Roof boxes are the answer for footballs, beach cricket, smelly trainers and a random waffle maker for holidays. All the other shit can be rammed in next to the dog crate. 🙄😬🤣
Thx for your recommendation. We have a Thule ... does the job and sits snuggly next to the bike rack pour un
We have a roof box, which was completely and utterly my husbands domain. He bought it, the roof bars, the lot. Same with the towbar and trailer. Not my business. My job is to pack the soft things in appropriate sized bags to fit into said roof box.
We take ours full of towels, clothes, random shoes etc to Cornwall for the annual camping expedition.
This year we are also taking it to Wales, despite not camping, primarily to allow room in the car for the airfryer, to use in the caravan as I cannot stand cooking in a gas oven in a caravan and cannot live without the airfryer these days. God what have I become???
I had the same roof box on my ancient (1998) Subaru wagon for the last sixteen years. Sears brand, nothing special. While I only have one kid, they are a musician and we were always hauling three saxophones, a tuba, drum kits, plus the 100lb+ dog on camping trips. The kid is taking that same car to college in a month, so we finally took it off - and someone just knocked on my door to ask for it.
It was great to have - meant the bulky stuff could go on top and I never had to pack the car to the absolute gills, even for a three week trip.
Controversial - but roof boxes make me shudder a bit - ditto cars that carry bikes strapped to the back, navy Longchamp bags and those little runners’ rucksacks that have a drink coming out of them. Maybe I’m overthinking it.
The little runners' rucksacks! Serious ick but I've only just realised it. Sometimes worn when people aren't even running. Why are you so busy and so dehydrated?
Don’t get a used one with a dodgy catch like I did. Still traumatised from the loud bang and judder as the lid flew off and we watched our possessions flying behind us and depositing themselves across a French motorway.
We have a roof box which was invaluable when transporting hubby, me, two large adult sons plus one of their friends and 5 snowboards and related kit to the alps.
My top tip would be to buy some straps that fix to the ceiling of your garage to store it up and out of the way when it's not on the car - ours came free with the box and it's BRILLIANT!!! https://www.roofbox.co.uk/scripts/rbvehsel4_tab.php?12361.
I pretty much always bash ours on something at some point in the journey and actually spent 7 years making hubby and sons remove the box at 2am in the snow when we got to the ski apartment so that I could put the car in the underground parking because the signage said we were too tall to fit - then one day when we were there in the summer I decided to just try driving in with hubby checking how much headroom we actually had - turned out it fit just fine! Ours is a Thule and it's been fine - and I'm one of those people who leave the roof bars on - sorry!
And finally couldn't agree more how fab roofbox.co.uk are - so helpful on the phone or email - and even had an exchange system for snow chains if you switched cars and could no longer use the set you had. Bought many things from them over the years and I always recommend them to others.
This is really helpful “I wish I’d known” stuff. On that note it took me an embarrassing number of years to work out that a roof box is essentially a massive hard suitcase. So you don’t have to only put outdoor things in it (we go on holiday with equipment for every single possible sport) but can put your cases in it - or clothes and soft stuff in smaller bags. Think big packing cubes.
Also. Don’t lose the key. Get a spare one (even if there is a spare one for the spare one). Keep it in the glove box. I don’t know why this has been such a godsend over the years. But it has.
We have an eight-year-old son who is an only child and when a second child never materialised , my husband consoled me by saying, at least we won’t have to be one of those families with a roof box as we’ll always have plenty of room in the car.
My mum bought me a roof box as a surprise once, and that’s how I spent three hours stuck waiting around Halfords with a 10 month old baby. It was very handy to have and a lovely thought but I really had to dig deep for that gratitude. It was a bit annoying eventually and broke, now we have a roof bag which we’ve used once and it was good to be able to take it completely off easily but not suitable for everything. Less whistly and no bars required.
A surprise roofbox! That's hilarious. I have to repeat to myself very, very often "their hearts are in the right place" when thinking about my parents, even if the rest of my brain is screaming "why can't you just offer up an hour or two of childcare instead?" or "no, don't put goddamn paw patrol on it sends them crazy" or "what even is baby rice?" or "you say it didn't do me any harm, LOOK AT ME NOW"
There was a period in my life when I thought roof boxes were inverted small boats and a lot of people were simply enjoying recreational boating in the style of Wind in the Willows. Once I realised the truth (which timed with the birth of my daughter) I discovered we desperately needed one to store the child travelling related things we had no room for in our flat. It became our storage tortoise shell until we moved into a house and unpacked lots of forgotten child related equipment/detritus that I swore we would never use one again. Our fuel economy has since rapidly improved since losing it too.
