try to shape them a bit more and colour them like regular roof boxes instead of something that screams out at you that there is a wheelchair/scooter user on board.  Just my personal opinion.  I use a scooter and or a wheelchair, but would never have one of the purpose made roof boxes as they look so god damn awful and are more permanent than a regular roof box. 

Sara

I used to use a large halfords one that i bought second hand on top of a 97 escort and it was really handy. If you get one get a big one, didnt get any wind noise on mine and didnt notice any difference in fuel consumption.

As to looks I wasnt that bothered mine looks fine , its a black one not silvered or carbon fibre look,and it was only on the car when on holiday, anyway less chance of it getting knicked!

I still use mine to keep all the tent stuff that needs keeping dry on a shelf in the garage as i got a new car with a huge loadspace, but still keeping the box just in case !

Thanks for the advice. I don't think they look daft either, especially the new ones. I think we shall be looking around to be ready to buy for when we start camping again in the Spring.

Cheers.

We don't notice any difference to the fuel consumption on ours. It whistles a bit, but you get used to it. And it doesn't look odd on the car.

http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/directory2/details.asp?revid=572&typeid= is great. They will do you a special deal with bars and box, and they have loads of useful information.

Some of the Halfords boxes are made by Thule. Quality of boxes varies greatly. roofbox.co.uk will tell you about this. We have an Atera one. Good quality plastic, and central locking ( one lock but three locking points).

Alternatively you can get second hand bars from Ebay and save yourself some money. There are usually loads of boxes on there too, but these don't tend to go very cheaply.

Quote: Originally posted by Eviledna on 02/10/2005

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I have a roof box which has so far been on the car for several months I dont see the point of taking it off to put it back on again oh and its still got stuff in it so I don't have to keep repacking it.  Its only noisy when the sunroof is open due to air rushing underneath but I don't hear it when the windows are open.  The only problem I have found is that because I'm short I have to claim up my car to fill and empty it!  My Brother-inlaw thinks it looks stupid! I can't wait til Easter when he is going to attemp to get adults, 2 kids, 1 dog and all the camping gear in an average family size car!

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Just a word of warning about never taking it off.  I learnt the hard way on this.  If you leave it on for a long long time it can mark the paint.  Not sure how your one fits, but mine has rubber pads under the legs that attach to the car.  I left it on for an extended amount of time and when I took it off there was an imprint of the rubber block on the paint work on all four legs.  I have tried t-cut and just about any cleaning and polishing liquid I can get my hands on and they wont come off.  Where the sun has reached the rest of the car it is now a slightly difefrent colour.  I have heard of a few other people ( friends ) as well that have had the problem when leaving them on indefinitely.

See this review on one here

http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/articles/view.asp?id=28

Cheers  Ratty