Snap! I thought they were small boats too, and told my toddler (he’s bigger now and mocks me). I couldn’t understand why so many people in SE London had a boating hobby….
in the podcase 'french and saunders titting about' JS tells a story about her father buying a polysterene sailing boat from the back of the daily mail and them taking it on the motorway. i cried with laughter and now always think of roofboxes as dinghies.
I endorse the recommendation to get one which can be put on and taken off easily. We have a Kamei Fosco 420 which unclips really easily (although is still a bugger to manhandle - especially when slicked with freshly squashed insects...). Have been able to avoid some potentially embarrassing overhead crunches (watch out for beach carparks with height restrictions to stop overnight camping) without too much hassle.
Do measure the height of the car + roof box when you have it installed and write it on a bit of paper and stick it on the dashboard, so that you have a reference number when you come to the car park, medieval gatehouse etc.
If you’re vertically challenged like myself or travelling without a taller person, I recommend putting a folding step stool/ladder in the boot for packing/unpacking the roof box. I didn’t do this one year and had to essentially throw things up there and hope for the best!
A roof box? Unheard of it this country.. we foreigners use roof racks .. and if one has a lot of stuff to cart, one hires a trailer which is a mobile tray towed behind the car. Exposed to the elements this is not ideal for long trips or the English climate .
If in doubt get one. You reclaim the space around your feet and your children aren’t pressed up against the windows. We have the biggest roof box we could get, opens both sides, has a lock system which has a satisfying click and shows it is locked on to the bars as well as then being shut and locked when full. It is all Thule (no complaints here!) we have the sleek bars which make it so much easier to put on (see the biggest box ref) and it can all be taken off quickly. I refuse to be that person who always has the bars on top of the car.
Roof boxes are the answer for footballs, beach cricket, smelly trainers and a random waffle maker for holidays. All the other shit can be rammed in next to the dog crate. 🙄😬🤣
Thx for your recommendation. We have a Thule ... does the job and sits snuggly next to the bike rack pour un
Next research needs to be bike racks. Xx
We have a roof box, which was completely and utterly my husbands domain. He bought it, the roof bars, the lot. Same with the towbar and trailer. Not my business. My job is to pack the soft things in appropriate sized bags to fit into said roof box.
We take ours full of towels, clothes, random shoes etc to Cornwall for the annual camping expedition.
This year we are also taking it to Wales, despite not camping, primarily to allow room in the car for the airfryer, to use in the caravan as I cannot stand cooking in a gas oven in a caravan and cannot live without the airfryer these days. God what have I become???
you have become a sensible human being
I had the same roof box on my ancient (1998) Subaru wagon for the last sixteen years. Sears brand, nothing special. While I only have one kid, they are a musician and we were always hauling three saxophones, a tuba, drum kits, plus the 100lb+ dog on camping trips. The kid is taking that same car to college in a month, so we finally took it off - and someone just knocked on my door to ask for it.
It was great to have - meant the bulky stuff could go on top and I never had to pack the car to the absolute gills, even for a three week trip.
Controversial - but roof boxes make me shudder a bit - ditto cars that carry bikes strapped to the back, navy Longchamp bags and those little runners’ rucksacks that have a drink coming out of them. Maybe I’m overthinking it.
The little runners' rucksacks! Serious ick but I've only just realised it. Sometimes worn when people aren't even running. Why are you so busy and so dehydrated?
Sofie you are not alone. They are quite ick. I had to work on Giles for about 3 years before he would consider one
Re the runners backpack- I always think, doesn’t the water get unattractively warm 🙀
Unattractively warm and tasting of plastic. Also the whole sucking thing...
Don’t do what we did and realise on arrival that the key for the roofbox which the husband had carefully locked was on the hall table at home!
Don’t get a used one with a dodgy catch like I did. Still traumatised from the loud bang and judder as the lid flew off and we watched our possessions flying behind us and depositing themselves across a French motorway.
We have a roof box which was invaluable when transporting hubby, me, two large adult sons plus one of their friends and 5 snowboards and related kit to the alps.
My top tip would be to buy some straps that fix to the ceiling of your garage to store it up and out of the way when it's not on the car - ours came free with the box and it's BRILLIANT!!! https://www.roofbox.co.uk/scripts/rbvehsel4_tab.php?12361.
I pretty much always bash ours on something at some point in the journey and actually spent 7 years making hubby and sons remove the box at 2am in the snow when we got to the ski apartment so that I could put the car in the underground parking because the signage said we were too tall to fit - then one day when we were there in the summer I decided to just try driving in with hubby checking how much headroom we actually had - turned out it fit just fine! Ours is a Thule and it's been fine - and I'm one of those people who leave the roof bars on - sorry!
And finally couldn't agree more how fab roofbox.co.uk are - so helpful on the phone or email - and even had an exchange system for snow chains if you switched cars and could no longer use the set you had. Bought many things from them over the years and I always recommend them to others.
This is really helpful “I wish I’d known” stuff. On that note it took me an embarrassing number of years to work out that a roof box is essentially a massive hard suitcase. So you don’t have to only put outdoor things in it (we go on holiday with equipment for every single possible sport) but can put your cases in it - or clothes and soft stuff in smaller bags. Think big packing cubes.
Also. Don’t lose the key. Get a spare one (even if there is a spare one for the spare one). Keep it in the glove box. I don’t know why this has been such a godsend over the years. But it has.
I really think you should have used DO THE ROOFBOX as the headline. Made me do a little snort chuckle.
We have an eight-year-old son who is an only child and when a second child never materialised , my husband consoled me by saying, at least we won’t have to be one of those families with a roof box as we’ll always have plenty of room in the car.
It was a point of view.
I drew the line at a third child for many many reasons but one of them was being able to fit everyone, plus luggage, into one car
My mum bought me a roof box as a surprise once, and that’s how I spent three hours stuck waiting around Halfords with a 10 month old baby. It was very handy to have and a lovely thought but I really had to dig deep for that gratitude. It was a bit annoying eventually and broke, now we have a roof bag which we’ve used once and it was good to be able to take it completely off easily but not suitable for everything. Less whistly and no bars required.
A surprise roofbox! That's hilarious. I have to repeat to myself very, very often "their hearts are in the right place" when thinking about my parents, even if the rest of my brain is screaming "why can't you just offer up an hour or two of childcare instead?" or "no, don't put goddamn paw patrol on it sends them crazy" or "what even is baby rice?" or "you say it didn't do me any harm, LOOK AT ME NOW"
There was a period in my life when I thought roof boxes were inverted small boats and a lot of people were simply enjoying recreational boating in the style of Wind in the Willows. Once I realised the truth (which timed with the birth of my daughter) I discovered we desperately needed one to store the child travelling related things we had no room for in our flat. It became our storage tortoise shell until we moved into a house and unpacked lots of forgotten child related equipment/detritus that I swore we would never use one again. Our fuel economy has since rapidly improved since losing it too.
This is the kind of comment I live for!
Well this is the best comment ever 😂😂😂
Snap! I thought they were small boats too, and told my toddler (he’s bigger now and mocks me). I couldn’t understand why so many people in SE London had a boating hobby….
this made me laugh so much
in the podcase 'french and saunders titting about' JS tells a story about her father buying a polysterene sailing boat from the back of the daily mail and them taking it on the motorway. i cried with laughter and now always think of roofboxes as dinghies.
I endorse the recommendation to get one which can be put on and taken off easily. We have a Kamei Fosco 420 which unclips really easily (although is still a bugger to manhandle - especially when slicked with freshly squashed insects...). Have been able to avoid some potentially embarrassing overhead crunches (watch out for beach carparks with height restrictions to stop overnight camping) without too much hassle.
we will almost certainly merrily bang into something with ours, we are a pair of dunderheads
Do measure the height of the car + roof box when you have it installed and write it on a bit of paper and stick it on the dashboard, so that you have a reference number when you come to the car park, medieval gatehouse etc.
this is why I keep you around, BB
😂
If you’re vertically challenged like myself or travelling without a taller person, I recommend putting a folding step stool/ladder in the boot for packing/unpacking the roof box. I didn’t do this one year and had to essentially throw things up there and hope for the best!
Nah just open a door and stand on the seat/ use the door hinge to as a ledge for your foot.
This is essential!! Even my reasonably tall husband needs the step ladder
A roof box? Unheard of it this country.. we foreigners use roof racks .. and if one has a lot of stuff to cart, one hires a trailer which is a mobile tray towed behind the car. Exposed to the elements this is not ideal for long trips or the English climate .
If in doubt get one. You reclaim the space around your feet and your children aren’t pressed up against the windows. We have the biggest roof box we could get, opens both sides, has a lock system which has a satisfying click and shows it is locked on to the bars as well as then being shut and locked when full. It is all Thule (no complaints here!) we have the sleek bars which make it so much easier to put on (see the biggest box ref) and it can all be taken off quickly. I refuse to be that person who always has the bars on top of the car.